NEWSStar Smooches! Kendall Jenner, Rihanna, Zac Efron, More Recall Their First Kisses
April 8 2021, Updated 12:39 p.m. ET
There are few moments in life that are as memorable a first kiss. From that butterflies-in-the stomach feeling to that rush of excitement, it's a coming-of-age event that lingers in minds for a long time.
But let's be honest, not all first kisses are great. They can be wet, rushed and down right awkward. Celebrities are no exception. Sure, they may look picture-perfect while smooching on screen, but often in real life, their initial experiences weren't so smooth.
From Rihanna's sloppy spit swat in high school to Gigi Hadid's embrace with braces, scroll through the gallery below as stars recall their first kiss stories.
ROBERT PATTINSON
"I was 11 or 12. I guess it was a girlfriend, [since] we used to walk home from school together," recalled the Twilight star, 34, whose smooch smacked of a sticky English bread spread. "I remember being like, 'What does my mouth taste like?' afterward. 'Does it taste like Marmite?' Like, really romantic."
KATE BECKINSALE
The Underworld actress' close encounter was downright unappetizing. "I was a really militant vegetarian at the time and he'd just eaten a meat-lover's pizza. So, massive trauma," Beckinsale, 47, revealed. "I thought kissing was a dry experience but I realized there's all that kind of wet activity, with lots of bits of sausages in as well."
CHARLIZE THERON
The Bombshell star, 45, totally bombed! "We'd just watched Friday the 13th — what a real romance movie! — and were in the backyard, and I'm like, 'You wanna do it?' And we're standing there arguing about it for so long, it was just awful. But then it was darkness, saliva and tongue."
LANA CONDOR
She had a bad feeling about it! The To All the Boys I've Loved Before star is a petite 5-foot-3, but the first time she kissed "was with this little boy [who] was way shorter than me," recalled the rom-com sweetheart, 23. "We went in... very puckered... and it was a weird textural experience that I don't want to go through again."
ZAYN MALIK
His first time was so bad there was only One Direction to go from there — up! "Mine was when I was 13. I was really short and she was really tall, so I had to put a brick against the wall and stand on it to reach her face," Malik, 28, said. The "Let Me" singer is now 5-foot-9, but he's still an inch shorter than his girlfriend, Gigi Hadid!
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RIHANNA
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Her first pucker sucked so much that it took years for the "Love on the Brain" singer, 33, to get up close and personal again. "It was in high school and it was the worst thing ever. He pretty much dumped his entire saliva glands into my mouth. It traumatized me. I didn't kiss for, like, ever."
GIGI HADID
She had to grit her teeth and bear it! "We were watching a movie — I want to say it was a horror movie — and I was with this boy I liked. I was about 14 or 15, and we both had braces," the supermodel, 25, shared. "It was horrible and awkward. You know, lots of metal happening. I was happy to wait a while till our next kiss."
TAYLOR SWIFT
She's gorgeous, talented and super successful, so it's hard to believe Swift, 31, was one of the last of her friends to make out with a guy. "It wasn't a bad kiss," the "Shake It Off" singer recalled about the experience. "I think it was cute. We ended up dating for a year!" Something tells us there's a song about it, too…
ED SHEERAN
His first try was far from "Perfect" — and the ginger-haired crooner, 30, blames it all on Bond, James Bond. "I think the first kiss I saw on TV was in a James Bond movie, where Pierce Brosnan just goes in with tongue," Sheeran explained. "So yeah, it was one of them! Very awkward and wet."
BILLIE EILISH
The angsty "Ocean Eyes" singer, 19, admits that her partner wasn't so starry-eyed when they first locked lips. "Right after we kissed, he says, 'Wow, that was really not at all as magical as I thought it was going to be.'" Bad Guy!
ZAC EFRON
Kissing was elementary for Efron, 33, who was an A student and the class clown. "I want to say fifth grade. It was over a game of Truth or Dare, but turned into 'make out with the other person,'" recalled the Baywatch hunk, adding that the odds were definitely in his favor. "I was, like, the only boy, and there were a bunch of girls. I was pretty stoked."
KENDALL JENNER
Little sisters are such a pain! When Kendall invited her fifth-grade crush over to hang out, "Kylie kept spying and we were like, 'Go away!'" said the supermodel, 25, about her pesky baby sis. "She kept saying, 'You're being shady!' Finally, Chad and I went in the shower behind the curtain. And that's how the magic of my first kiss went down!"
