Even the most beautiful relationships can have a rocky start. Kevin Bacon and his wife, Kyra Sedgwick, made the news recently for their Vanity Fair Oscars party glow-ups, where they each posted adorable photo slideshows and videos on Instagram. On Kevin's page, he simply wrote "date night" as the description for a gorgeous picture of himself with Kyra, dressed to the nines in a black-and-white Prabal Gurung dress.
Kyra captioned her similar photo (though now outside), "Going out on a school night!" But it was an Instagram Reel that really captured their magic. With the Violent Femmes' "Blister in the Sun" as background music, it shows Kyra displaying a table of beauty products, and her glam squad circling her with hair extensions, bronzer, smoky-eye shadows, and lint rollers for the dress. Cut to: Kevin in shorts, casually solving a jigsaw puzzle.
She continues with nails, earrings, you name it, and then back to Kevin, who is now further along on his puzzle, revealing that it's of our Solar System. But in the final shot, after all that primping on her end, the result is the same. Both Kyra and Kevin look fabulous.
Their delightful connection has caused old interviews to resurface from a time when it wasn't exactly love at first sight. At least, not for Kyra. (Kevin, on the other hand, was immediately smitten.)
According to a piece on Ranker, "What Famous Couples Who Met Their Spouses on Set Said About Them," Lauren Glen compiled a list of quotes from celebrity couples when they first met.
In a 2008 interview with Redbook, Kyra remembers, "He definitely wasn’t my type. In fact, I vividly remember looking at his butt when he walked away after we first met and thinking, 'Well, I guess some girls like that.'" She then adds, "And now it's one of my favorite parts of his anatomy! That's probably too much information!"
Kyra Sedgwick www.flickr.com
But here's the cringe part: In an interview with Conan O'Brien, Kyra shares a story of a scene she and Kevin had to film together wherein he gives her a massage. She claims Kevin then said, "You know you're really tight. Have you ever had a massage? You should make an appointment to go see [this masseuse], and you know, it just so happens the massage room is in the gym, and if I happen to be finished with my workout when you're finished with your massage, maybe we can get dinner?” To which Kyra thought, "Yeah, sure, that's not going to happen. I'm not going to tell him when my massage is." Conan then replied, "Worst line ever."
Kevin, for his part, felt the exact opposite. In an interview he gave in 2011 on CNN, when asked if he knew she was "the one," he shares, "I found her, you know, really very beautiful and sexy and aloof. And I was just immediately in love with her, and she was just immediately put off by me."
Kevin Bacon by David Shankboneen.m.wikipedia.org
But Kevin didn’t give up, obviously, and Kyra knew he was her "person" soon after. The two have continued to inspire couples for decades, proving one can go from cringe to crave very quickly.
And the best part is that their love still seems to be easy like Sunday morning. In 2018, HuffPost notednoted that Kevin once told Good Housekeeping, "Being with Kyra is so natural for me; it's the easiest aspect of my life. I know that I don't need a beach or room service to be happy."
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21 products that are gaslighting us into thinking they’re essential when they’re not
Some things in life are actually necessary—clean water, decent healthcare, basic human decency. But then there are the things that feel like they’re gaslighting us. The things we’re told we can’t live without, even though we survived just fine before they existed. Things like "smart" fridges, lawn fertilizer services, and yes—whole body deodorant.
Recently, our sister-site Upworthy asked their Facebook audience the question: What's a product or service that feels like it's gaslighting all of us into thinking it's necessary? More than 8,000 responses poured in. The answers were passionate, funny, and surprisingly unified.
Here are 21 products, services, and systems people called out for pretending to be essential—when they might actually be optional, overpriced, or flat-out invented.
1. Whole body deodorant
"Take a shower," said Shannon H.
“How did we ever manage all those years without it!! 😂😵💫” added Karen R.
Others noted it may help people with medical conditions—but for the average person, it's definitely a marketing creation.
2. Health insurance
It topped the list. Erica L. explained: “My doctor prescribes, the pharmacist issues meds, nurses care for people, surgeons do surgery—Health Insurance stands between health care and patients and says no, exclusively on whether they think it’s financially effective to treat you.”
Important note: Health insurance can provide life-saving access for many—but what people are frustrated by here is the profit-first system, not care itself.
3. The wedding industry
Multiple people slammed the high cost of modern weddings.
JoElla B. put it plainly: “We spend too much time and money planning one day, and not enough thought on how to blend two lives in a mutually beneficial one.”
Others called out expensive dresses, venues, and pressure to perform for social media.
4. Bottled water
Carole D. said: “Water in plastic bottles! Get a cup!”
While bottled water has value in emergencies, it’s often just filtered tap water—sold for profit in plastic.
5. Baby product overload
“Most baby products,” wrote Kelli O. “They really aren’t as needy and complicated as companies want us to think.”
6. Fabric softener
“It’s bad for clothes, bad for the Earth, bad for the wallet, and totally unnecessary,” said Gail H.
Some experts agree—many softeners contain chemicals that can reduce fabric lifespan and irritate skin.
7. Smart appliances
“Adding ‘phone controls’ to every appliance instead of making them last as long as they used to,” wrote Sherry S.
When your fridge needs a software update, something’s gone off the rails.
8. Makeup and anti-aging products
“Anything anti-aging,” said Melissa T., “Please just let me age into the gargoyle I was meant to become.”
Others questioned products designed to “fix” eyelashes, eyebrows, pores, and graying hair.
April S. added, “Products that women are convinced they MUST have in order to be ‘beautiful’ and therefore ‘loved.’”
9. Cosmetic surgery
Ron P. called out the industry as a whole. And while body autonomy matters, many commenters questioned whether insecurities are being commodified and sold back to us.
10. Ticketmaster and “convenience fees”
“Let’s go back to waiting in line at a record store,” wrote Nicole C.
Zaida B. added: “Convenience fee for online purchases—then charging $10 more at the actual event.”
11. Engagement rings
James P. didn’t mince words: “Engagement rings.”
The diamond industry has long been criticized for manufactured scarcity and marketing-fueled necessity.
12. Lawn chemicals and services
“Plant native grasses and you don’t have the pests or need for constant watering,” wrote Jamie B.
Environmental groups have raised similar concerns over runoff and unnecessary pesticide use.
13. AI and generative tech
“This stuff squeezes the lifeblood and individuality out of the human experience,” said Teresa L.
Saskia D. and others echoed skepticism about its necessity, even as many of us are being pushed to use it.
14. Funeral services
Amy W. shared: “My parents both have already paid to have themselves cremated and are very adamant that they do not want anything big done for them. In their words, ‘I won’t care, I’m dead.’”
Of course, some families find comfort in tradition—but the cost and pressure can feel overwhelming and predatory.
15. Rinse and repeat
Amy D. nailed it: “It’s just to sell more. Not even sure you need it at all.”
16. Credit Card Surcharges
Shawn S. took aim at the extra fees popping up at checkout: “That is the cost of doing business and shouldn’t be the burden of the purchaser.”
Many questioned why customers are increasingly being asked to pay extra simply for the convenience of using a card.
17. Constant phone upgrades
“Apple are notorious for releasing the same shit every year,” said Steph S.
Diana H. added, “Needing to upgrade our phones so frequently.”
Built-in obsolescence and marketing cycles drive most of the demand.
18. Vitamins and supplements
“If I took every supplement they say I NEED I wouldn’t need food. Nor could I afford it,” said Tausha L.
19. Fake pockets on women’s pants
Jessica W. said, “I have to buy men’s pants for work because women’s pants would just get torn up too fast!”
Form over function, and then they charge more for it.
20. Disposable everything
“The ‘convenience’ of disposable everything,” said Rick R.
It’s killing the planet—and draining wallets.
21. Tipping
“I’m sick of supplementing for corporations that refuse to pay a living wage,” wrote Susan V.
Tipping culture has evolved into something far removed from its original intent, and for many, it now feels like a burden shifted onto the customer.
The bigger picture
People aren’t saying all these things should vanish tomorrow. But when we start seeing convenience sold as necessity, and insecurity turned into billion-dollar markets, it's worth asking: who benefits from all of this?
And more importantly—who pays?
This article originally appeared earlier this year.