It’s the great irony of weddings. Though technically, the betrothed couple is entitled to get married their way, it’s hard to keep others from asserting themselves into the big day. It goes double for celebrities who can’t even go to a restaurant without someone bothering them.
Unfortunately, it’s the intimate moments that make for paparazzi gold. If the star is big enough, their celebrity wedding is practically a national holiday. Every so often, a star will manage to keep their wedding on the DL. It requires strategy and careful planning, and it doesn’t stay secret for long. But if a Hollywood power couple can score a few hours of scrutiny-free matrimony, more power to them.
The stars on this list all did the impossible. Keeping the paparazzi away wasn’t the only motivation for some of these celebrity couples to get married on the sly. In some cases, they didn’t want their parents there either. Others just wanted to sign the paperwork without a big to-do. Stars who have been divorced often go smaller-scale for their second wedding. It’s quite an accomplishment when a star manages to announce their marriage on their own terms (which usually means a cheeky Instagram post).
Here are 25 Stars Who Got Married In Secret!
25. Ellen Page and Emma Portner
When X-Men actress Ellen Page Instagrammed a shot of 2 hands sporting wedding bands, it surprised everyone. Before January 2018, fans had no idea Page and Emma Portner were even engaged. Page made their relationship pretty clear when she wrote, "Can’t believe I get to call this extraordinary woman my wife. @emmaportner"
The post received 50,000 likes in the first hour. Portner, a dancer and choreographer, posted the same photo and a similar caption. The couple has yet to reveal any other details about their big day.
We do know that Portner started popping up on Page’s Insta around May 2017. Over the next several months, she became a fixture and eventually, their love and devotion for one another was front and center.
24. Allison Williams and Ricky Van Veen
You’d better believe Allison Williams had the hipster Pinterest wedding of her dreams, but the Girls star waited until afterward to give fans a glimpse. Williams broke the news when she posted a wedding photo to Instagram.
In September 2015, Williams wed CollegeHumor co-founder Ricky Van Veen in a secret ceremony at Saratoga, Wyoming’s Brush Creek Ranch. They were surrounded by their 200 closest friends and family, including Girls co-stars Lena Dunham, Zosia Mamet, and Jemima Kirke. Other famous guests were Katy Perry, John Mayer, Bruce Springsteen, Seth Meyers. Tom Hanks officiated the ceremony and Brian Williams walked his daughter down the aisle.
Though William’s dress was an extravagant custom Oscar de la Renta number, they didn’t go posh for every detail. Their cake was a store-bought "Funfetti" box mix.
23. Margot Robbie and Tom Ackerley
Margot Robbie went to great length to keep her wedding to British director Tom Acklerly a secret. A bus picked up the 50 guests from various stops near the actual location: a private estate in Byro Bay, Australia. The couple attempted to enforce a social media blackout by having security confiscate guests’ phones and cameras.
The Suicide Squad actress reportedly donned a white bohemian Oscar de la Renta gown. Though Robbie’s wedding ring is allegedly worth upwards of $20,000, they saved some money by serving pizza and Cocoa Krispies (Robbie’s favorite) for dessert.
Unfortunately, a paparazzo did manage to find them. He published several creepy shots of Robbie milling about that were clearly taken from behind a bush. Ackerley’s brother, James, also posted a couple of Instagram photos from inside the wedding.
22. Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard
Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard are considered one of Hollywood’s most cherished couples. Their currency is showing fans the playful side of their couplehood. We can’t forget that time Shepard made Kristen cry by bringing her a sloth, or that other time they made a music video for Toto’s “Africa”. But in 2013, they stayed under the radar when they brought ink and paper into their relationship.
The quickie ceremony took place at the Beverly Hills County Clerk’s Office. As evidenced by photos Bell later shared with fans, she didn’t need extravagance to have an unforgettable wedding day. A 2017 Instagram photo shows Shepard good-naturedly ripping on his emotional wife-to-be with the caption, “#tbt to when I cried at our wedding and @daxshepard thought it was really funny.” The whole shebang set them back $142.
21. Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher
Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher have been especially sneaky about their relationship. They managed to keep the public guessing for ages before finally admitting they were married. Fans still don’t know exactly when it became official, but the stars of That '70s Show have both begrudgingly confirmed that they are now husband and wife.
The Late Late Show host James Corden first cracked the case on his show, asking Kunis point blank if she and Ashton were married. Kunis replied, "Maybe." Corden demanded a look at Mila's ring finger, where he spotted what could only be a wedding band. He triumphantly declared, "They are married, look." Meanwhile, Kutcher covertly referenced their nuptials when he posted a message to Facebook reading "Happy New Year" from "The Kutchers."
The laid-back couple reportedly honeymooned in Yosemite Park with their baby daughter, Wyatt.
20. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Tasha McCauley
A million fans' hearts broke when, in January 2015, the press caught wind that Joseph Gordon-Levitt was officially off the market. The charismatic Inception actor has always managed to keep his personal life under wraps, and that apparently included his relationship with Tasha McCauley.
In September 2013, Gordon-Levitt admitted to Howard Stern that he had a special lady in his life, but wouldn’t elaborate beyond, "I think I'm a pretty good person and a good boyfriend,” and, "[She's] not in show business."
Indeed, being the CEO of a NASA-based robotics company (Fellow Robots) is about as removed from Hollywood as one can get. In 2016, the Don Jon director told Playboy, “I’m married to a woman who doesn’t like strangers being privy to her life and relationships.”
19. Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem
Apparently, Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem were this close to never becoming a couple at all, let alone getting married. In 2017, Bardem recalled to GQ about meeting Cruz. “I had to wonder, ’Do I really want this?' She has what I call the loving blood. Passion for everything.” But the fellow Spaniards couldn’t deny the real attraction they felt for each other while playing lovers in Vicky Cristina Barcelona.
They’ve always been private about their relationship. For a time, they even refused to admit they were dating. In 2010, Cruz and Bardem invited only their closest friends and family to a small secret ceremony in the Bahamas. Cruz wore a John Galliano dress.
To throw off press, they held the event at the home of a friend.
18. Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux
As one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, Jennifer Aniston doesn’t get to have too many secrets. That’s why it’s especially impressive that she and Justin Theroux managed to keep prying paparazzi away from their wedding day. In august 2015, the couple invited their closest friends to their Bel Air residence under the pretense of celebrating Aniston’s 44th birthday.
The (now divorced) Wanderlust co-stars held the ceremony in their own backyard. Most of the details remain a mystery, but they reportedly wed in the company of around 70 of their closest friends and family. Guests included Lisa Kudrow, Ellen DeGeneres, Lake Bell, John Krasinski, and Emily Blunt. Rumor has it Sia performed.
It was the second wedding for Aniston, who was previously married to actor Brad Pitt.
17. Scarlett Johansson and Romain Dauriac
Scarlett Johansson is a two-time secret wedding champ. In 2008, she managed to marry actor Ryan Reynolds on the sly. Five months after The Avengers actress hooked up with French journalist Romain Dauriac, Johansson was sporting a brand-new rock on her finger.
Though the couple never made an official announcement, People magazine convinced a Granite County clerk to spill the beans. In October 2014, Johansson and Dauriac held a modest ceremony in Philipsburg, Montana.
Unfortunately, they weren’t to last. Johansson filed for divorce in March 2017, calling the marriage, “irretrievably broken.” She remained determined to keep the media out of her private life even in her divorce, telling E! News, "As a devoted mother and private person… I would only like to say that I will never, ever be commenting on the dissolution of my marriage."
16. RuPaul and Georges LeBar
RuPaul Charles waited 2 months to let the public in on his little secret. He’d married his longtime boyfriend, Australian rancher Georges LeBar. On Hollywood Today Live, the Drag Race host revealed, “I’ve never said this on television before but we are married. We got married on our 23rd [anniversary]. I met him on the dance floor at Limelight in 1994, on his birthday.”
After the episode aired, fans showered RuPaul with hundreds of well-wishes on Twitter. He responded with a message that read, "Thank you all for the love & kindness. 'I cry not for myself, but for those who never felt the joy we felt' ~The Supremes 'I Hear A Symphony.'"
When RuPaul isn’t shooting Drag Race, he sashays away to the 50,000 acre ranch he shares with LeBar in Wyoming.
15. Alexis Bledel and Vincent Kartheiser
Alexis Bledel and Vincent Kartheiser should conduct a seminar on how to keep secrets in Hollywood. Before the Gilmore Girls actress hid an entire pregnancy from fans, she and Kartheiser had an undercover wedding. They met and crushed on each other when Bledel guest starred on season five of Mad Men. But they kept it professional until the season wrapped.
Kartheiser opened up (as much as he does) about the engagement in March 2013. Telling US, "I'm a very lucky man… I keep saying girlfriend. And then I'm like, 'I mean, my fiancée!'"
In June 2014, they made it official at Rolling Thunder Ranch resort in Ojai. It was an intimate ceremony attended by inadvertent matchmakers Jon Hamm and Matthew Weiner. The public didn’t catch wind of it for 2 months.
14. Kerry Washington and Nnamdi Asomugha
Kerry Washington married San Francisco 49ers cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha in June 2013 at a friend’s house in Hailey, Idaho. Though she tried to fly under the radar, the Scandal actress had a spy in her midst. A “source” spilled some details to People magazine. "They flew a few people out on this little private plane. The house was beautiful… It was small, just family and close friends. They said their own vows, people stayed at the house. It was really simple and sweet.”
The lovebirds applied the simplicity motif to every element including Washington’s dress, which the source described as, “plain white, slim-fitting, like it could have been off a rack. It was really regular.”
Nnamdi’s sister, a minister, officiated the ceremony.
13. Leighton Meester and Adam Brody
In March 2014, CW stars Leighton Meester and Adam Brody managed to pull off what a source called a “super intimate” wedding. Earlier that months, the Gossip Girl star revealed her wedding ring at a press conference for Of Mice and Men. Afterward, The O.C. actor confirmed the nuptials when confronted by a photographer in a parking lot.
A source told E! News, "Leighton and Adam got married in Northern California by the ocean a couple of weeks ago... it was a very small and intimate wedding with close family and friends. It was beautiful." One year later, they brought baby Arlo into their exclusive club.
The former teen drama superstars continue to successfully maintain a low profile as a family.
12. Gisele Bündchen and Tom Brady
Not only is Gisele Bündchen a supermodel, she’s also a super secret wedding planner. In 2009, she threw 2 undercover weddings when she married Tom Brady.
They held the first wedding at a small Catholic church in Santa Monica. The second was a destination wedding on the beach of their vacation home in Costa Rica. The Patriots quarterback later told GQ, "We planned it in like 10 days, and it was perfect.”
Five years on, Bündchen gave fans a sneak peek when she posted a wedding photo to Instagram. For their ninth anniversary, she shared several more. She captioned one photo, "What a ride this past 9 years have been. I love learning and growing with you. Happy anniversary love of my lifey!"
11. Amanda Seyfried and Thomas Sadoski
Actors Amanda Seyfried and Thomas Sadoski made their wedding truly private by eloping. The Newsroom actor told James Corden, “We just took off into the country with an officiant and, just the two of us, and we did our thing.” Their thing involved writing their own vows. Sadoski gushed, “It was beautiful. It was everything that it should be…It was just the two of us talking to each other.”
The couple continue to keep all family matters on the DL. Their daughter was born in March 2017 and they have yet to share the name. The Mamma Mia actress explained to People, “I wouldn’t want you to ask me what her name is, because I wouldn’t tell you. It’s about us as a family… Our friends [know] and you know what that caused?...A lot of embroidered towels.”
10. Carey Mulligan and Marcus Mumford
Carey Mulligan and Marcus Mumford have a truly cinematic love story. They were pen pals in their youth, but didn’t meet in the flesh until after they were both famous. Mulligan saw Mumford across a crowded basement house party. Mumford and Sons was performing a secret show at the Nashville home of Marcus' friend. After a year of dating, they snuck off to the English countryside to get hitched.
Mumford’s father, a vicar, officiated their extremely British wedding held on a Somerset farm. The 200-person guest list included such notables as Sienna Miller, Colin Firth, and Mulligan’s friendly ex, Jake Gyllenhaal. The Never Let Me Go actress reportedly wore a full-length backless ivory dress by Prada. The happy couple exchanged vows in a hay-adorned barn.
9. Rachel Weisz and Daniel Craig
In 2018, Weisz told Evening Standard Magazine that she never wanted to get married. “It was not an ambition of mine… I couldn’t relate to romantic comedies — marriage seems to be the whole point of them.” But when Weisz played wife to Daniel Craig in Dream House, she started to come around to the idea. ”[I]t just happened, happily, at a more mature moment.”
One year later, they became a real-life married couple in a small ceremony in their New York apartment. Only 4 other people were present, including Weisz’s son, Henry and Craig’s daughter, Ella.
When asked why she stays mum about her marriage to the reigning James Bond, Weisz reasoned, “One of the great pleasures of not being an adolescent is that you don’t have to share everything. When you’re married, that door closes.”
8. Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin
Though their “Conscious Uncoupling” occurred very much in the public eye, Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin began their marriage in secret. In December 2003, the Coldplay singer and Shakespeare in Love actress got quietly hitched in Santa Barbara. The quickie ceremony occurred shortly after a visit to the County Courthouse, where they acquired a marriage license. There were reportedly no friends or family present.
Earlier that month, they’d announced that Paltrow was pregnant with their first child, Apple. Their subsequent nuptials may have happened on a whim, or perhaps they were hoping the baby announcement would deflect from their secret marriage plans.
Regardless, they honeymooned in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Another guest at the pricey Esperanza Resort reported that, “They were just lying out, relaxing, and she was reading… She seemed serene.”
7. Zoe Saldana and Marco Perego
Zoe Saldana makes no apologies about secretly marrying Marco Perego after only a few months together. She told Marie Claire, “I don't do the ABCs. I do what my heart says, what my heart feels.”
The Guardians of the Galaxy actress compared falling for the Italian artist to shopping for pants. “I don't just window shop… I need a pair of jeans, I go and - boom - get them. I met my husband I wasn't going to try it out and see if it works. No I felt it. I went with the feeling.”
Saldana and Perego took only 3 weeks to plan their top secret 2013 ceremony. A year later, they welcomed twin boys, Cy and Bowie. They had a third son, Zen, in 2017.
6. Frances Bean Cobain and Isaiah Silva
Courtney Love will probably never win Mother of the Year. Perhaps that’s why she wasn’t on the 15-person guest list at the wedding of Frances Bean Cobain and Isaiah Silva.
On the other hand, Kurt Cobain’s daughter and the Eeries front man were never much for big announcements. Most learned of their 2011 engagement when Frances updated her Facebook status. But the 19-year-old had second thoughts about divulging even that much information and quickly undid the change.
In 2015, word got out that Cobain and Silva had surreptitiously tied the knot the previous year. Sadly, after 21 months, the couple became estranged. Silva sought $25,000 a month in spousal support and made off with Kurt Cobain’s guitar from Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged session.