We’re always hearing about Hollywood marriages falling apart before they’ve really begun. I measure Hollywood marriages in dog years and, even at that, many are shockingly short-lived. In some cases, the couples seem so mismatched that we wonder what they were thinking getting hitched in the first place. Every once in a while, though, we get surprised. Here are three Hollywood couples who have made it safely past their tenth anniversary (and one that just might), in chronological order.
Warren Beatty and Annette Bening (Married 19 years)
Warren Beatty was well-known for being a lothario and commitment-phobe. When he married a pregnant Annette Bening in 1992, few thought that it would last. Here we are, nearly 20 years (and 4 kids) later, and they are still going strong! Bening has said, on Beatty’s past “You can’t expect to take away his past. You have to know it and respect it…Whatever got him to where he is now is fine with me.” It seems to be working for them!
Céline Dion & René Angelil (Married 16 years)
An age difference, in itself, isn’t cause to cringe, but the ick-factor on this partnership is pretty huge. Céline Dion met René Angelil in 1980, when she was 12 and he was 38. Dion and her mother sent him, a prospective manager, a demo tape. Yes, he began as her manager when she was a teenager. They began dating in 1987 (for those keeping score at home, that makes her 19 and him 45), got engaged in 1991 and married in 1994 (she was 26, he was just shy of 53). How a grown man marries a woman he has known since age 12 is beyond me. In fact, his first child was born the same year as Dion. However, they’ve stayed married a good long time, and just welcomed twins — their second and third children. Maybe their hearts really will go on. [Editor's note: We do not condone this cheesy pun]
Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas (Married 14 years)
Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas were both married to other people when they met on the set of Two Much in 1995. When they got together, Griffith had been going through public relationship and rehab drama with Don Johnson. She was seen as a bit of a mess, while Banderas was a brand-new star, having hit it big with Desperado the year before. They each got a divorce, and married in May 1996, three months after Griffith’s divorce from Don Johnson was final. Their daughter Stella was born in September of that year. They seemed wildly mismatched, and few thought it would last. However, they’ve made it nearly a
decade and a half, and we’re not hearing about trouble in the tabloids. Maybe these crazy kids can make it work!
And one to grow on…
Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore (5 years)
Although they have only been married a little over 5 years, this marriage has already made it longer than most thought it would. In 2005, actress Demi Moore wed actor Ashton Kutcher in a Kabbalah ceremony after dating for two years. Moore was a well-known actress, and was also known for having been married to Bruce Willis and having 3 children with him. Kutcher was known as the dumb kid from That 70s Show. It seemed like a May/December fling, and nobody expected them to get married. One they were, I don’t think any of us expected them to make it 5 years without significant tabloid fodder. Every once in a while, we hear a rumor of an affair or an open marriage, but these rumors never seem to come to anything. You never know what the future will bring, but we’re pulling for you!
So, you see, Hollywood marriages can work. I’m not sure what these couples are doing, but they’re doing it right. I might even be able to stop counting these marriages in dog years…but I don’t want to jinx anything.
