Hugh Grant
When British actor Hugh Grant was called for the role of the romantic gentleman Daniel Cleaver in the Bridget Jones franchise, everybody felt it was the perfect role for him. After all, far from being the typicial womanizer, Hugh had been married to the same woman for nearly 15 years!
However, Hugh eventually broke up with his wife, Elizabeth Hurley, and ever since then, his love life has been under the public eye. Ever since his divorce, he's dated many women and hasn't had any real long-term relationship. In fact, he once confessed that he didn't see himself being with the same person for more than a decade. Nowadays, he believes that the traditional idea of marriage is unromantic and impossible to put into practice. Up next, another famous celebrity who's views on marriage have radically changed over the years!
Hugh Hefner
If there were such thing as the "King of open relationships", then the title should definitely go to the founder and editor of the Playboy magazine, Hugh Hefner. Hefner not only dated dozens of women throughout his life, but he even dated more than one at a time!
In fact, did you know he once maintained a relationship with 7 women at the same time? Towards the end of his life, he married Crystal Harris and spent his final days with her. Nowadays, his name and brand are a legend and we could even say he's a cultural icon. Keep on reading to find out which other actor shares Hefner's philosophy.
Cameron Diaz
Cameron Diaz is a strong, independent, and successful woman. She started her acting career at a very young age, but she recently decided to retire and enjoy some quality time with her husband Benji Madden and their little daughter Raddix. However, when Cameron was in her early 30s, little did she imagine she would end up being a mother and wife.
In the past, Cameron declared many times that she was OK with not being a mother and that she didn't feel it was a life goal that she needed to achieve. Also, the actress once said that she felt monogamy wasn't natural, or at least that she didn't see herself in a monogamous relationship for her whole life. But destiny had other plans, and now she's a proud mother and she's happily married!
Scarlett Johansson
If we were to name a strong and powerful female celebrity from this era, Scarlett Johansson would definitely come to mind. The actress has been very supportive of the women’s rights movement and she often speaks out against gender violence and unequal pay. But what are her views regarding love and monogamy?
For Scarlett, the idea of a monogamous marriage may sound very romantic, but it's actually unnatural for someone to be with the person forever. She also said that even though she respects people who practice monogamy, she doesn't see herself in such a a relationship. But love works in mysterious ways, and to everyone's surprise, the actress recently got married and had children. Who would've thought?
Emma Thompson
Oscar-winning Emma Thompson has a long and fruitful acting career and nowadays she’s considered as one of the best actresses from the industry. Emma’s love life has been on the radar ever since the early 90s, when she married actor and director Kenneth Branagh. However, after many rumors of affairs, Thompson decided to file for divorce.
Emma found love again after meeting Greg Wise and the couple has been together since 1995. When Emma was in her late 30s, they had two children, but a couple of years later, they adopted a third child, a Rwandan former child soldier. Even though the two are still married, Emma has declared in several interviews that monogamy is an odd state to be in and that changing boyfriends should be as easy as changing clothes.
Ethan Hawke
At the end of the ‘90s, Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman were one of the most beautiful and successful Hollywood couples, and they even had two children together: Maya and Levon. Unfortunately, their marriage didn’t last and the couple split after word came out that Hawke had been unfaithful.
The actor tried to fix his public image and denied the accusations of infidelity. In June 2008, Ethan got married to Ryan Shawhughes and they've been together ever since. However, Hawke once said in an interview that fidelity is overrated and that it shouldn't be regarded as the most important thing in a relationship. Do you agree with his views?
Charlie Sheen
American actor Charlie Sheen is most famous for playing the role of Charlie Harper in the Warner TV series Two And A Half Men. Charlie’s private life has been under the public eye for many years, though not for the best reasons (let's not get into details). The actor got married three times and he has 5 children and one grandchild.
Charlie believes that monogamy is a social mandate imposed on society, but it's a mandate impossible to carry out. As regards his love life, he has recently decided to focus on his acting career rather than commit with just one person. He is a loving father though, we'll give him that!
Tilda Swinton
Could you imagine living with your current lover and your ex in the same building? For the majority of people, this could be insane and impossible, but for British actress Tilda Swinton, this is nothing but normal! Nowadays, Tilda lives in a house in Scotland with her two twins, Xavier and Honor; with the kids' father, John Byrne; and finally, with her actual boyfriend Sandro Kropp!
How does Tilda cope with this? Well, the British actress has declared that when it comes to families, there isn't only one "right" or "sane" arrangement. In fact, she doesn't consider living with her boyfriend and ex-husband as an "unconventional arrangement". To the very contrary, she's happy with how things are going, since they all get along well and her kids enjoy living with both their parents. Well, as long as it works for them!
Sienna Miller
Sienna Miller and actor Jude Law fell in love on the set of Alfie, and they soon began dating off-screen. When word came out, the couple became the talk of the town. Therefore, the world was shook when Law publicly confessed that he had cheated on Sienna with their children's nanny. In 2011, and after many ups and downs, the couple finally decided to break up.
We're not sure if this traumatic experience helped change Sienna’s perspective on love, relationships and marriage, but the thing is that she recently told Rolling Stone that monogamy is an overrated virtue and that it's unnatural for human beings to be monogamous. She came down to earth with a bump after the whole cheating scandal, and I'm pretty sure that shaped her views.
Jada Pinkett Smith
Jada Pinkett and Will Smith are one of our favorite Hollywood couples and they've been together for ages. But what's their secret? According to Jada herself, the secret lies on having an open marriage and being honest to each other. Actually, they don't really date other people (they're not that open), but they don't hide their feelings to each other.
According to the actress, she really wouldn't mind if her husband felt attracted to other women, because that's something that you just can't help. In her view, if you feel attracted to someone other than your life partner, it doesn't necessarily mean you don't love him (or her)! She also said that her views on love and relationships have shaped the way their children, Jaden and Willow, think and feel.
Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton is the queen of country music, and she has been in the industry for more than 50 years. But this is not all! Today, she's also well-known and accomplished actress, songwriter, and record producer. It's safe to say that Dolly’s love life is just as successful as her professional life, as she has been married to Carl Dean since 1966. Let's see what their secret is!
For Dolly, there’s no other man in the world like Carl, but she doesn't hide the fact that she's had many lovers throughout her life. The craziest part is that Carl knows about it! The thing is, the two love each other so much that they don't feel insecure if the other one sleeps with someone else. In 2016, the couple renewed their vows, celebrating their 50-year relationship. Wow!
Gwyneth Paltrow
Gwyneth Paltrow is a very talented American actress and food writer who nowadays she's one of the greatest influencers in the world. Gwyneth married Coldplay singer Chris Martin in 2003 and they've had two children together: Apple and Moses. They looked so great together, that fans were devastated when they announced they were breaking up. What happened to the power couple?
Apparently, Gwyneth was the one who asked for divorce, and when asked about the reasons behind her decision, she claimed she needed time for her own and that it wasn't anybody's fault. The actress also said that being unfaithful isn't so terrible and that she'd forgive her couple if she found out about an affair. In 2018, Gwyneth married again, this time to Brad Falchuk, and it seems they get each other!
Shailene Woodley
Divergent star Shailene Woodley caught everyone’s attention when she told Marie Claire live in an interview that she didn’t believe in monogamy. Shailene thinks there's no way that she'll spend the rest of her life with only one person. Monogamy just doesn't work for her!
Shailene also declared that when it comes to falling in love, she doesn't care about the other person's gender, but about their personality. Apparently, she finds that monogamy and long-term relationships are too old school and that if she's single for the rest of her life, it's only because she chooses to live that way.
Alan Cumming
Another famous actor who decides to leave prejudices aside and follow his heart is Scottish-American actor Alan Cumming. As he confessed on numerous occasions, the actor is comfortable with dating women and men equally because he doesn't really care about people's gender. He considers himself a pansexual, meaning he falls in love with someone because of their personality, regardless of their sex or gender.
Unlike most men of his age, Alan has been very open to exploring his sexuality and has been involved in different types of relationships. He also said he doesn't really care about gender roles nor what people expect of him as a middle-aged man. Oh, and he also said he doesn't feel comfortable with the idea of monogamy, but that he respects people who practice it.
Sidney Hicks And Mo’Nique
Film producer Sidney Hicks and actress Mo’Nique are one of Hollywood's most famous (and talented!) couples out there. They've been together since 2006 and they have twins: Jonathan and David. The actress believes that the secret behind their marriage is being honest to each other and communicating their feelings and desires.
Mo’Onique once said that they don't keep any secrets from each other and that they even tell other the people they sleep with. In fact, the actress once told The New York Times that they have an open marriage. > “We have an agreement that we’ll always be honest and if sex happens with another person, that's not a deal-breaker for us”, she said.
Shirley MacLaine
As the years go by, it's more and more common to meet people who have open marriages or non-monogamous relationships. However, back in the ’50, this was something unthinkable. Therefore, when Shirley MacLaine revealed that she and her former husband Steve Parker had an open relationship, everyone thought she was crazy.
In a live interview with Oprah, Shirley declared that whenever her husband traveled to Japan for work and she stayed in America, they would both sleep with other people. In fact, Shirley even confessed that she felt attracted to many actors and directors she worked with. However, they were both fine with such a dynamic. We can say that Shirley and Steve were ahead of their time!
Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg is one of Hollywood's most beloved and talented actresses and she’s also considered one of the best comedians of all time. Whoopi’s love life has been in the radar since she was a teenager, given the fact that she had her first and only daughter, Alexandrea Martin, at a very young age. She also married three different men, and all the marriages ended in a divorce.
After all the breakups and divorces, Whoopi has come to believe that she doesn’t need a partner and that she doesn't want to get married again. The actress believes that today's women are actual heroes as many of them have come to understand that they don’t need men to support them. In an interview, she declared that she is her own orange. I love that philosophy, Whoopi!
Tom Ford
Tom Ford is one of the most successful fashion designers of all time and he is married to Richard Buckley, the former editor-in-chief of Vogue. Both of them share the same passion for fashion and they have a loving relationship. The couple adopted a child called Alexander.
Richard is close friends with his husband's former lover, Ian Falconer, but Tom doesn't mind it at all. As Tom said in multiple interviews, Ian was his first love and they dated when they were still teens, but a lot of water has flowed under the bridge ever since then. Not only are Tom and his ex friends, but they've also worked together on a couple of projects, including the famous children's book Olivia the Pig.
Maria Bello
Maria Bello is well-known for her performances in films like The Jane Austen Book Club, Lights Out and Giant Little Ones. Maria was married to Dan McDermott, with whom she had a son, but they got divorced. In 2013, she surprised the world after revealing she was in a same-sex relationship with Clare Munn.
Maria also published the book Whatever…Love Is Love: Questioning The Labels We Give Ourselves, where she came out as a pansexual, meaning she's attracted to someone's personality instead of their gender. Nowadays, she is engaged to chef Dominique Crenn and it seems that she doesn’t care about what other people have to say about her love life. Oh, and she doesn't feel comfortable with monogamy either!
Margaret Cho
Margaret Cho is a very famous actress and fashion designer. She was married for many years to artist Al Ridenour, and the actress declared that they had a very traditional and conventional marriage. But what changed?
The couple divorced in 2014, and ever since then, Margaret has begun experimenting with open relationships and changing her views on monogamy. Nowadays, she declares herself as a pansexual and she even had a few polyamorous relationships, thus rejecting the idea of sticking to only one person.