More and more people these days have less conventional views on marriage, finding it more trouble than it’s worth or just disagreeing with the institution altogether. Perhaps sky-rocketing divorce rates over the years make this new perspective on marriage unsurprising.
From Oprah to Ricky Gervais to Al Pacino, many celebrities seem to have an open anti-marriage stance, at least when it comes to their own personal lives. While their reasons vary, the end result remains the same: why put a ring on it if you don’t have to?
Charlize Theron
Charlize Theron doesn’t feel marriage is a necessity, but that’s not because she can’t find a husband. She’s gorgeous and mega-talented, so she has plenty of options. However, as far as the official marriage process, she just doesn’t think it’s for her.
According to Theron in a 2017 interview with Howard Stern, “I want to have a partner and have a monogamous long-term relationship, I really do. But I don’t need to have a wedding. My heart and my life and how I am with that guy is going to be exactly the same.”
Sandra Bullock
Sandra Bullock was married to Jesse James until their ugly divorce in 2010, and since then, it seems she’s decided marriage is not necessarily the right move anymore. In 2015, Bullock told People, “I can see myself in a committed, safe relationship where there is lots of love and laughter, and ‘making memories’ is No. 1 on the to-do list.”
Bullock has been in a serious relationship with photographer Bryan Randall since 2015, and their long-term, committed relationship is more than enough for them. They have no plans to tie the knot through holy matrimony, at least not at this time.
Ricky Gervais
Ricky Gervais has been with his partner Jane Fallon for more than 30 years, yet they’ve never gotten married. In fact, Gervais is one of the most outspoken celebrities about the concept of marriage and his belief in its futility.
In a conversation with David Letterman, Gervais stated, “I don’t think there’s any point to us getting married. We don’t want any more toasters, we never want our families to meet, that would be terrible.” Of course, this funnyman was making a joke, but the point still stands that he is clearly anti-marriage.
Naomi Watts
Naomi Watts and Liev Schreiber were a New York City power couple for 11 years, having two kids in the process. Yet when they went their separate ways, it sure was a whole lot easier not having to deal with the legal hassle of divorce since they were never officially married.
That’s not to say that breaking up is ever easy, especially when there are children involved. Still, they separated amicably and have remained a part of each other’s lives thanks to their kids. Perhaps one day their love will even reignite.
Eva Mendes
Eva Mendes is quoted as saying she believes that marriage is “more societal than anything else.” She also said that marriage is old-fashioned. Still, while it might not be right for her, Mendes doesn’t have anything against it for others. It’s a personal choice.
Mendes has been in a long-term committed relationship with Ryan Gosling since 2011, and they even have two kids. Their relationship and family are very private. There have been rumors that the two of them did get married in secret in 2016, though that has never been confirmed.
Owen Wilson
Owen Wilson is a father of three, though the children have three different mothers. None of those mothers were ever married to Wilson, however, as it seems marriage is just not for him. Meanwhile, all sources indicate that Wilson is quite happy being a single dad.
Wilson has mentioned to the media that as he grows older, he gets more sentimental, so maybe his single life will eventually come to an end. However, even if he does end up in a committed relationship, marriage may still not be in the cards.
Shakira
It may seem like the Colombian singer Shakira is married, since she’s been with Spanish soccer player Gerard Piqué for over 10 years, but that’s not actually the case. She likes to call herself “semi-married,” and there is no doubt in her mind that Piqué is the one for her. She doesn’t need a piece of paper to realize that.
Their commitment to each other has never wavered despite the fact that their relationship is not “official.” Shakira and Piqué have two children together and are happy with things the way they are.
Jamie Foxx
Jamie Foxx has two kids from two different relationships, but he’s not married and never has been. He was recently in a long-term committed relationship with Katie Holmes for six years, though the couple was extremely secretive about it. It wasn’t until 2018 that the public even knew they were together.
In 2012, Foxx told Oprah, “I don’t know if I’m built for marriage.” He continued, “I know one thing, I’m a very loving person. When it comes to connecting with somebody then being like there … I know I could be long-term in our connection.”
John Cusack
John Cusack is more than a little private about his personal and romantic life, but the fact that he’s never been married would seem to indicate he’s not really into it. In an interview with Elle, he was asked why he never married, and his response was “society doesn’t tell me what to do.”
Will Cusack ever get married? He’s 53 years old and still not talking about marriage, so probably not. Though his amazing roles playing the hopeless romantic might suggest otherwise, good actors can portray parts that are totally different than their real-life personalities.
Diane Keaton
Diane Keaton is in her 70s, and she is very happily unmarried, never having been otherwise. Through the years, she has had some serious relationships, including some with other high-profile actors, but none of them have ever put a ring on it, and that may be largely her doing.
She told People, “I don’t think it would have been a good idea for me to have married, and I’m really glad I didn’t.” Instead, she focused on raising her two kids and pursuing her highly successful acting career, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey has been with Stedman Graham for decades, and even though he proposed to her in 1993, they never officially got married. Instead, they have maintained a spiritual partnership that they both claim has kept them together.
Not being married has allowed Winfrey to focus on herself, her show and her various other endeavors, maintaining an independence that she believes would not have been possible if she had been a wife. She says she could not have created the life she has now if she had gotten married.
Queen Latifah
No one knows much about the personal life of Queen Latifah. Her enormous fame aside, she has somehow been able to keep most of her personal matters from the public eye. While not much is known about the famous rapper and actress, one thing is for sure: She’s not married and never has been.
There’s also the question of Latifah’s sexuality. Some rumors say she’s had both male and female romantic partners. Perhaps that has something to do with why she never married, but the truth is, we may never know what she’s up to in her off time.
Jon Hamm
Jon Hamm is not the marriage-type, it seems. If he were, he likely would have married Jennifer Westfeldt, who he was with for 18 years. In the end, it was probably for the best that they never got married, because the relationship didn’t work out in the end, and they saved themselves from the trouble of divorce.
Being a child of divorce may have influenced Hamm’s decision to never get married. However, that clearly has not stopped him from engaging in committed relationships. In the end, love is what makes a relationship successful, not a piece of paper.
Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo DiCaprio has been an international heartthrob for most of his life, but all that love coming his way never led to marriage. He’s even dated his share of high-profile women (all conspicuously younger than him), but all of those relationships ended long before marriage even seemed to enter the equation.
Overall, most of Leo’s relationships have been short-lived, meaning it’s probably better that he’s opted to shy away from the commitment of marriage. He does appear to be quite happy in his unmarried state, and that’s what really matters. He’s proof you don’t need to get married to be happy in life.
Matt Dillon
A man of many secrets, Matt Dillon’s personal life is a pretty big mystery to the general public. We know he was in a serious relationship with Cameron Diaz for three years in the 90s and that he’s never been married, but he hasn’t revealed much more than that.
One thing that has come out over the years is that he’s expressed interest in starting a family. Does that necessarily equate to marriage? Certainly not. Plenty of people settle down, have a family and remain unmarried, and he seems to be one who’s likely to end up that way.
Kourtney Kardashian
Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick were a couple for nine years, most of which was documented on Keeping Up With the Kardashians and its spin-offs. Their publicized relationship had many people rooting for them to tie the knot. It never happened, though.
On an episode of Kourtney and Kim Take New York, Disick bought an engagement ring and planned to propose to Kourtney, but decided against it when Kourtney said: “If things are so good now … why would we want to change that?” That statement made it clear that Kourtney does not view marriage as a necessity.
Sarah Silverman
Sarah Silverman is an expert joke maker, but she seemed pretty serious when she announced in 2014, “Why would I want the government involved in my love life?” Her anti-marriage sentiment comes from the fact that she views marriage as “barbaric.”
However, just because she doesn’t find marriage personally appealing doesn’t mean she has a problem with others doing it. Silverman also has no problem with long-term relationships or commitments, of which she has had several. She was with Jimmy Kimmel for seven years from 2002 until 2009, then Michael Sheen for four years from 2014 to 2018.
Marisa Tomei
Marisa Tomei has boldly stated, “I’m not that big a fan of marriage as an institution, and I don’t know why women need to have children to be seen as complete human beings.” Based on those views, it’s safe to assume she’s a proud feminist.
Tomei has had her share of long-term relationships despite never considering marriage as an option. She was with Logan Marshall-Green for several years, as well as Robert Downey Jr. She’s not with either of them anymore, but she had no trouble working with both of them on the set of Spiderman: Homecoming.
Winona Ryder
At one point, Winona Ryder was engaged to Johnny Depp. He even tattooed “Winona Forever” on his arm during that time. They never ended up getting married (and Depp changed the tattoo to say “Wino Forever” as a result), and since then, Ryder’s views on marriage seem to have shifted.
She’s been quoted saying, “I’d rather never have been married than been divorced a few times.” Apparently, being in committed, long-term relationships is good enough. Marriage for Ryder is simply not worth the risk, and she says it was for the best that she and Depp’s wedding never panned out.
Lauren Graham
Lauren Graham has been dating Peter Krause (who played her brother on Parenthood, interestingly enough), since 2010, and they are still going strong. When asked by Ellen DeGeneres if they had plans to make it official, Graham responding by saying the couple is “good the way they have it.”
Before her relationship with Krause, Graham was kind of a commitment-phobe, so perhaps that’s what kept her from tying the knot from any of her earlier romances. Now that she’s matured, she’s no longer afraid of commitment, but she’s open to the idea that settling down looks different for everyone.
Tyra Banks
Supermodel Tyra Banks has never been one to consider marriage the ultimate goal in her life. While she’s probably had millions of men dreaming of marrying her over the years, she’s perfectly happy being single. In fact, she’s even quoted as saying, “My mom never taught me to be waiting for some prince on a white horse to sweep me off my feet.”
Banks recently ended a five-year relationship with Norweigan photographer Erik Alsa. The couple had a baby boy together, though she has no problem being a single mom with a successful career.
Chelsea Handler
In her younger years, Chelsea Handler was completely against the idea of marriage. Now that she’s a bit older, her views have changed, though how she feels about marriage is much more complex than your average Jane.
The outspoken and wildly popular comedian has now seen that marriage means many different things to different people, and so the idea of marriage isn’t so bad to her anymore. Handler’s conclusion seems to be that being with someone and feeling connected is positive, no matter the form it takes.
Kristin Davis
Former Sex and the City star Kristin Davis says her adopted daughter Gemma is her number-one priority in life, and no relationship will ever change that. In fact, marriage is not even on her radar. When she was younger, she always thought to herself, ‘Why are all these people getting married?”
While she does eventually want to have another romantic relationship, she admits that it would have to be a stable one now with her daughter in the picture. This is a big contrast from her former view that stability in her dating life was not at all important.
Evangeline Lilly
Evangeline Lilly told Ocean Drive Magazine that as a teenager, she was bored by the notion of marriage. Even to this day, she still doesn’t believe in the institution of marriage. “I don’t believe in forever promises,” she once said. “I don’t think it’s realistic.”
Lilly is currently in a long-term relationship with Norman Kali, who is also the father of their young son. Because both he and her son are American, she thinks it might make sense to get married on paper eventually. However, emotionally, neither Lilly nor Kali thinks having that piece of paper is important.
Sheryl Crow
“I don’t think marriage is the be-all-and-end-all,” says Sheryl Crow. The famous singer has had her share of long-term, high-profile relationships, including three engagements, but in the end, “It’s better to have three broken engagements than three divorces.”
Still, Crow is not against marriage entirely, even if she thinks it isn’t necessary. She says she would get married if the right person came along. However, this time, instead of going through the long process of engagement that she endured in the past, she would just go for it right away.
Goldie Hawn
Goldie Hawn has been with actor Kurt Russell for almost 40 years. Their relationship began on Valentine’s Day in 1983, yet never in that time has their relationship led them down the aisle, and both are very happy with that.
Her response to a question on marriage on CBS This Morning was, “Why? We’re in love. I wake up every morning. I love being with him. He brings me coffee. I give him a kiss. It’s ‘good morning.’ We love each other. We fight the way people are supposed to fight. We love our lives together.”
Diane Kruger
Diane Kruger was married in the past to a French actor, but her current views on marriage are that she will never do it again. Her next relationship with Joshua Jackson lasted ten years, even longer than her married one, but she kept with her promise to forgo marriage.
Now she’s with Norman Reedus, and the couple has two kids, though no plans on committing through the institution of marriage. She says, “I learned that I don’t believe in marriage. I believe in a commitment that you make in your heart. There’s no paper that will make you stay.”
Susan Sarandon
Susan Sarandon got married to actor Chris Sarandon when she was in college for practical reasons. As students at a Catholic university, they couldn’t live together unless they were married. When they divorced, she kept his name, but since then, her views on marriage have shifted.
Sarandon was in a relationship with Tim Robbins for more than 20 years, but they never got married. She says she believes in marriage for other people, but that she’s always been hesitant of “this idea of locking it in.”
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Minogue grew up without the notion of marriage as a life goal. However, she was engaged to British actor Joshua Sasse for a while, though they eventually broke it off. At the time, she thought that maybe she’d gotten the idea of marriage all wrong and that she should just do it.
Now Minogue’s returned to her previous perspective. “I don’t think marriage is for me,” she told Red Magazine. She thinks staying single is the best course of action for her, though long-term relationships are not out of the question.
Al Pacino
Al Pacino is 79 years old, and though he’s had three children with three different women, he’s never been married. Some of his more high-profile relationships have been with Diane Keaton, Beverly D’Angelo, and Jill Clayburgh.
Some insight into why Pacino never got married came from Diane Keaton. She said, “I don’t think a long-term happy marriage would be easy for him.” Aside from that, his net worth of over $150 million might have played a part in why tying the knot would have been too much trouble.
