5 Celebrity Couples Who Never Plan To Get Married

There have always been people who buck tradition and live life on their own terms, and as more time passes, society seems to be loosening its grip on certain cultural norms — like the need for long-term relationships to come with wedding rings. These days, it's not unusual for couples to cohabitate without getting married. While some people might just be waiting for the right moment (there are certain signs you're finally ready to get married, after all), others are happy to keep enjoying their romances without the need for official paperwork.

Naturally, this includes celebrities. Some of our favorite stars have committed to serious relationships without walking down the aisle — and evidently intend to keep it that way. From Anna Kournikova and Enrique Iglesias to long-time lovers Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn, some major celebrity couples never plan to get married.

We don't know too much about tennis star Anna Kournikova's super-private relationship with pop sensation Enrique Iglesias, but we do know this: Marriage doesn't factor into their long-term plans. The couple first met while filming the music video for Iglesias' hit "Escape" back in 2001 and quickly became inseparable. Though they've occasionally sparked engagement rumors and have welcomed three children into the mix, there are no wedding plans in the works — and it seems like there never will be.

Apparently, Kournikova put the kibosh on wedding vows early in the relationship. As she bluntly told People in 2008, "I'm never getting married." And while Iglesias fought back for a little while, angling for that forever promise, he eventually came around to Kournikova's way of thinking. As the "Hero" singer told Parade Pets in 2012, "I've never really thought marriage would make a difference. Maybe it's because I come from divorced parents, but I don't think you love someone more because of a piece of paper."

Courteney Cox is no stranger to the institution of marriage. She was wedded to fellow actor David Arquette from 1999 to 2012, and the two share a daughter, Coco Arquette, who's gone through a stunning style transformation as she's grown up. But while Cox's divorce was relatively amicable and she remains friendly with her ex and co-parent, it seems the "Friends" star is in no rush to tie the knot with her current beau, Snow Patrol band member Johnny McDaid.

The pair first met when McDaid attended a party at Cox's house in 2013. They soon started dating and even got engaged in February 2014. However, that engagement never culminated in a wedding. Instead, Cox and McDaid split up in December 2015 — a move that effectively nixed their nuptials, though Cox and McDaid rekindled their romance in May 2016. "Everything's new," Cox said of their revived relationship on an episode of "Running Wild with Bear Grylls" (via E! News). "And we have both really worked on ourselves on the parts that needed the most attention. And it feels really different."

Whatever the duo changed in those few months apart, it seems to have made all the difference, as they've been together ever since. But while years have gone by, there's notably been no new talk of marriage. "I'm definitely not opposed to it," Cox confessed to People in 2022, but it seems like there's no plan to move in that direction. As Cox added, "I just don't think about it." Marriage doesn't seem to be a priority for McDaid, either. "I don't know if you can put a label on what makes us work," the musician told People in 2016. "But I know that I've never loved like I love this woman, so if that's enough, then that's enough."

"Stranger Things" and "Beetlejuice" star Winona Ryder has been dating fashion designer Scott Mackinlay Hahn since 2011, but it seems doubtful that the couple will ever make things government official — in part because of Ryder's high standards and complex feelings about marriage. "Marriage? I don't know," Ryder told Net-A-Porter in 2016. "I'd rather never have been married than been divorced a few times. Not that there's anything wrong with divorce, but I don't think I could do it if that was a possibility. When your parents are madly in love for 45 years, your standards are really high."

It's worth noting that Ryder was affianced to Johnny Depp from 1990 to 1993, though it apparently ended disastrously. "I was very depressed after breaking off my engagement with Johnny," she told Cinema.com back in 2001. "I was embarrassingly dramatic at the time, but you have to remember I was only 19 years old."

It seems like this experience may have left a bad taste in Ryder's mouth as far as marriage goes. That said, it also seems like she and Hahn don't need a ceremony to justify their relationship. Still going strong after nearly a decade and a half, Ryder and Hahn only have loving things to say about one another. In 2024, Ryder told Harper's Bazaar, "He's so great. He really is. I'm really lucky."

Ricky Gervais, acclaimed British comedian and one of the minds behind "The Office," has been with his love for more than 40 years. He met author and former TV producer Jane Fallon when they were both still students at University College London, and the rest was history. They've lived together since 1984, back when they could only afford a shady apartment that shared a bathroom with other residents. But despite sticking together through thick and thin, Fallon and Gervais have never entertained the idea of marriage.

As Fallon told the Daily Mail in 2018, wedding bells simply aren't a priority for the couple: "We're not married because neither of [us] are fussed. I think if one of us really cared then we would probably do it but it's not really been anything that either of us have ever really needed." Gervais expressed similar sentiments to The Times in 2010, saying, "We are married for all intents and purposes, everything's shared and actually our fake marriage has lasted longer than a real one."

Together since 1983, actors Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn are definitely couple goals, even though they've never shown any interest in tying the knot. "For people like us, the marriage certificate wasn't going to create anything that otherwise we wouldn't have," Russell told People in 2020. Hawn added in the same interview, "It's not about the marriage. It's about the people and the relationship, and the will to stay together."

They know of what they speak, with both stars having been married before. Kurt Russell had been wedded to "Escape from New York" co-star Season Hubley in the early 1980s. As for Hawn, the "Private Benjamin" actor was actually married twice before she settled down with Russell — for four years to performer Gus Triskonis and for six years to musician Bill Hudson, with whom she had two children: son Oliver and famed daughter Kate Hudson.

It's tough to work through the grieving process of a divorce, and living through the fallout of multiple splits evidently convinced Hawn and Russell to avoid another marriage. Instead, they actively choose to stay committed to each other year after year. As Hawn said on "Who's Talking to Chris Wallace" in 2023, "I like the idea that I can wake up in the morning and make decisions every day if I want to be here."

This intentional approach clearly hasn't dampened the romance in their relationship. In 2021, Hawn posted a birthday tribute to her beau on Instagram, writing, "What a wild ride. No, we never got married, but one thing that continues to grow is our love. ... I can't imagine my life without you at any age, Kurt Russell. You're the catch. And you're all mine." This just goes to show that marriage isn't the end-all, be-all. In fact, some stars aren't that concerned with romance in general, as shown by all the big-name celebrities who have embraced being single.