Warning: This post contains spoilers for Marry Me.
Marry Me ending and real meaning explained. Directed by Kat Coiro, Marry Me is a romantic comedy that unites Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson onscreen. The film released simultaneously in theaters and on Peacock February 11, with the ending giving the central couple a happy ending.
Marry Me follows Kat Valdez (Jennifer Lopez), a pop singing sensation who is engaged to be married to fellow singer Bastian (Maluma) at a concert streaming live for 20 million people. When she discovers Bastian cheated on her, seeing a video of him kissing another woman right before she’s set to go onstage to marry him, Kat picks Charlie Gilbert (Owen Wilson), a divorced math teacher carrying a “Marry me” sign at her concert, to marry instead.
The ending of Marry Me saw Charlie and Kat choosing to be together despite the major differences in their lives. The film’s finale may have led to a happily ever after for the couple, but what does the ending really mean? And does Marry Me mirror Lopez’s real-life? Here is the ending explained.
Why Kat Really Chose Charlie Over Bastian At The End
At first, Kat only chose Charlie out of the crowd because she wanted to get back at Bastian for breaking her heart right before they were to be wed. Bastian, however, continued making attempts to reach out to her over the course of the film. For many, marrying Charlie was just a temporary fix (and it was). However, Kat had not only grown to love Charlie, but he validated her in ways her life and career as a singer did not. She may have finally gotten a Grammy nomination, but Kat’s heart and mind were no longer in the same place she once was when Marry Me began.
In many ways, her attachment to Bastian was mutually beneficial to both of their careers and it seemed like she had to concede a lot of her independence to maintain the relationship and her status as a singer. With Charlie, however, Kat got a taste of what a regular life looked like outside of the constant deluge of social media posts, publicity, and interviews. She was also starting to enjoy the quiet that came with not being in the limelight as much, too. Charlie was a much more down to Earth person than Bastian, which balanced Kat’s busy life. As a person, Charlie brought out the best in her — and all without wanting anything in return but her happiness. That, in and of itself, speaks to why Kat made the decision to be with Charlie by Marry Me’s end.
Why Kat & Bastian’s Wedding Was Streamed Live
Kat and Bastian were the power couple of the music world. Together, they topped the music charts, and their relationship was so public, they thought to capitalize on it by making a concert that everyone could watch. What’s more, their duet together — called “Marry Me” — was huge and using the song while also saying their vows to each other would only make the single a lot more popular. This was a couple who was milking their relationship for all it was worth, especially considering it was at the height of both of their media popularity that ensured they would get the most attention.
While Kat’s feelings for Bastian seemed genuine, it’s questionable whether he cared about her in the same way beyond gaining additional fame. Them getting together shortly after her last relationship fizzled out badly seemed to cinch the deal of their romance playing out in front of the media and fans. At the end of the day, the singing couple began their journey by broadcasting their love for each other and it seemed like the next step to make their wedding just as public as their romance was.
Is Marry Me A True Story? How It Reflects Jennifer Lopez’s Real Life
Marry Me may not be a true story, but it’s hard to deny that it reflects Jennifer Lopez’s real life in certain ways. Both she and her character Kat are famous singers who are heavily in the public eye, with constant media attention. In the film, Kat says she was married three times before meeting Charlie (Bastian not included), though one of her marriages only lasted a few hours. Similarly, Lopez has also been married three times — to Selena movie producer Ojani Noa, backup dancer Cris Judd, and singer Marc Anthony, respectively. She and Kat both believe in marriage despite having marriages that ended in divorce, both of whom are ever-seeking when it comes to love. Obviously, Kat is a fictional character in a movie and is not based on Lopez’s real life in any concrete way, but it’s possible the similarities to Lopez’s own past may not have been an accident.
How Marry Me Mirrors Kat & Charlie’s Stories
Though they come from very different worlds, Kat and Charlie’s stories aren’t all that dissimilar. Kat feels trapped in her world, getting into relationships in a bid to genuinely find someone she can spend the rest of her life with. Charlie, on the other hand, manages to avoid dating altogether because he's not convinced he can. However, they both make their life choices because they’ve been broken-hearted before. At their core they're both fairly optimistic — Kat in her relationship and career endeavors and Charlie in his daily life as a teacher who is constantly encouraging his students.
When they do get together, it's a balancing act, but Charlie believes in the best of Kat and she is humbled through him, seeing her split decision to marry him come to fruition. They're both down on their luck at the beginning, but because they're both willing to open their hearts and try something new - and completely out of their respective comfort zones - things work out in ways they didn't expect. On the whole, they were two sides of the same coin, both lost in their own ways before finding each other and having something click.
What Marry Me’s Ending Really Means
After Charlie breaks up with Kat, the pair go back to their previous ways, back to what was comfortable. However, once Kat realizes she wrote a song specifically for Charlie and not for Bastian, she returns and they choose each other once more. This ending of Marry Me showed that both characters had come to appreciate each other in new ways because they were apart. Neither could return to their old lives and move on because too much had changed for them in the span of a few months. Kat, for the first time in a long while, was doing something for herself and saw her celebrity life a lot more clearly than ever before. She was no longer willing to pretend for the cameras; she was doing something because her heart was fully invested, with no doubts.
That alone speaks to the development of her character throughout the romantic comedy. Charlie, meanwhile, was trying to protect himself from being heartbroken only to realize it didn't matter much because he couldn't just get over Kat. Crucially, Kat asking Charlie to marry her allowed him to make the decision to go all-in, not because he wanted to help Kat in a moment of sadness, but because he wanted to be in a committed relationship with her. Both Kat and Charlie had gotten to a place where they were genuinely happy with their arrangement and wanted to see it through for themselves and not for the public. Marry Me's message is ultimately to do right by one's heart and not cave to pressure coming from everywhere else.
