We can say with some experience that models are a special species. When they wander into a room, you can almost feel their presence; they seem to glow with a gene that wasn't handed out when the rest of us were born. It would be logical to assume, then, that the people they fall in love with – the boyfriends, the girlfriends, the plus-ones – must be a mind-blowingly amazing group.

But the truth is, models fancy the same variety of famous scoundrels, intellectuals, rock stars and film stars that the rest of us have crushes on – except they actually get to meet these people. We've dug through the archives to find the former relationships of some of the most memorable faces of the last few decades, and uncovered several surprising exes, from Robert De Niro to Christian Slater.

Some of the more glamorous pairings made us a bit envious, but then we remembered that being a normal human being has its benefits. You may have to worry about doing the awkward 'So how've you been?' chat when you bump into your ex-boyfriend at a party – but at least that ex-boyfriend won't be Richard Gere and the party won't be the Oscars. Click the gallery for a walk down the world's most photogenic memory lane.