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Why Rachel Weisz and Daniel Craig's marriage almost didn't happen

The Definitely, Maybe actress and the James Bond star tied the knot in 2011 after six months of dating and over a decade of friendship


Rachel Weisz and Daniel Craig at the premiere of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in 2011© Getty
Beatriz Colon
Beatriz Colon - New York
New York WriterNew York
October 25, 2023
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Though Rachel Weisz and Daniel Craig are as private as possible about their marriage and family life, the A-list pair are absolute couple goals regardless.

The Definitely, Maybe actress, 53, and the James Bond star, 55, first met in 1994, when they were part of the cast of Les Grandes Horizontales at London's National Theatre Studio.

The two Brits were friends for nearly twenty years before they quietly started dating in 2011, eventually tying the knot six months later. Still, fated as their romance sounds, Rachel has previously confessed she never saw it coming.

WATCH: All About Rachel Weisz' Love Life

Though in a previous interview with The Standard's ES Magazine, the mom-of-two declared: "I wear my [wedding]  ring with pride," she also confessed she never thought the day would come, and in fact she was not interested in marriage at all.

"I never thought I would get married," she admitted, adding: "It was not an ambition of mine. It was the opposite."

She further confessed: "I couldn't relate to romantic comedies – marriage seems to be the whole point of them," before ultimately sharing: "Then it just happened, happily, at a more mature moment."

Rachel Weisz and Daniel Craig attend a private screening of "Enduring Love" at the MGM screening room September 13, 2004 in New York City© Getty
Rachel and Daniel in 2004 – they were friends for several years before they started dating

Rachel shared a similar sentiment in a separate interview with Harper's Bazaar, where she elaborated: "I couldn't imagine doing it, like picking out the dress."

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She continued: "I didn't relate to it as a rite of passage as a woman. I saw all those romantic comedies and I'd just sit and go, "Huh?!"'

Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz at the 2013 Golden Globe Awards© Getty
The couple have been married since 2011

Her parents – her dad George was a Hungarian inventor credited for creating ventilators used for COVID-19 patients, and later a documentary-maker, while her mother Ruth was a teacher and psychotherapist – divorced when Rachel was 16, and she said: "Maybe it hadn't been idealized to me by my parents."

Rachel was at a point engaged with her The Fountain director Darren Aronofsky; the two started dating in 2001, got engaged in 2005, and welcomed son Henry, now 16, the following year, though never made it down the aisle, eventually going their separate ways in 2010.

Rachel Weisz and Daniel Craig step out holding hands © Getty
Rachel and Daniel split their time between New York and London

Still, despite her previous failed engagement and initial belief that she'd never get married, her whirlwind romance with Daniel sparked a change of heart.

MORE: Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz make rare appearance together in royal box at Wimbledon

Rachel and Daniel at an event in 2014 holding hands© Getty
The two have three kids, a daughter of their own, plus both have children from previous relationships

"It just at that moment became the right thing," she endearingly shared.

Today, Rachel and Daniel live between London and New York – they own a Cobble Hill, Brooklyn townhouse they purchased for $6.75 million in 2018, as well as a home in Camden, London – and share one daughter together, born in 2018. Daniel is also a father to daughter Ella, 31, from his previous marriage to actress Fiona Loudon.

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