The Men In Kate Middleton’s Life Before Prince William

Prince William and Kate Middleton’s relationship is stronger than ever, even amid unverified rumors of Prince William’s cheating with Rose Hanbury. With their marriage bringing three beautiful children into the life of the royal family, their relationship is the very picture of commitment that couples aspire to have. Despite the couple seeming to be an obvious match, Kate had actually dated a few other people before their 2010 engagement.

Willem Marx (2000)

The Duchess of Cambridge’s first boyfriend is Willem Marx, a boy whom she had met in Marlborough College — a boarding school in southwest England. The two reportedly started dating in 2000, but it is still unknown for how long they had dated. A friend of Marx claims that he was Kate’s “first love.”

Marx is currently a journalist working for the American television business news network CNBC. He got married to Italian TV presenter Johanna Botta in 2014. Kate and Marx remain on good terms until today, with him even showing up at William and Kate’s wedding in 2011.

Rupert Finch (2001)

After Marlborough College, Kate enrolled at St. Andrews University — coincidentally the same school that Prince William had chosen to attend. Despite their close living accommodations in the campus, the future Duke and Duchess of Cambridge did not get together that quickly. It was reported that Kate had been dating a senior law school student before she and William went public.

Rupert Finch, on his last year of law school, briefly dated Kate. Unfortunately for the law student, it was allegedly during their relationship that William and Kate had developed feelings for each other. During the well-known charity fashion show that sprung Kate into the limelight, William had been smitten, allegedly kissing her in a party after the event.

Henry Ropner (2007)

The royal couple each faced their own share of difficulties and challenges to make their relationship work, even briefly splitting in 2007 — having everyone wonder if the royal couple would ever get back together. One man had allegedly made Prince William jealous the most: Henry Ropner.

Ropner was an old friend of the Prince back in Eton college, making the issue a little bit more heated. He was seen dating Kate during the royal couple’s infamous 2007 break. However, this did not last long as Kate and William got back together shortly afterward.