Celebs Who Got Married Later In Life

For us mere mortals, celebrities can often be a triggering source of comparison. It's difficult to feel good about your life when the people you idolize seem to be doing so much better. But on the flip side, celebrities also have the power to help us feel better about our situations when they tread familiar waters. Particularly when it comes to feeling behind in the world of romance because you aren't married by whatever age society has deemed appropriate for you, it can help to know that some of the world's most famous faces have gone through the same thing. And more than that, the stars who married later have proven that it's never too late to find your soulmate and take that long walk down the aisle — if that's what a happy ending looks like for you. After all, there are some amazing upsides to being single in your 30s, including the unparalleled freedom to live life on your terms. 

As we can see from data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau, the average age to get married has steadily risen since the 1950s, sitting at approximately 31 for men and 29 for women as of 2024. Interestingly, 2022 data chronicled by The Wall Street Journal showed that mid-life marriages were also becoming increasingly popular, with a growing number of people in their 40s and 50s tying the knot for the first time. While these figures can indicate marriage trends and patterns for many people, they're by no means a guaranteed template for happiness. A-listers from Amal Clooney to Cameron Diaz have revealed that the ideal time to get married is when you've found your person — and there's no age limit. 

One of the most famous examples of a couple who tied the knot later than average is the Sussexes. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, got married in a fairy-tale royal-wedding ceremony in 2018 when Meghan was 36 and Harry was 33. They wed after around two years of dating — with a few months just to themselves before the world caught on — but Meghan was clear in her engagement interview with the BBC that it wasn't a "whirlwind" romance. "I don't think that I would call it a whirlwind in terms of our relationship," she said. "Obviously there have been layers attached to how public it has become after we had a good five, six months almost with just privacy, which was amazing." 

Her union with Prince Harry was Meghan's second marriage, as she was previously wed to producer Trevor Engelson from 2011 to 2013. The couple's nuptials took place when Meghan was around 30, though they'd been dating for around seven years before that. The duchess has remained tight-lipped surrounding what went down with her first husband, though differing work commitments are typically considered the primary reason for their split. So, while Meghan doesn't technically fall into the category of celebrities who married for the first time later in life, she is a shining example that you might not meet your Prince Charming until your mid-to-late 30s. Even though Prince Harry and Meghan Markle appear to have some red flags in their marriage, they're still proof that anything can happen.

Cameron Diaz was one of the most sought-after A-listers in the '90s and noughties, with projects like "Charlies Angels," "The Holiday," and "There's Something About Mary" under her belt. In 2014, she retired from acting to focus on herself and her relationship, and the following year, she got married for the first time at 42. 

In 2017, Diaz reflected on the decision to wait until her 40s to marry Benji Madden of the rock band Good Charlotte after being asked about the perceived delay at the In Goop Health wellness summit — proof that even movie stars are held to the same societal standards as us. "I think it's a matter of I just hadn't met my husband," she explained (via People). "I had boyfriends before, and there's a really, really distinct difference between husbands and boyfriends." The "Shrek" actor went on to reveal that Madden is the ultimate partner who supports her, treats her like an equal, inspires her, and, most importantly, encourages her to be herself. Definitely worth waiting for!

In December 2019, Diaz and Madden welcomed their first child, a daughter named Raddix Chloe Wildflower Madden. Then, in March 2024, they welcomed a son, Cardinal Madden. Having her second child at 52, Diaz has been open about the unique challenges that come with being an older mom. "The women who have children my age are like, literally 20 years younger and that's an interesting place to be because I'm not that age," Diaz told "RuPaul's Drag Race" judge Michelle Visage for BBC Radio 2 in March 2022. "And that's totally okay. But I want to feel vital like that for my child." Earlier in 2020, when Raddix was less than a year old, Diaz noted in an interview with Naomi Campbell that she was feeling the pressure to live longer, so she could be there for her kids for as long as possible (via InStyle).

When it comes to Hollywood bachelors of the noughties, none was more in demand than George Clooney. Despite the glaring double standards — that Clooney was deemed a silver fox and considered increasingly attractive as he remained single and divorced, while women in Hollywood are typically shamed for the same — the tsunami of attention that followed Clooney's love life was hard to ignore. The "Oceans 11" actor broke hearts all over the world when he married the intelligent, beautiful, and inspiring human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin in Venice, Italy, in 2014. 

At the time, George was 53, while Amal was 36, and they'd known each other for around 14 months before getting hitched. "I knew fairly quickly that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Amal," George shared on CBS This Morning (via People). "When I asked her, we had never talked about it. There wasn't like, 'Maybe we should get married.' I dropped it on her ... I have someone ... who I care about more than I've cared about anything, so it's really nice."

Meanwhile, Amal Clooney, whose dress-and-coat combos give us so much cold-weather fashion inspiration, admitted that she had all but given up on the idea of love before she met George. "I met George when I was 35 and starting to become quite resigned to the idea that I was going to be a spinster," she said during a 2018 speech at the American Film Institute's 46th Life Achievement Award Gala Tribute to George Clooney (via Harper's Bazaar). That year, she also opened up to Vogue about how she was never going to settle for anything less than true love: "I always hoped there could be love that was overwhelming and didn't require any weighing or decision-making ... It wasn't obvious that it was going to happen for me. And I wasn't willing or excited about the idea of getting married or having a family in the absence of that." Today, George and Amal happily share twins Ella and Alexander, who were born in 2017.

Keith Urban achieved career success in the early '90s with the release of his self-titled album "Keith," which paved the way to his country music stardom. He was about 24 years old at the time, but it took him considerably longer to find his romantic happily ever after. He didn't get married until 2006 when he was nearly 40, and tied the knot with the love of his life Nicole Kidman, who is just four months older. The pair of Aussies (though Urban was born in New Zealand and Kidman in Hawaii) celebrated their nuptials in Sydney, where Kidman's father walked her down the aisle and Urban sang an original song dedicated to his bride during the reception.

Two years later, Urban and Kidman welcomed a daughter, Sunday Rose, in Nashville, followed by a second child in 2010 called Faith Margaret. Kidman had previously been married to Tom Cruise, whom she wed in a Christmas Eve ceremony in 1990, when she around 23. The exes share two adopted children, Isabella Jane and Connor, and Isabella was reportedly part of Kidman's later wedding to Urban. Kidman is said to have left the Church of Scientology — of which Cruise is a well-known member — in 1997, and divorce followed in 2001. By comparison, Urban had never been married before his Sydney wedding to Kidman. Despite some apparent red flags in Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban's relationship, the two appear to still be going strong nearly 20 years later.

In 2016, Kidman opened up about being an "older mother" to CBS News and became emotional at the thought of not being there for her kids. "I would just like to — it makes me sad — I would just like to be here long enough to have my children grow up and for me to see them thriving," she said. "Right? So that's all I ask. And that my husband and I are with each other. Simple! Simple requests."

In what was one of the most talked-about weddings of the year (sorry, Kim!), Kourtney Kardashian married Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker in May 2022. The pair officially tied the knot at a Los Angeles courthouse before heading to Portofino, Italy, where they had a stunning affair dripping, as you do, in Dolce & Gabbana. At the time, Kourtney was 43, while Travis was 46. They'd also performed a "practice" ceremony in Las Vegas that April, minus one marriage license and plus one Elvis impersonator. 

Kourtney had previously been with long-term partner Scott Disick after the pair met in 2006 and dated sporadically until 2015, welcoming children Mason in 2009, Penelope in 2012, and Reign in 2014. Disick had reportedly considered proposing to Kourtney, but a 2011 episode of "Kourtney and Kim Take New York" revealed that Kourtney was happy to remain legally unbound to Disick at the time. "Things are so good now and we have finally come to this place, why would we want to change that," she explained in the Season 1 finale. "I just feel like right now I'm pretty happy with the way things are." 

In a 2023 episode of Hulu's "The Kardashians," Kourtney opened up about the problems that she and Barker were having conceiving, explaining that her frozen eggs hadn't survived. But she made it clear that she had no regrets about not trying to have a baby with Travis sooner. "Whatever's meant to be ... Being happy is most important, and being a good parent to my kids," she noted. Fast-forward to November 2023, and the couple welcomed their first child together, Rocky Thirteen Barker.