From Oprah Winfrey to Kurt Russell: Celebrity couples who ditched marriage and stayed together

For all the incredible coverage devoted to celebrity engagements and weddings, some of Hollywood’s most enduring love stories involve couples who never bothered with the paperwork. Marriage may be the industry’s favorite spectator sport, but for these long-term couples, the secret to longevity has nothing to do with rings or records.

Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn first met in 1967 on the set of a movie, but romance didn’t blossom until they met again in 1983 on the set of Swing Shift. Russell almost ruined things right away by making a comment about Hawn’s character. I laughed. Hawn later told People, “He was very handsome, but he had no pretension about him. I could tell right away that he was not a womanizer.” When she saw how her children from her previous marriage were treated, she knew. They’ve been together ever since, welcoming son Wyatt Russell in 1986. At the Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony in 2017, Russell turned to Hawn and said: “To you, I owe my wonderful life. Simply put, Goldie, I cherish you. There’s no one else I’d rather be around through all of this than Goldie Hawn.” In 2021, Hawn wrote on Instagram, “No, we never got married but the only thing that keeps growing is our love. I can’t imagine my life without you at any age, Kurt Russell. You are the catch. And you are all mine.”

Maya Rudolph and Paul Thomas Anderson have been together since 2001 and have four children. They met at an SNL after-party after Anderson discovered her on the show. “He said he saw me in a sketch and said, “This is the girl I’m going to marry.”” Rudolph told Town & Country. Although they were never legally married, Rudolph told the New York Times that she prefers the word spouse because… “People know what that means. This means that he is the father of my child, I live with him, we are a couple, and we are not going anywhere.”

Oprah Winfrey and Stedman Graham have been together since 1986, and were briefly engaged in 1992 before deciding that marriage simply wasn’t for them. Speaking to Vogue in 2017, Oprah said clearly: “No one believes it, but it’s the truth. The only time I brought this up was when I said to Steadman: What would have happened if we had actually gotten married? And the answer is: “We will not be together.”” She said she appreciated him “Allowing me to be what I want to be in the world.” At the 1998 Emmy Awards, she told him from the stage: “Steadman, you are the kindest man, with the greatest integrity. Thank you for helping me be all that I am, and all that is to come.”

Sam Rockwell and Leslie Bibb met at Chateau Marmont in 2007, and according to Bibb, she told him she loved him about three weeks after their first date. When Rockwell won an Oscar for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, he kept his speech short and to the point: “My darling Leslie Bibb – light the fire, darling. I love you.” Rockwell told The Standard that both are “Basically married” addition, “It is in my will. I feel like we’re married. We live like a married couple. She is very nice to me and takes care of me.”

Rose Byrne and Bobby Cannavale were introduced by mutual friends in 2012, and they have since welcomed two sons together. Cannavale told Vulture in 2020 that the two refer to each other as husband and wife because “I hate all the other words. Boyfriend and girlfriend feel small. The partner feels extremely infertile.” As for why they never officially announced it, Byrne told the Sydney Morning Herald in 2021, “I keep saying, “Let’s get to it, let’s do it.” And then, you know, you have a baby, and after that, there’s another baby. It was like that for us.” The couple made headlines during Byrne’s awards season in early 2026 when she revealed at the Golden Globe Awards that Cannavale was unable to attend due to… “We’re getting a bearded dragon, and he went to the reptile show in New Jersey.” She later explained to the New York Times, “Never in my life will I announce something like this at a major awards ceremony again. It’s not for Bobby. It’s for our children.”

Sarah Paulson and Holland Taylor, who are 32 years apart, met at a party in 2005 but didn’t start dating until 2015. Taylor addressed the age gap with characteristic wit, telling WNYC: “There is a very big age difference between us which I’m sure shocks a lot of people, and amazes me. But as they say: “If it dies, it dies.”” Paulson took the matter more seriously in a 2018 interview with Town & Country, saying: “Our relationship represents a certain amount of hope and risk. Maybe there’s something brave about it. Maybe it encourages others to make brave choices.” Regarding marriage, Taylor simply said in 2024, “We never talked about it with any interest. It doesn’t seem to mean to us what it means to a lot of people.”

Together since 2011, Winona Ryder and fashion designer Scott McKinlay Hahn have kept their relationship almost entirely private. Ryder shared the story of how they met in a 2022 interview with Harper’s Bazaar, revealing that Hahn initially thought she was Milla Jovovich and told her she was. “Great in “The Fifth Element”.” After they cleared up the confusion, she said: “We connected on so many levels.” Regarding marriage, Ryder said in 2016, “I would rather never get married than get divorced several times. When your parents have been madly in love for 45 years, your standards are really high.”

Enrique Iglesias and Anna Kournikova met in 2001 while filming his “Escape” music video, and have been together ever since, welcoming twins in 2017, a daughter in 2020, and a fourth child, son Romeo, in late 2025. Iglesias told People magazine in 2023 that the video changed his life. “In ways I didn’t even think of,” addition, “When we met, even though she came from the sports world, we got each other. We just started communicating little by little and became stronger and stronger and stronger.” He said about marriage to Parade in 2012: “I never thought marriage would make a difference. I don’t think you love someone more because of a piece of paper.”

Ricky Gervais and Jane Fallon have been together since 1982, when they met as students at University College London long before either of them became famous. Gervais told The Times in 2010, “We are married for all intents and purposes. It’s all in common and in fact our fake marriage lasted longer than the real one.” Fallon echoed these sentiments to the Daily Mail in 2018, simply saying, “We’re not married because neither of us is upset. If either of us were really interested, we probably would have done it, but it wasn’t really anything either of us really needed.”

Paul Dano and Zoe Kazan have been together since 2007, when they met while performing in an off-Broadway play. They’ve collaborated on several films together, including “Ruby Sparks,” which Kazan wrote, and “Wildlife,” which Dano directed. In a joint interview with The Guardian in 2018, the two gave a rare glimpse into how they work as a couple. “Obviously we get along and like each other” Dano said. “But Zoe is fast and I am slow.” Kazan replied: “I love running to the ocean, and he loves watching me run.”

Jason Statham and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley met at an industry party in London in 2009, and Huntington-Whiteley described the meeting as… “Instant chemistry.” They got engaged in 2016 and welcomed two children together. Regarding why they are not married yet, Huntington-Whiteley told an interviewer in 2018: “It’s not a big priority for us, we’re very happy. I think it would be fun to do this when the child is a little older and can participate in the wedding.”