Was Kate Hudson and Alex Rodriguez's Relationship All a Publicity Stunt?

Who: Oscar-nominated actress Kate Hudson, 39, and former MLB star Alex Rodriguez, 43.

How They Met: As the story goes, Kate met Alex at the reopening of the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami in November of 2008. That year, Rodriguez had both separated from wife Cynthia Scurtis and begun dating Madonna. At the time, Hudson had recently split from longtime on-and-off boyfriend Owen Wilson. An eyewitness told the NY Daily News that Kate and A-Rod were heavily flirting that night at the hotel.

"Hudson had her arms completely wrapped around A-Rod's waist and every time he leaned over to talk to anyone she would pull him back toward her," the anonymous source shared. Yet still, it’s thought the duo didn’t begin dating for another several months. When baseball season began in the spring, Hudson started cropping up in the stands, cluing tabloids into their burgeoning romance.

When They Peaked: Though speculating about K-Rod quickly became America’s other favorite pastime, the couple in question really let little slip about their relationship. In fact, they were hardly ever photographed together in the months they were linked. That being said, Kate’s mom and step-dad (Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell, respectively) appeared to be supportive of the union, and even accompanied Kate to several games. This is definitively when they peaked: when their relationship inspired Goldie Hawn to become a Yankees fan.

Why We Loved Them: I mean, did we? They were both clearly destined for greater loves (Kate with baby daddy Danny Fujikawa and Alex with none other than J. Lo). In an article for Harper’s Bazaar that went live shortly before the pair split in late 2009, Hudson implied that things with her and Rodriguez weren’t serious. “I have a child, and there are people involved, and it's unfair to talk about somebody else, especially when you're not in that place yet to be discussing those things," she told the magazine. "If I was sitting here with a belly out to here, I'd be talking about what the relationship is and how important that is in my life right now." Hudson went as far as to imply that their entire relationship was misconstrued in the media. Referencing the infamous stadium kiss (see above), Hudson explained, “That was a sideswipe on the cheek. That wasn't even a kiss. I quickly kissed the cheek. And I remember one of the headlines the next day said, MAKEOUT SESSION. What is wrong with people?” Yeah, couldn’t tell you, Kate …

The Breakup: As with most celebrity breakups, the reasons behind K-Rod’s split are rumored, at best. A particularly cruel report alleged that Rodriguez broke up with Hudson because “it was a turnoff to have a girlfriend who always wanted to be on camera” (reminder: he’s currently dating Jennifer Lopez). "She would always want to be styled before games and she'd insist on front-row seats," a source told Us, implying that Hudson was more interested in the publicity from the relationship than the relationship itself.

Another set of sources claimed that Hudson was angry that Rodriguez was still in occasional contact with his ex, Madonna, and that Kate’s mother worried he was an unsuitable influence for her son, Ryder, then 5.

In 2014, Hudson addressed the doping scandals of two of her former athlete boyfriends, Rodriguez and Lance Armstrong, telling InStyle, "I personally think that you make the choices you make and you should reap the consequences. People have a right to [feel betrayed]. Lance and Alex are phenomenal athletes who have made some bad choices and let a lot of people down."

Where They Are Now: Since splitting from Rodriguez, Hudson has expanded her family twice over. She welcomed son Bingham with former musician boyfriend Matt Bellamy in 2011, and welcomed a baby girl named Rani Rose with boyfriend Danny Fujikawa just this week.

Professionally, Hudson has held several movie and TV roles in the past nine years and has embarked on various lifestyle projects — she’s the cofounder of Fabletics and the author of multiple books on happiness and well-being.

After retiring from the MLB in 2016, Rodriguez made perhaps the most prominent headlines of his career when he began dating Jennifer Lopez. He currently serves as Jen’s unofficial Instagram boyfriend, along with his other duties as founder and CEO of investment firm A-Rod Corp, and active philanthropist.