Penelope & Matthew in Love

From secret coupling to public hand-holding, see how the Sahara costars' romance has bloomed. By Caryn Midler

7 of 13

OFFSCREEN CHEMISTRY

Romancing costars is familiar territory for both McConaughey and Cruz (at Los Angeles International Airport in January). While filming A Time to Kill in 1995, he dated fellow Texan Sandra Bullock. For Cruz, it was even more high-profile: Her three-year relationship with her Vanilla Sky leading man Tom Cruise ended in early 2004 amid a flurry of tabloid coverage.