Inside PEOPLE Magazine's 2018 Cover Stories — So Far

Look back at the biggest stories of the year

JAN. 1: HUGH JACKMAN GUSHES ABOUT HIS WIFE

Scannews/ Kim Haughton/ UNCA

After 21 years of marriage, Jackman can still remember the day he met his wife Deborra-lee Furness like it was yesterday, sharing the details with PEOPLE.

“My first job out of drama school — it was a massive break for me. I was really scared,” Jackman shared. “Deb, she was a big star. I get picked up, and Deb is in the front seat of the car. I’ll never forget. She took off her seatbelt and she turned around and put out her hand and took off her sunglasses and said, ‘Hi, I’m Deborra-lee Furness, nice to meet you.’ I remember thinking, ‘I like this girl.'”

JAN. 8: PRINCE HARRY & MEGHAN MARKLE RELEASE THEIR ENGAGEMENT PORTRAITS

With the release of three stunning new photos on Dec. 21 that look more like Hollywood movie stills than official palace portraits, the engaged couple demonstrated yet again that they are writing their own rules. Prince Harry, a source tells PEOPLE in this week’s cover story, is “cock-a-hoop” at the prospect of their life together. (Translation: Deliriously happy.)

JAN. 29: ANN CURRY SHARES HER THOUGHTS ON FORMER TODAY HOST MATT LAUER

The former Today co-host sat down with PEOPLE to talk about the pain of leaving the morning show, and also reflected on Lauer’s firing amid sexual harassment allegations against him. Curry told PEOPLE she felt “outrage” that such alleged misconduct was tolerated and “tremendous empathy for the victims.”

“I wish I could say that I was celebrating,” she said. “But actually I immediately checked myself. Because I knew women had suffered.”

FEB. 12: KATE MIDDLETON & MEGHAN MARKLE'S FRIENDSHIP

Readers were taken inside the growing friendship between Middleton and Prince Harry’s fiancée in this week’s PEOPLE issue.

“I’m sure Kate will do all she can to help Meghan,” a source in Kate’s hometown of Bucklebury revealed, while noting that in the early years of her romance with Prince William, Kate herself was mentored by Queen Elizabeth. “She had audiences with Queen Elizabeth quite often and was taught to behave like a future Queen.”

Markle, who will be learning on the job, “is funny and serious and extremely hard-working,” said a source close to the former Suits star. “I can imagine Kate will find a great friend in her.”

FEB. 19: ALY RAISMAN RECOUNTS THE MOMENT SHE CAME FACE TO FACE WITH LARRY NASSAR

Raisman spoke to PEOPLE about the powerful statement she delivered during Larry Nassar's sexual abuse sentencing hearing in January.

“I felt very strong,” the Olympic gold medal winner said. “I felt like I had so much I wanted to say.”

One of the ways that Raisman copes with her past is to be a clear voice for change in the sport. “You lose a part of yourself when you’re abused,” she shared. “I lost a part of myself, and I’m getting it back by speaking out.”

FEB. 26: SARAH JESSICA PARKER OPENS UP ABOUT HER MARRIAGE

Covering this week's issue of PEOPLE, the actress opened up about everything from her marriage with husband Matthew Broderick (who she's been with for 20 years), raising three kids and surviving the ups and downs of life in the spotlight.

"I think marriage has a lot of vitality,” she shared. “If you’re fortunate, it’s like this dazzling organism."

MARCH 5: JENNIFER ANISTON SPLITS FROM JUSTIN THEROUX

In PEOPLE’s cover story, a source close to Aniston said the actress is “sad and disappointed” that her marriage to Justin Theroux didn’t work out. “She didn’t expect to be single again,” the source added.

As for her future, “she isn’t a fan of dating, and she never was. She always found dating awkward and unpleasant,” an Aniston insider explained. “She hates all the media attention that she knows she will get now. But she is a big believer in falling in love and spending her life with a partner that loves sharing hers.”

MARCH 12: OPRAH GETS CANDID ABOUT HER PAST

The Wrinkle In Time star opened up about why she initially held back from sharing her own #MeToo story of being molested as a child.

“The moment I first confessed on The Oprah Winfrey Show to being molested, I confessed because there had been a time years before when a girl on the People Are Talking show I did in Baltimore had told the story of being molested, and I did not have the courage at that time to say out loud, ‘Me too,’ ” Winfrey revealed to PEOPLE.

The mogul said she told the girl her similar experience after the show and said she “was scared to say that” when the girl questioned her for not speaking up. That moment stayed with Winfrey and she didn’t hesitate when she had a second chance in 1986 on her talk show. “And then one day on the show someone said it, so I felt compelled to speak up,” she recalled.

MARCH 19: BACHELOR ARIE LYUNDYK JR. & LAUREN BURNHAM ARE ENGAGED!

Deemed the most dramatic moment in Bachelor history, Lyundyk Jr. proposed to Becca Kufrin in the show’s season finale — only to break up with her weeks later and pop the question to runner-up Burnham.

“The simple fact is I made a huge mistake,” Luyendyk Jr. told PEOPLE exclusively of proposing to Kufrin when he was still in love with Burnham. “I made what I thought was a good choice, but my heart wasn’t in it.”

MARCH 26: MEGHAN MARKLE IS KNEE-DEEP IN PRINCESS TRAINING

Markle has been regularly making private visits to organizations as she gets to know the U.K. charity sector,” a palace source tells PEOPLE in this week’s cover story.

“She’s on a very busy schedule behind the scenes,” says the source. “She has her wedding preparation and is meeting a number of people all the time — from Harry’s charities, staff at the household and the Royal Foundation.” (The foundation oversees the charity work done by William, Harry, Kate and now Meghan.)

APRIL 2: CHRISSY METZ ON BEING A TOTAL ROMANTIC

Her TV alter ego got married on the season finale of This Is Us, and Metz says she isn’t ruling out another wedding of her own one day. “Maybe, if it’s the right person,” Metz tells PEOPLE exclusively. “I love love. I’m probably the most romantic, gushy, lovey person.”

APRIL 9: MARISKA HARGITAY REMEMBERS HER MOM JAYNE MANSFIELD

“My mother was this amazing, beautiful, glamor­ous sex symbol — but people didn’t know that she played the violin and had a 160 IQ and had five kids and loved dogs,” Hargitay tells PEOPLE of her late mom, who died in a car accident when the actress was merely 3 years old. “She was just so ahead of her time. She was an inspiration, she had this appetite for life, and I think I share that with her.”

APRIL 16: MEGHAN MARKLE 'WEARS THE TROUSERS' IN HER RELATIONSHIP WITH PRINCE HARRY

“She is definitely the one wearing the trousers in their relationship,” a royal insider tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue. “She is a strong, opinionated woman who has her own ideas about things, and that’s one of the things he loves about her.”

APRIL 23: MARIAH CAREY OPENS UP ABOUT HER BIPOLAR DISORDER

In this week's PEOPLE cover story, Carey reveals for the first time her battle with bipolar disorder. Although she was first diagnosed in 2001 (when she was hospitalized for a physical and mental breakdown), “I didn’t want to believe it,” the superstar singer-songwriter tells PEOPLE editor in chief Jess Cagle.

“Until recently I lived in denial and isolation and in constant fear someone would expose me,” she says. “It was too heavy a burden to carry and I simply couldn’t do that anymore. I sought and received treatment, I put positive people around me and I got back to doing what I love — writing songs and making music.”

APRIL 30: PINK FEELS MORE 'BEAUTIFUL' THAN EVER

Peggy Sirota

Pink — and her two kids, Willow, 6, and Jameson, 16 months — graces the cover of PEOPLE's newly-renamed "The Beautiful Issue". Her key to the happiness that she radiates? “Try not to take life too terribly seriously,” she says. “We laugh a lot. It’s all about our family unit and time spent together, and much less about external stuff.”

MAY 7: PRINCE LOUIS IS HERE!

On April 23, Kate Middleton and Prince William welcomed their third child, Prince Louis. “It completes them,” royal biographer Ingrid Seward tells PEOPLE in this week’s cover story. A friend of the couple notes that Kate “is one of three siblings, and it’s a good family size. Boy-girl-boy is pretty cool as well.”

Parenthood, the friend adds, “suits them really well. They are enjoying it and are very happy.”

MAY 14: JOANNA GAINES 'CAN'T WAIT' TO WELCOME HER FIFTH CHILD

Perry Hagopian

Chip and Joanna Gaines can't wait to welcome their fifth child, a baby boy due in the summer, but the Fixer Upper stars may not be done having kids just yet.

"I joke with my friends that I'm going to be that 45-year-old who's pregnant," Joanna says in this week's issue of PEOPLE. "Chip is such a kid at heart and we both love a big family. I'm open to whatever. I'm just having fun with it."

MAY 21: MELISSA MCCARTHY ON HOW SHE DEALS WITH CRITICISM

Melissa McCarthy was on the bitter end of some especially vicious hate when she starred in the 2016 all-female Ghostbusters reboot alongside Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones. But she doesn’t let the trolls get to her, she shares with PEOPLE.

“Weirdly, instead of getting mad at them, I always feel like, ‘Oh, I hope you meet someone soon that you can talk to, someone that really makes you laugh,’ ” she says in the new issue. “I just root for that person to find a little joy.”

MAY 28: DREW SCOTT AND LINDA PHAN'S ITALIAN WEDDING

Property Brothers's Drew Scott and longtime love Linda Phan tied the knot in a stunning ceremony in Italy with 300 of their nearest and dearest watching. And with the wedding only just behind, the pair have already started thinking about the next step: Babies.

“We’re excited to have kids,” the HGTV star tells PEOPLE. “I think Linda and I will be great parents, and we’re excited to start that chapter of our lives.”

JUNE 4: PRINCE HARRY AND MEGHAN MARKLE GET MARRIED!

On May 19, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle (the newly-minted Duke and Duchess of Sussex!) wed in a lavish, star-studded ceremony attended by royals and famous friends like Serena Williams and George Clooney. "There's no doubt how in love they are," a guest told PEOPLE.

JUNE 11: MEGHAN MARKLE DIVES INTO DUCHESS LIFE

Less than two weeks after Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's wedding, the new royal is now ready for the real work to begin. “She’s not going to want to be a quiet princess and simply open hospitals or cut ribbons,” a royal insider tells PEOPLE in this week’s cover story.

JUNE 18: REE DRUMMOND SHARES HER & HER HUSBAND'S SWEET NIGHTLY RITUAL

Kayt Jones

Couples argue — and Food Network star Ree Drummond and husband Ladd are no different. If they do have a scuffle, they have a little nightly ritual to make things right. "We don’t go to sleep in each other's arms—we like our space—but our feet always touch," she says. "I know that if our feet touch before we go to sleep at night, we’re not going to bed upset or angry. If we’ve had a little disagreement, as long as our feet touch, it’s all good."

JUNE 25: REMEMBERING KATE SPADE & ANTHONY BOURDAIN

In this week's cover story, PEOPLE honored the food rebel and designer's final days, and their rise to fame.

JULY 2: TIM MCGRAW & FAITH HILL REVEAL THEIR RELATIONSHIP SECRET

How does country music's longest-reigning power couple keep such a fire burning? In this week’s cover story, McGraw and Hill open up to PEOPLE about their marriage, sharing what it’s taken to make their love stand the test of time and fame. “Funny, as we get older it’s less about the big gestures and more about just spending the time together at home,” says McGraw, who has extravagantly surprised the “Breathe” singer on numerous occasions.

JULY 16: CHRISTINA EL MOUSSA OPENS UP ABOUT HER PAINFUL DIVORCE

Justin Coit

It’s been nearly two years since Christina El Moussa split from her ex-husband, Tarek, and while the Flip or Flop star is in a great place now, the split took a serious toll on her at the time.

“I felt like I was drowning,” Christina, 34, says in the latest issue of PEOPLE. “I was doing whatever I could to stay above water and just get through the day.”

JULY 23: WHITNEY DOCUMENTARY CLAIMS THE SINGER WAS MOLESTED AS A CHILD

In this week’s PEOPLE cover story, family members and friends open up about Whitney Houston's shocking untold story: the claim that she and older brother Gary had been molested by their cousin Dee Dee Warwick.

While some find the child abuse claim helpful in solving the mystery that was Whitney Houston, others, like her mother Cissy and Dee Dee’s sister Dionne Warwick, find the allegations in the film painful, exploitative and hard to believe.

JULY 30: MEGHAN MARKLE FINDS CERTAIN ROYAL RULES 'DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND'

Although she has quickly adapted to many of the minutiae of royal dos and don’ts, Meghan "has found certain rules in the royal household difficult to understand, like the fact that the Queen prefers women in dresses or skirts rather than trouser suits, and is often asking Harry why things have to be done in a certain way,” a source tells PEOPLE in this week's cover story.

“I think she finds it a little frustrating at times, but this is her new life, and she has to deal with it,” the source adds.

AUG. 6: INSIDE TOM CRUISE'S PRIVATE LIFE

in an age when most celebrities share their lives on Instagram and Snapchat, Tom Cruise has only gotten more intensely private about his personal life — especially following the rabid speculation surrounding his 2012 divorce from Katie Holmes.

"He’s a mysterious figure in many ways," Mission: Impossible — Fallout co-star Simon Pegg tells PEOPLE. "People speculate about him and decide the truth about him. He doesn't really do anything. He steps back from all that."

AUG. 13: DEMI LOVATO 'NEVER WANTED TO BE A ROLE MODEL'

After hitting rock bottom in 2010, Demi Lovato fought her way back up to the top with chart-topping albums and several sold-out tours before her shocking overdose in July. The singer has proudly — and publicly — celebrated her sobriety milestones over the last six years, but a longtime friend tells PEOPLE exclusively Lovato struggled privately with the pressure to remain clean.

“Demi never wanted to be a role model. Her sobriety over the last six years was a fight every single day,” says the friend. “After she finally got clean, her team was very hard on her and treated her like she was a kid. It’s so hard to have all these eyes on you all the time.”

AUG. 20: INSIDE THE ROYALS' LIVES

In this week’s issue, PEOPLE explores the story of royal women from the Queen — who unexpectedly found herself immediately in line for the throne when her uncle Edward VIII abdicated his duty on the throne in favor of marrying a twice-divorced American, Wallis Simpson — to the late Princess Diana and how she changed the monarchy. It brings the story up to date with Meghan Markle's wedding and the birth of Prince Louis, a third child for Prince William and Kate Middleton.

AUG. 27: MICHAEL J. FOX & TRACY POLLAN REVEAL THE SECRET TO THEIR 30-YEAR MARRIAGE

Sitting down with PEOPLE for this week’s cover story, the couple reveals how they’ve made their love last through sickness, health and three decades in the spotlight.

Asked about the key to a long marriage, Pollan says, “Just give each other the benefit of the doubt. He assumes I’m doing the best I can.”

Adds Fox, “Find the best things about you and the best things about life and celebrate them.”

SEPT. 3: INSIDE THE AMAZING LIFE OF ARETHA FRANKLIN

Right up until the very end, Aretha Franklin, who’d secretly lived with pancreatic cancer for nearly a decade, refused to let her ongoing health battle overshadow her lifetime of accomplishments. Holding tight to her Queen of Soul title for five decades, she blazed a trail that included selling 75 million albums, winning 18 Grammy awards, and becoming the first woman to be inducted to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and youngest artist to receive a Kennedy Honor in 1994.But while the “Natural Woman” singer broke records and broke down barriers, she worked hard to keep her tumultuous personal life as private as possible. From losing her mother at a young age to becoming a teen mom and surviving domestic abuse, the star managed to keep shining in the midst of countless struggles.