For many, when it comes to marriage, there’s a ticking time clock. If they don’t walk down the aisle by their 30s, it suddenly means shame and failure. However, the reality is age doesn’t have a number and young marriages don’t mean they’ll last the test of time. This is especially true for celebrities, as they seem to be getting married young and divorced fast. We’ve compiled 15 celebs that waited until after their 40th birthdays to tie the knot to the ones they plan to love forever.
1. Cynthia Nixon
Similar to her role as Miranda Hobbes in the Sex and The City reboot, And Just Like That, Nixon began to publicly explore her queerness later in life. After only dating men, she met
education activist Christine Marinoni, and fell in love. Nixon was 46 when she and Marinoni wed in 2012.
2. Bruce Willis
In 2007, Willis met Emma Heming and their marriage almost didn’t happen. The couple thought about going their separate ways — but fell in love instead. Only two years after they started dating, the couple married when Willis was 54.
3. Salma Hayek
There was nothing small about Salma Hayek’s marriage to François-Henri Pinault, which included two wedding ceremonies. One wedding was on Valentine’s Day and the other was a destination wedding in Venice. Married at 42, Hayek was not playing around with her nuptials.
4. Barbra Streisand and James Brolin
These two met when they were in their 50s during a blind date. As soon as Streisand saw James Brolin, she made a joke about his hair — and he loved it. Before long, they were falling for one another and then married in 1998.
5. Lisa Bonet and Jason Momoa
After meeting in 2005, Lisa Bonet and future husband Jason Momoa, quickly fell in love. While their age difference of 12 years has been criticized, they took the next step in 2017 to marry when Bonet was 50. While things have been rocky, as they announced their separation, then, shortly after, their resolve to work things out in 2022 — we’re rooting for them!
6. John Stamos
After a difficult divorce in 2005, Stamos stayed single for awhile — 12 years to be exact. He seemed to be primarily focused on his career, until he met Caitlin McHugh. At the age of 55, Stamos married McHugh and they’ve lived happily every after with their son, Billy.
7. Amy Adams
While Adams and Darren Le Gallo were in a relationship sometime before marrying, it wasn’t until their 5-year-old daughter, Aviana, asked for mommy and daddy to get married, that they tied the knot. Adams married when she was 40 and felt a stronger sense of family and stability.
8. Gabrielle Union
In 2014, Union had no trouble saying, “I do!” to NBA star, Dwayne Wade. At 42, she was eager to start a family, and that’s exactly what they did. They have a beautiful blended family that includes their biological daughter, Zaya, Wade’s children from his previous marriage and his nephew, Dahveon Morris.
9. Neil Patrick Harris
Harris and his love, David Burtka, got married when Harris was 41. They celebrated their special 2014 day in Italy. The two bond over a mutual passion for traveling and adoration of their families.
10. Jim Parsons
After about 15 years together, Parsons married Todd Spiewak at the Rainbow Room in NYC in 2017. Parsons was 44 and knew that after being with his longtime partner that he was ready to take a step forward. After all, he was sure from the day that they met that he and Spiewak were meant to be. Talk about a cute couple!
11. Kim Coles
Coles was so amused by the stigma of getting married at 53, that she took to Facebook for a funny wedding announcement. She wrote, “I am 53-years-old and we are not supposed to get married after what 20, 25, 30 maybe? Yeah… that’s not true. I’ve never thought any of those rules applied to me and those rules don’t apply to you either.” We couldn’t agree more, even after her divorce from her then husband, Reggie Mckiver. Now, she’s happily married to Dr. Jaye Johnson.
12. Ellen DeGeneres
At 50-years-old, Ellen DeGeneres married Portia de Rossi in August 2008. In 2021, the couple celebrated 13 years of marriage, which is quite a long time when it comes to celebrity marriages. Cheers to 13 more!
13. Jerry Seinfeld
Following a difficult divorce, Jessica Seinfeld began dating Jerry Seinfeld and they quickly became best friends in love. They married when Jerry was 45 on Christmas day in 1999. They have three children together.
14. Vince Vaughn
Right before he turned 41, Vaughn married Kyla Weber in 2010. They met after both attending the wedding of their mutual friend. Nothing like a wedding to set the stage for another wedding to come.
15. RuPaul
RuPaul dated Georges LeBar in private for 23 years until they got married in 2017. RuPaul was 56 and looking fierce as ever.
16. Paris Hilton and Carter Reum
Paris Hilton looked like a real-life princess when she married her husband in 2021. Both Paris and Carter were 40-years-old when they decided to say, “I do” in a lavish ceremony.
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17. Gwyneth Paltrow and Brad Falchuk
Gwyneth walked down the aisle for the second time in 2018 at the age of 45 when she married TV producer Brad Falchuk. The two reportedly met when Gwyneth guest-starred on Glee , a show produced by Brad.
18. Cameron Diaz and Benji Madden
The private couple recently celebrated their seventh wedding anniversary, with Benji writing a sweet tribute to his wife on Instagram:
“Always dreamed of having a family like this. Happy, peaceful, consistent, loyal and unconditional equally filled with passion and depth. Calling it a honeymoon doesn’t cover it. Real life. The only real challenge we have is making time go slower cause life goes by fast in the happy lane, Always and forever knowing we are home @camerondiaz. Happy Anniversary, I love you!”
19. Jessica Chastain and Gian Luca Passi de Preposulo
Oscar winner Jessica Chastain and her husband walked down the aisle in 2017, a few months after the actress turned 40. The two were married in an outdoor ceremony an hour outside of Venice, Italy with celebrity friends in attendance.
20. Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker
Even though these two haven’t officially tied the knot yet, it will only be a matter of time before they do. Kourtney was 42-years-old and Travis was 45-years-old when he decided to pop the question. This will be Kourtney’s first marriage and Travis’ third.
