A-list couples who reportedly embraced open relationships

Nico Tortorella and Bethany C. Meyers

If anyone was going to make polyamory sound thoughtful and refreshingly drama-free, it's Younger star Nico Tortorella and their partner, fitness coach Bethany C. Meyers, who have long been candid about their unconventional approach to love and their rejection of tradition. The duo met in college and fell fast, yet continued to date other people, which took pressure off their relationship.

Nico and Bethany's connection deepened over time, and they went on to tie the knot in 2018, followed by the arrival of their daughter, Kilmer, in March 2023 and their son, Pesce, in October 2024. Non-traditional certainly doesn't mean non-committal in their eyes. 

The actor spoke to Attitude about how their romance doesn't even remotely resemble the chaotic free-fall that many people picture when they think of polyamory. "I'm a deep lover, and it can happen very fast and still continues to, with other people and with Bethany on a regular basis... [We don't] have all of these other partners. No, that's not the case.

''I am kind of a serial monogamist in my polyamory," they continued. "I love dating one person at a time. I'm married, yes, but I love dating one person at a time. I have a partner in LA that I’ve had for a long time, but I'm not his only partner; he's not my only partner."

Nico told Cosmopolitan that being in a "queer polyamorous relationship" didn't mean that the pair threw boundaries out the window altogether. 

''Cheating is bad… But I think that an open relationship or a polyamorous relationship or an understanding of sorts is acceptable in this day and age. And I've been in those relationships, and sometimes they work, sometimes they don't."

They continued: "But cheating inherently is a terrible thing. If you're going behind the other person's back and if there's any type of malice, you're a bad person, end of story.'' No notes, Nico. No notes.

Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith

Once upon a time, Will Smith and his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, were Hollywood's ultimate power couple and the epitome of long-lasting love. That is, until the phrase "entanglement" entered the picture and changed pop culture forever.

For years, the duo hinted that their marriage didn't always follow tradition, with Jada writing in a 2013 Facebook post that she and Will "can do whatever we want, because we trust each other to do so”.

"This does NOT mean we have an open relationship...this means we have a GROWN one," she concluded. Cue the raised eyebrows.

Their façade blew up in 2020 when rapper August Alsina claimed that he had been in an on-and-off-again relationship with Jada. “I actually sat down with Will and had a conversation due to the transformation from their marriage to life partnership that they’ve spoken on several times, and it not involving romanticism,” he said in an interview with Angela Yee.

August added that “[I] totally gave myself to that relationship for years of my life and I truly and really, really deeply loved and have a ton of love for her.” What a day to be on the internet – I remember it like it was yesterday.  

Jada and Will later addressed the situation during an infamous Red Table Talk to share the truth about their relationship. “We decided that we were going to separate for a period of time, and you go figure out how to make yourself happy, and I’ll figure out how to make myself happy,” Will explained.

Jada added: “From there, as time went on, I got into a different kind of entanglement with August.…Yes, it was a relationship, absolutely.” Oop.

Will then shared with GQ in 2021 that monogamy was not the ideal for them. "For the large part of our relationship, monogamy was what we chose, not thinking of monogamy as the only relational perfection,” he explained.

"We have given each other trust and freedom, with the belief that everybody has to find their own way. And marriage for us can’t be a prison."

And just when we thought their romance couldn't get any more complicated, they proved us all wrong. Will and Jada dropped the absolute bombshell in October 2023 that they had actually been separated since 2016, and were still working on their relationship. I seriously can't keep up. 

The best thing to come out of it all was the word "entanglement", which has probably been used by every non-committal man ever in the years since.  

Mo'nique and Sidney Hicks

Long before talk of open relationships became dinner party conversation, or something to debate in the group chat, Mo'nique and her husband, Sidney Hicks, were blazing a trail right past pearl-clutching naysayers. The Oscar winner first addressed their open relationship in a now-infamous Essence interview in 2006, at a time when Hollywood wasn't quite ready to hear it.

14 years later, she explained to the publication how their agreement began, and how it had evolved over time. "Initially, when I asked for it, it was because I wanted to continue to see the gentlemen that I was seeing, and I felt comfortable telling my best friend…so when I sat down and said this is what I want initially it was because I wanted to still [sleep] with who I was seeing and I didn’t want it to be where I was keeping anything from my best friend.

"That's how it initially started, and when I tell you the conversations that we've had, it has taken me to a different place where I'm not even thinking of another man sexually, but still open to it," she said.

The couple, who were friends in high school and tied the knot in 2006, even have their own podcast, aptly named Open Relationship, where they discuss everything there is to know about the lifestyle choice. If you're going to live it, you might as well talk about it, I guess!

But even trailblazers evolve. Mo'nique told The Hollywood Reporter in 2023 that they eventually "grew out" of their open relationship. “Life began to happen. I began to see a strength I had never seen before. He loved me at my worst. I didn't want to sacrifice that just for a lay." Wait, why am I crying?

Mo'nique and her manager/husband share 20-year-old twins Jonathan and David, and continue to be a pinnacle of long-lasting love in Hollywood (which is no easy feat).

Dolly Parton and Carl Dean

I was just as shocked as you no doubt are to learn that the country queen shared an agreement with her husband of almost 60 years, Carl Dean, who passed away in March 2025. Dolly and Carl were extremely private about their romance, and the businessman was rarely ever seen outside of their home in Nashville. This meant that they spent a lot of time apart, especially when the 'Jolene' singer was touring or promoting an album. Thus, an open relationship bloomed. Well, sort of.

"If we cheat, we don't know it, so if we do cheat, it’s very good for both of us. I don't want to know it, if he's cheating on me. If I'm cheating on him, he wouldn't want to know it. And if we do, if that's what’s making it work, then that's fine too," Dolly once said, as per Huffington Post. Essentially, ignorance is bliss in the Parton-Dean household.

She then clarified to Oprah.com that their open relationship was more about emotional freedom than physical. "That just means we let each other be who we are and how we are," Dolly shared."But I'd kill him if I knew he was with somebody. We love people. He knows I'm a flirt and a tease, but it's harmless. I've never met the man that would take his place." In short, look and laugh, but don't get any ideas, thank you very much.

Shailene Woodley

Shailene has never pretended to be interested in tradition, and we love her all the more for it. The Big Little Lies actress has had a string of high profile relationships, including with Emily in Paris heartthrob Lucas Bravo (for which I'm a little jealous), Fijian-Australian rugby player Ben Volavola, and her former fiancé, NFL star Aaron Rodgers.

It probably comes as no surprise then that she has experimented with different relationship dynamics along the way. "Listen, I'm someone who has experienced both an open relationship and a deeply monogamous relationship in my life, and I think we're in a day and age where there should be no rules except for the ones designed by two people in a partnership – or three people, whatever floats your boat!" she told The New York Times. An inclusive queen.

"But there has to be a level of responsibility in any relationship dynamic, and that responsibility is simply honesty and communication and trust," she added. "Apart from that, it's really none of our business what people choose to do with their lives." Amen to that, girl.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie

Before Brangelina's explosive 2016 breakup  – a saga that seemingly never ends – rumours had swirled for years that they were in an open relationship. The incredibly private couple never confirmed or denied the speculation, however. Very mysterious, yet very on brand.

Angelina did, however, raise a few eyebrows following an interview with German magazine Das Neue. "I doubt that fidelity is absolutely essential for a relationship. It's worse to leave your partner and talk badly about him afterwards," she explained.

"Neither Brad nor I have ever claimed that living together means to be chained together. We make sure that we never restrict each other." The famous pair met on the set of Mr and Mrs Smith in 2003, and went public with their romance in 2005.

They welcomed six kids together, married in 2014, and split in 2016, triggering one of Hollywood's longest and most bitter divorce battles. Brad and Angelina proved that even a relationship based on freedom can come crashing down.

Shirley MacLaine and Steve Parker

The legendary actress was in an open relationship with her husband, Steve Parker, decades before the idea even became a talking point on TikTok. She married Steve in 1954 and welcomed a daughter, Sachi, with him two years later.

Before their eventual divorce in 1982, the couple managed a long-distance relationship like pros by entering into an arrangement. "I guess you would say [we] 'practised an open marriage' in 1954, which was another lifetime," she told People, casually dropping that jaw-dropping titbit like it was nothing. 

"No one understood it, we did. He lived in Japan basically, I lived in America working, and this and that. I think that's the basis for a long-lasting marriage if you really want to do such a thing…I was very open about all of that, and so was he.'' Ah, Shirley. Always ahead of the curve.

Lizzo and Myke Wright

The 'Soulmate' singer is incredibly private about her relationship with comedian Myke Wright, yet she did (somewhat surprisingly) spill the beans on the ins and outs of their relaxed romance. Lizzo and Myke met on MTV's Wonderland in 2016 and remained friends for years until things turned romantic in 2022 (which is basically my favourite book trope ever).

''I think a traditional relationship scares me for 10 years, but love is forever. I can love somebody forever,'' she explained on The Breakfast Club. ''Monogamy, to me, is a little claustrophobic because there are rules. I think a love relationship that's not monogamous has no rules. I think people who do poly and all that stuff – there's still rules.

''I don’t want any rules," Lizzo continued, before clarifying that she didn't necessarily have people on a constant rotation, like some would believe. "It doesn’t mean he is either. It just means that there are no expectations, and that way, the love gets to just be the main event…It's like, do what you wanna do, as long as you love me.

"'I just love you. I'm not worried about nobody else. I'm not worried about anybody else sexually, romantically, emotionally. I'm just worried about you. I'm just thinking about you.' I think that’s what we have, which is the most beautiful, pure thing ever.''

As someone who is a traditionalist when it comes to romance, I think this is an incredibly poignant and sweet approach to love, which puts open relationships in a whole new light.