8 long-term celebrity couples who aren't married – and the surprising reasons why

One of the most enduring celebrity couples in Hollywood, it’s easy to forget that Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell have actually never married. The pair have been together for over 43 years, and have a blended family of four children, including acting stars Kate Hudson and Wyatt Russell, but have no plans to ever wed.

Goldie opened up about the couple’s decision to Entertainment Tonight in May 2026, saying: "We thought that by getting married that was actually going to take something from both of us that we didn't want. We want to choose each other every day."

She continued: "I don't like ownership, you know? And I must say that I think Kurt feels the same way. I think that's one of the areas where we all have to feel free to be who we are, and think the way we do, and for those of us who are, basically, want to have a happy life, I think you want to be happy with yourself."

Media mogul Oprah Winfrey was once engaged to her longtime partner, businessman Stedman Graham, but the marriage never came to fruition. The pair have been together since 1986 but later decided they didn’t need a formal marriage to define their love.

In a 2020 article for Oprah Daily, the acclaimed host described the couple’s relationship as a “spiritual partnership," sharing how she realized she didn’t actually want to get married. “I wanted to be asked,” she confessed. “I wanted to know he felt I was worthy of being his missus, but I didn’t want the sacrifices, the compromises, the day-in-day-out commitment required to make a marriage work."

Ricky Gervais and his partner, author and producer Jane Fallon, have been together since they met at university in 1982, but marriage is not in the cards for the pair. “We are married for all intents and purposes, everything’s shared, and actually, our fake marriage has lasted longer than a real one,” Ricky previously told The Times, adding that also his views on religion don’t align with the idea of traditional marriage.

The longtime couple have also never had children, something Jane shared her reasoning behind in a candid article for The Guardian. “I’ve never regretted not having kids,” she wrote. “Being a mother wasn’t who I was meant to be."

Anna and Enrique have been together since 2001, when they met on the music video set of his song "Escape." They have four children, but despite being together for 25 years, they have never married.

"I'm never getting married," Anna told People, before Enrique spoke to the outlet days later, confirming: "I always try, but she pays me no attention." That being said, years later, Enrique cryptically quipped: "We haven't gotten married in public, but that doesn't mean we are not married."

Actors Sam Rockwell and Leslie Bibb have been in a relationship since 2007, but The White Lotus actress has no interest in tying the knot. "I love Sam Rockwell. I would put him in my pocket and carry him with me all the time," she said on TODAY last June. 

"I love him. I do not want to get married," she declared, noting that, "He didn't want it either," adding, "if it ain't broke don't fix it."

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Jason Statham have been together since 2010 and got engaged in 2016. They share two kids, but marriage is not "important" to Rosie.

"Maybe one day. It's not something that's ever been massively important to me," she told the Sunday Times Style magazine. "Throwing a big, fancy wedding is not something I feel is necessary at this point in my life. If we do, it will be low-key."

Former SNL comedienne Maya Rudolph has been in a committed relationship with filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson since 2001, with the pair sharing four children. Although she refers to the One Battle After Another director as her husband, the pair have never formally tied the knot.

During a 2018 interview with The New York Times, Maya revealed she started referring to Paul as her husband after the birth of their first daughter in 2009, because it felt “ooky” to continue saying boyfriend. The star also shared that her definition of “husband” means “he’s the father of my child, and I live with him, and we are a couple, and we are not going anywhere."