14 Stars Who Were Initially Opposed to Marriage & Where They Stand Now

Whether they were standing up for gay rights or worried about losing the spark, these famous pairs vowed not to exchange vows (but here's what really happened)

01 of 18

CAMERON DIAZ

CAMERON DIAZ
Steve Granitz/WireImage

Despite telling Esquire she had become more open when it came to tying the knot in 2012, the actress-turned-author claimed her views on marriage remained constant for most of her life. "It just wasn't the thing I was drawn to," Diaz told the magazine. "I certainly didn't want it in my 20s. Or my 30s."

02 of 18

AND … ?

CAMERON DIAZ
Ramey

When you know, you know. That's what Diaz kept hearing time and time again – but it wasn't until she met now-husband Benji Madden that the star considered marriage. "You realize like, 'Oh right, this is what the real thing is, this is what real love is and this is what commitment and devotion is,' " she recently told Andy Cohen. "This is the person that you build your life with, and for me, it's like the rest of everything else just kind of like dissolves." The pair tied the knot in January 2015, (three months after getting engaged) in an intimate ceremony in their living room.

03 of 18

GEORGE CLOONEY

GEORGE CLOONEY
Michael Rozman / Warner Bros.

Known as the eternal bachelor, Clooney had previously stated he wasn't preoccupied with getting hitched – even though he was once married in the early '90s. "Marriage? Who knows? I've been married," he told PEOPLE in 2006, the same year he was crowned Sexiest Man Alive. "It's not something I'm looking out for. Things could always change, but it's not a consideration right now."

04 of 18

AND … ?

AND ?
Mike Coppola/Getty

But the actor's ambivalence soon dissolved upon meeting his now-wife, human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin. The two wed in Venice, Italy in September 2014 in front of 100 guests. "It's a humbling thing when you find someone to love," Clooney said while accepting the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 2014 Golden Globes. "Even better when you've been waiting your whole life, and when your whole life is 53 years … Amal, whatever alchemy it is that brought us together, I couldn't be more proud to be your husband."

05 of 18

LENA DUNHAM & JACK ANTONOFF

LENA DUNHAM & JACK ANTONOFF
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

When the Girls actress appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show recently, she insisted she won't marry her rocker boyfriend of three years until gay marriage becomes legal in all 50 states. "The idea of having a celebration that can't be fully shared among all the people in my life and all the people that we love just doesn't really feel like a celebration at all," she said, echoing those who've gone before her.

06 of 18

AND …?

AND ?
Jamie McCarthy/Getty

That following June, the Supreme Court reached a landmark decision that legalized same-sex marriage in all 50 states. The news prompted Dunham to tweet Antonoff, hinting at a future engagement: "Get on it, yo." Your move, sir.

07 of 18

KRISTEN BELL & DAX SHEPARD

KRISTEN BELL & DAX SHEPARD
Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard. John Sciulli/Getty

Bell and Shepard famously said they wouldn't get married until same-sex marriage was legal in California. "We wouldn't want to invite all of our friends who don't have that right to celebrate us, who have that right. We just don't feel right about that," the actor explained on The View.

08 of 18

AND …?

AND ?
Kevin Winter/Getty

The two tied the knot in 2013, after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned D.O.M.A. and Proposition 8 was scrapped in California. Shepard Tweeted, "Let's bring my big, gay marriage to [Kristen] to Life!!!"

09 of 18

BRAD PITT & ANGELINA JOLIE

BRAD PITT & ANGELINA JOLIE
Steve Granitz/WireImage

Pitt and Jolie made an even harder promise to keep: "Angie and I will consider tying the knot when everyone else in the country who wants to be married is legally able," he told Esquire in 2006.

10 of 18

AND …?

AND ?
FameFlynet

Brangelina wed in 2014. What changed? A lot. "The kids are putting on the heat. They really are," Pitt shared on Ellen in 2011. The next year, he reiterated that fact to PEOPLE: "I am getting more pressure from my kids, and it is something I want to do within their lifetime … The time is nigh. It's soon. I got a good feeling about it."

11 of 18

HOWARD STERN & BETH OSTROSKY

HOWARD STERN & BETH OSTROSKY
Kevin Mazur/WireImage

For years, the shock jock said he wouldn't marry his longtime girlfriend out of fear that the marriage would dull the couple's spark. "We're very happy, and I don't want to f– it up," he explained in 2006.

12 of 18

AND …?

AND ?
Desiree Navarro/WireImage

As Joan Rivers, Barbara Walters, Billy Joel and Jimmy Kimmel looked on, the Sterns were married by Kelly Ripa's husband Mark Consuelos in 2008 at N.Y.C.'s Le Cirque. And Stern didn't f– it up, as predicted – the two are still together.

13 of 18

RICKY MARTIN & CARLOS GONZéLEZ

RICKY MARTIN & CARLOS GONZéLEZ
Ordonez/Adao/INF

When asked about his plans to marry his partner of three years in 2010, Martin insisted he wanted to wait until they could legally marry in his birthplace, Puerto Rico. "Unfortunately, we don't have the option of marriage in our country. We could go to Britain or Spain or Argentina and do something beautifully symbolic, but that's not what I want," he told Attitude.

14 of 18

AND …?

AND ?
Michael Tran/FilmMagic

The relationship didn't survive the wait: Martin and Gonzélez split in 2014.

15 of 18

JODIE SWEETIN & MORTY COYLE

JODIE SWEETIN & MORTY COYLE
Beck Starr/FilmMagic

After the Full House star got engaged to then-boyfriend Coyle at her 29th birthday party, he said, "We want to wait until there's equality for everybody to get married."

16 of 18

AND …?

AND ?
Tibrina Hobson/FilmMagic

Following a secret wedding in 2012, Sweetin filed for divorce (her third) in 2013, citing irreconcilable differences.

17 of 18

DIANE KRUGER & JOSHUA JACKSON

DIANE KRUGER & JOSHUA JACKSON
Walter McBride/Getty

Despite being together for over a decade – the actors got together in 2006 – Kruger (who was previously married once before) and Jackson have no intentions of heading to the altar anytime soon. "I can tell you why we're not married: We're not religious. I don't feel any more or less committed to Diane for not having stood in front of a priest and had a giant party," Jackson told Glamour in 2014. "We're both children of divorce, so it's hard for me to take marriage at face value as the thing that shows you've grown up and are committed to another person. But it may change at some point. We may get married."

18 of 18

AND … ?

AND ?
Ethan Miller/Getty

While the couple remain together, there are still no signs of marriage – yet. "Welcome to my dilemma!" Kruger told Net-a-Porter's The Edit in a March interview, when asked about making things official with her longtime beau. The actress did, however, make a significant decision that impacted the duo's relationship – moving to New York City to live with Jackson.

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