Having a crush in the 90s was a little bit easier than today. You followed the person’s career, watched their movies and shows, listened to their music on repeat, and had your bedroom walls plastered with their posters. That’s about it, barring the occasional chance of fainting when meeting your idol. With today’s social media, you can stalk your crush pretty much 24/7, which doesn’t sound as fun.
So let’s take a quick jog down memory lane and see how your past crushes are doing today.
1. Matt Dillon
Remember the time when you’d swoon over Matt Dillon at school? Did you prefer him in Grease or the Outsiders? Those were the hard question back then. Of course, Matt’s career didn’t end there; you just grew up and started doing your own thing. Meanwhile, Dillon became a big Hollywood star, appearing in movies like The House that Jack Built and There’s Something About Mary. They are not the most kid-friendly movies, to be honest.
2. Aaron Taylor-Johnson
Aaron may have starred in some D-rank movies and shows in the 90s, but most of you remember him as the handsome teen named Robbie in Angus, Thongs, and Perfect Snogging. Now ATJ is a full-blown S-tier actor after appearing in Avengers: Age of Ultron, Kick-Ass, and, more recently, Tenet.
3. Tom Welling
Of course, Smallville‘s Clark Kent is on this list. He was the sole reason why thousands of teenage girls and probably boys woke up in the morning. Before that, Tom starred in Cheaper By the Dozen, which also gained him some popularity among the teen demographics. If you think Tom had suddenly stopped caring about his Superman legacy, you’d be wrong, as he reprised the role of Clark Kent a few years ago on a big CW crossover event. He also played the immortal Cain on Lucifer and many other nerdy shows.
4. Jonathan Bennett
When Mean Girls came out, Bennett was instantly picked by the teen audience as the One. Every sleepover party after that was required to include at least one viewing of Mean Girls with a subsequent swoon session. Thankfully, Bennett has not changed his MO since then, and you can see him in a ton of romantic movies on the Hallmark channel.
5. Chad Michael Murray
The early 2000s’ were an amazing time for Chad. Gilmore Girls, a Cinderella Story, One Tree Hill – his every project felt like Christmas in July, and his teen fans were the real winners. Thankfully, Murray keeps working on his acting chops and has been cast in high-profile TV shows like Marvel’s Agent Carter and Riverdale.
6. Mark-Paul Gosselaar
Remember Zack from Saved by the Bell? Yeah, who doesn’t? That’s our boy Mark-Paul Gosselaar, and without him, so many girls in the 00s would have been left without a TV crush. He even came back as Zack for the reboot of Saved by the Bell so that the new generation would have someone to swoon over.
7. Freddie Prinze Jr.
The 90s’ would have been a dreary place without Freddie Prinze Jr., and that’s not just because of his roles in She’s All That and I Know What You Did Last Summer. He also married the badass queen of the 90’s – Sarah Michelle Gellar. By the way, she also helped him with writing his famous cookbook!
8. Rob Lowe
No matter if you fell in love with Lowe when he starred in the Outsiders or St. Elmo’s Fire, the fact that he’s incredibly handsome still remains. Now, years later, Rob has snatched multiple Golden Globe nominations for shows like Square Dance and The West Wing, but nothing will ever beat his performance in Parks and Rec.
9. James Van Der Beek
For the grand finale, we have the legendary James Van Der Beek from Dawson’s Creek. Let’s be real, if you scrolled through the list and didn’t recognize Jimmy here, it may be time to watch some teen dramas. Sadly, Van Der Beek peaked in the 90s, and after that, he’s starred in some questionable projects like “What Would Diplo Do?” on Viceland. Make room for the new heartthrobs, James!
