15 Celeb Couples Who Are Enjoying Non-Traditional Marriages

Some are quirky and some are definitely a little strange.

Liezel

• Published in Film & TV
• April 4, 2022

Society always has expectations of everything around them but that doesn't necessarily mean we have to follow these expectations. A lot of them aren't exactly rules that will get us in jail if we don't obey them.

Take marriage for instance. That's something that carries more expectations than most.

When people get married, they're expected to build a house, start a family, and start mingling with other people like them, and whatnot. In fact, we don't even know the full extent of these expectations since there are just so many of them.

More often than not, it's tiring to keep living up to them especially when you're not really happy. Sometimes, you just have to throw your hands up in the air and say, "Whatever."

A lot of celeb couples probably had the same thoughts when they decided to quit thinking about what the public would say about their marriage and just do what truly made them happy. After all, they're already dealing with enough public pressure in their careers so why let it extend to their private lives, right?

From open marriages to sleeping in separate beds, a lot of famous couples have decided to go the non-traditional way of marriage. Here are these celebs.

Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith have been open about their open marriage

The couple became the talk of the town in 2021 when they discussed their marriage and rumors of infidelity on Jada's talk show, Red Table Talk

On the show, Will clarified that they actually separated for a period of time before reconciling.

“Jada never believed in conventional marriage," Will said in an interview with GQ. “We have given each other trust and freedom, with the belief that everybody has to find their own way. And marriage for us can’t be a prison. And I don’t suggest our road for anybody. I don’t suggest this road for anybody. But the experiences that the freedoms that we’ve given one another and the unconditional support, to me, is the highest definition of love.”

The couple believes that the freedom they've given each other is one of the best definitions of love

Dolly Parton and her husband Carl Dean seems like they have a "don't ask, don't tell" rule

“If we cheat, we don’t know it, so if we do cheat, it’s very good for both us," Dolly said in an interview. "I don’t want to know it, if he’s cheating on me. If I’m cheating on him, he wouldn’t want to know it. And if we do, if that’s what’s making it work, then that’s fine, too.”

Dolly later did clarify in an interview with Oprah.com that it just means they let each other be who they are and how they are.

"But I'd kill him if I knew he was with somebody," she said. "We love people. He knows I'm a flirt and a tease, but it's harmless. I've never met the man that would take his place."

They just let each other be who they are and how they are

Kristen Bell, Dax Shepard, and their two kids all sleep in one bedroom

Kristen revealed on her husband's podcast, Armchair Expert, that she and her husband sleep on a mattress pad while their daughters sleep on the floor of their bedroom. Apparently, things can get a bit smelly.

Think of it as extra bonding time for the family

RuPaul and his husband, Georges LeBar, often live in separate states

Georges is a rancher and he's often taking care of his 60 000-acre ranch that's in two states, Wyoming and South Dakota. In an interview with Hollywood Today Live, RuPaul said, "When I go there, I dress up in Western wear and nobody cares."

RuPaul also revealed they see each other about every three weeks.

As they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder

The wedding between Jake Paul and Tana Mongeau may have been lavish and extravagant, however, their marriage was never legal on paper

"To everybody that’s calling it fake because we rushed into it or because I don’t do things traditionally, because I wanted to not do it legally," Tana said. "Any wedding I have, if I have three more f*cking weddings, I really wouldn’t want to do it on paper, because I think that legally binding yourself to someone takes away the love."

Jake also confirmed in an interview with Entertainment Tonight that they were in an open relationship and that they'd never lived together. Sadly, they split six months after the wedding.

They were definitely the news of the season

Bryan Greenberg and Jamie Chung decided to live in separate apartments while filming Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong

"It works for us," Bryan said in an interview with Entertainment Tonight. "Jamie had the idea to get separate apartments while we were shooting in Hong Kong, and I thought, 'That's stupid. Why are we spending money on two different places?' But ultimately, I'm really grateful we did that. It was a nice way to just have some time to ourselves and break up the project a little bit. And honestly, that's kind of how our relationship is. We enjoy spending time together, but we also enjoy spending time alone."

The couple welcomed twin boys in October 2021

Gwyneth Paltrow and Brad Falchuk didn't start living together full time until after a year of marriage

“I think, really, because we each have two teenage children whom we love very much, we were just trying to be mindful and give them a little space and not move too quickly," Gwyneth explained on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

She also revealed in an interview with The Sunday Times that Brad spent three nights a week in his own house and four nights a week at her place.

They were mindful of how their children would feel

Mo'Nique and Sidney Hicks have an open marriage

"Society looks at me and they see a woman that looks like [she] couldn’t possibly have a man that looks like that if there was not something else involved in it…she’s gonna let this man do anything he wants to do because she’s famous and she has money and now she can have whatever she wants, but she’s gonna let the man use her and abuse her," Mo'Nique revealed on their podcast, Open Relationship. "No one knew it wasn’t Sidney’s idea to have an open marriage. It was mine. I want to say that again. It was not Sidney’s idea to have an open marriage; it was mine."

She owned it loud and clear

Sarah Jessica Parker and her husband Matthew Broderick often spend long periods of time apart because of their careers

"I know this sounds nuts, but we have lives that allow us to be away and come back together," she said. "His work life takes him here, and mine takes me there. In some ways, I think that that's been enormously beneficial because we have so much to share in a way."

SPJ thinks it's a great thing

Margaret Cho and her husband Al Ridenour also have an open marriage

"I just don't want to have sex with the same person my whole life. That's just gross," Margaret said in an interview with The Real. "We have a really big house. It's kind of like if we wanna have that, it's like, 'You can stay on your side, or I'll stay on my side.' When I see her, I'll make her dinner. ... Oh yeah. I've definitely been in the house."

It's definitely not going to get boring

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip have reportedly slept in separate beds all throughout their marriage

Chrissy Teigen's parents, Ron and Pepper, have lived in separate houses that were just 10 minutes away from each other for years

“Mom is over so much that she lives with us basically and they’ve had this kind of relationship for a long time,” Chrissy said. “And my dad comes to the house every other day or so, he was just over yesterday.”

Ron and Pepper divorced in 2020

Nico Tortorella and Bethany Meyers, who both identify as polyamorous, have an open marriage

"When we decided to get married, part of that was having the legal bond, being [a] family, knowing that we were going to be family with one another," Bethany said in an interview with Distractify. "Being poly isn't a state of being, it's a state of mind."

"Being poly is a state of mind"

They're now only having sex with each other and only having sex to get pregnant

"I'm in this place now with sex where I think it's f*cking stupid," they said. "I love sex, don't get me wrong; it's such a beautiful thing, it's an extension of love. But from a physical standpoint, this idea of just, like, a quick fix — it's like getting high. It's like getting off. I'm just living in a different, higher chakra, so to speak, right now."

Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi and her husband Jionni LaValle sleep in separate rooms with each of their children

Snooki said that she co-sleeps with her daughter while Jionni co-sleeps with their older son. The baby, on the other hand, sleeps in the crib for now.

"We try and make [sex] work, but with kids it's just so hard. … by the time they're sleeping, you're exhausted," Snooki said in an interview. "You don't want to put in the work to do it."

They said it's to spend more time with the kids

Kevin Jonas and his wife Danielle reportedly slept separately the first few months of their marriage because the singer apparently snored like a freight train

Every couple is different and every relationship is different. That's why no matter how strange their quirks may be, it's just right that they completely own their relationship.

After all, that's one of the best things about relationships. You have to make it yours somehow to really make it memorable.

So more power to these couples whatever their choices are.

Liezel