8 Celebrities Who Have "Secret" Spouses
Abigail Rogers
Published Feb 23, 2026
Most of us are probably so used to seeing celebrities' lives plastered all over the internet, that it can come as a surprise when we don't know something about one of our favorite stars. But even today, in the age of iPhone 14s and TikTok, some famous faces have chosen to date, marry, and grow their families away from the prying eyes of the public. While the stars on this list aren't keeping their partners secret per se, they've chosen to keep their love stories pretty quiet—to the point where you may not have realized that they're even married at all. Read on for eight celebrities who have "secret" spouses.
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1 Issa Rae
Although her hit HBO show Insecure is all about the trials and tribulations that come with being a single woman in Los Angeles, actor and writer Issa Rae didn't have that in common with her character, having been with businessman Louis Diame for years. The pair tied the knot in the south of France in 2021.
Not long after, Rae told Self that she was overjoyed but didn't want to divulge much else to her fans. "I'm extremely happy [being married]. [But] I like my life, I like this selfishness, and I know that I have a window," the star said. "I've always felt that way, that women, Black women especially—unless you're Viola Davis or Angela Bassett—you have a window when people are going to want to continue to see you and see what you can do. Then there are so many limitations placed upon you, and that does keep me up." She added, "There's something really nice to have a piece of me that no one knows about or no one can talk about except for the people that are part of my life. Self-care has been having a private piece that's just for me."
2 Idris Elba
Idris Elba has been making audiences swoon for decades, including in modern classics The Wire and Luther. Alas, the British actor is off the market as he married model Sabrina Dhowe in 2019 after a couple of years of dating. It's the Pacific Rim star's third marriage.
Elba told British Vogue that it was "love at first sight" when he first met the former Miss Vancouver at a jazz bar. Adding to the romance, he proposed to her in front of a live audience at London's Rio Cinema in 2018. Aw.
3 Elizabeth Olsen
Wandavision star Elizabeth Olsen and musician Robbie Arnett, a member of the band Milo Green, have been dating since 2017. The two were always quiet about their relationship, though they would make occasional public appearances together. In 2022, after letting it slip in interviews that Arnett was her "husband," Olsen confirmed that the two had eloped before COVID—and long before they shared the news with the public.
"I just never talked about it," she said on The Jess Cagle Show last year.
4 Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran and his wife Cherry Seaborn are so private that there aren't even many photos of them together online. Yet, they've been in each other's lives for years, having met when they were just 11 years old. The musician tied the knot with the consultant in 2018, in front of just 40 close friends and family members. Sheeran said of the event in an interview on the podcast Table Manners With Jessie Ware (via People), "We did it at night on a random day in the middle of January in the middle of nowhere. No one knew, no one came to it. We lit candles, we got married, we went back [and] had a curry." The couple have welcomed two children, daughters Lyra and Jupiter.
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5 RuPaul
While RuPaul has been bringing drag culture into the mainstream over the past few decades, he's had his partner, rancher Georges LeBar, at his side. The two met in 1994 and made it official when they wed in 2017. "I met him on the dance floor at Limelight in 1994 on his birthday," RuPaul told Hollywood Today Live, as reported by Marie Claire. "We got married this year on the anniversary of when we met . . . He doesn't care about show business at all. He could care less. Most of the time, he's on the ranch in Wyoming. He has a 60,000-acre ranch—it's in two states, it's in South Dakota, too. When I go there, I dress up in Western wear and nobody cares."
6 Emma Stone
Emma Stone and comedian Dave McCary were famously private during their courtship of three years and continue to be as a married couple. The Saturday Night Live writer and director proposed to the La La Land star at the sketch show's office in New York City, where they first met, according to Page Six. They walked down the aisle in 2020, and in 2021, welcomed their daughter Louise Jean.
7 John Corbett & Bo Derek
Sex and the City fans know John Corbett best as Carrie Bradshaw's carpenter boyfriend, Aidan. But in real life, Corbett has been with his partner, actor and model Bo Derek, for over 20 years. As reported by CNN, he confirmed that they had gotten married the previous year during a 2021 appearance on The Talk, when co-host Jerry O'Connell noticed the wedding band he was wearing. The actor said that the couple didn't make an announcement at the time because they're both "pretty private people."
"After 20 years, we decided to get married," he said. "We didn't want 2020 to be that thing that everybody looks back at and hated. We thought let's get one nice thing out of it."
8 Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes
Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes might be one of Hollywood's most famous and most private couples. The pair have been together since filming the movie A Place Between the Pines together in 2011, though it remained for many years a mystery whether the two were officially married or not. Mendes ended the speculation in 2022 when she began referring to the star of the upcoming Barbie movie, with whom she shares two daughters, as her "husband."
Karen Fratti Karen Fratti is an entertainment and culture writer. She went to Temple University, where she received a B.A. in English and has an M.A. in Media Studies from the New School University.Read moreFiled UnderCelebrities • Entertainment • NewsRead This NextThe Most Compatible Celebrity Couples
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