8 famous women on not getting married

‘A lasting relationship isn’t about marriage, it’s about compatibility and communication. And you both need to want it to work.’

‘Intention is the key. It’s also about not losing yourself in each other. Being together, two pillars holding up the house and the roof, and being different, not having to agree on everything, learning how to deal with not agreeing. Everything’s a choice.’

‘Without sounding pessimistic, I learned that I don’t believe in marriage. I believe in a commitment that you make in your heart. There’s no paper that will make you stay.’

‘I actually think it’s really sexy to be with someone in your 50s and 60s and be like, ‘That’s my boyfriend.’ I think husband and wife is just . . . very unsexy.’

‘Anything is to be preferred or endured rather than marrying without affection.’

‘Little girls who say, ‘I want to get married’; I was never one of those little girls. It is not that I wouldn’t, but I don’t see that I must do it or be unhappy. I don’t know if I’ll ever get married. I’m perfectly happy [with] my single self.’

‘When I was younger, I wanted so badly to be married and have kids in a rush. I loved my parents’ relationship. The way my father was with my mother when she was dying was so moving. It was such devotion. I don’t know that that will happen for me, but I like it.… I don’t need marriage. I don’t need anyone to take care of all my needs and desires. I can take care of them myself now.’

‘Marriage was never something that was important to me. I don’t know the exact reason for that. I really want for myself a long-term relationship and I have been in long-term relationships . . . That’s the kind of union that I want. The actual ceremony is not something that is important to me — but I see the importance for other people.’

‘It’s not like I’ve grown up having this dream of a fairy-tale wedding. My mother married twice and had two divorces. And Liev comes from the same kind of background. Maybe one day we’ll just wake up and go, ‘Hey, let’s do this.’ And maybe not. He and I have a family. We’re very much together. We just don’t have that certificate, and that’s okay with both of us.’