There’s no perfect order for a relationship and, even if there was, celebrities are never ones to take the “traditional” route. Some opt for quickie marriages, followed by quickie divorces, and some take years to get down the aisle.
In the case of the latter, there are plenty of celebrity couples who chose to have kids before tying the knot. Whether they welcomed a baby and got hitched shortly after or waited until they were done having kids to walk down the aisle, celebrities from Kim Kardashian to Mark Wahlberg decided to put kids before marriage.
While there’s that old schoolyard chant, “First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby carriage” — some of our favorite celebrity love stories didn’t follow that old-fashioned order. Of course, there are also celebrities who stay together for decades without ever tying the knot, but for now we’re focused on those who eventually wed after growing their family.
Check out the celebrity couples who had kids before marriage below.
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Amy Adams & Darren Le Gallo
Image Credit: Gregg DeGuire/Variety Amy Adams and painter Darren Le Gallo welcomed their daughter, Aviana, in 2010 after nine years of dating but still waited another 5 years before they got married.
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Nicole Richie & Joel Madden
Image Credit: Taylor Hill/Getty Images After two years of dating, Nicole Richie and Joel Madden welcomed their daughter, Harlow, in 2008, followed by a son, Sparrow, in 2009.
Joel didn’t propose until 2010, tellin 60 Minutes Australia, “I just woke up one morning and I said … ‘What am I doing? I’m a fool. Why haven’t I asked her to marry me?'” Adding, “And did it that night.”
They married in December of that year.
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Jennifer Garner & Ben Affleck
Image Credit: ©NBC/Courtesy Everett Collection In late 2004, Daredevil co-stars Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck debuted their relationship after he called off his wedding to Jennifer Lopez and she divorced first husband Scott Foley earlier that year.
Their whirlwind romance led to Garner getting pregnant with their daughter, Violet, before they married in June 2005.
The couple went on to welcome two more kids before separating in 2015.
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T.I. & Tiny
Image Credit: Chelsea Lauren/Variety T.I. and Tiny started dating in 1999 and didn’t get married until 2010. By the time they walked down the aisle, they’d already welcomed sons Clifford “King” Harris III in 2004 and Major Philant Harris in 2008.
They later welcomed a daughter, Heiress. From previous relationships, T.I. and Tiny also had four children between them.
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Dax Shepard & Kristen Bell
Image Credit: John Nacion/Variety Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell have two daughters, Lincoln and Delta. They eloped in Oct 2013 after same-sex marriage was finally legalized in the U.S. But oldest daughter Lincoln was born more than six months prior to that event — in March 2013.
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Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt
Image Credit: Fairchild Archive/Penske Media/WWD Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt were already parents to 6 children before they finally tied the knot in 2014.
When they started dating in 2005, Pitt adopted Jolie’s son, Maddox, who the actress adopted in 2001. They later adopted a daughter, Zahara, welcomed another daughter, Shiloh, then adopted a son, Pax, and welcomed twins Vivienne and Knox.
Jolie and Pitt split in 2019.
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Salma Hayek & Francois-Henri Pinault
Image Credit: Swan Gallet/WWD Salma Hayek and her husband François-Henri Pinault’s love story is nothing short of a fairytale. Actress meets billionaire, falls in love, and then gets married on Valentine’s Day in 2009 — in Paris no less.
But here’s a fun fact: Hayek gave birth to their daughter, Valentina Paloma, in 2007 — two years prior to their fairytale wedding.
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Serena Williams & Alexis Ohanian
Image Credit: Gilbert Flores/Variety Olympic legend Serena Williams and Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian welcomed their daughter Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr in Sept 2017, two months before they tied the knot in New Orleans.
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Ashton Kutcher & Mila Kunis
Image Credit: Vincent Collyer/PMC Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis have two children together, Wyatt and Dimitri. The pair married in July 2015, nearly a year after the birth of their daughter, Wyatt. Their son was born in 2017.
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Katie Holmes & Tom Cruise
Image Credit: Lee/Everett Collection. Former lovers Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise had a whirlwind romance. Within a year of dating, they had their daughter Suri, and then exactly seven months later, tied the knot in Italy.
They divorced in 2012.
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Kim Kardashian & Kanye West
Image Credit: Stephen Lovekin/WWD/PMC Kim Kardashian’s life always makes headlines, and her marriage to Kanye West was no different. The pair share four children together and welcomed eldest child North in 2013, a year before they tied the knot.
Their first son, Saint, joined the brood in 2015, followed by daughter Chicago in 2018 and son Psalm in 2019.
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Madonna & Guy Ritchie
Image Credit: Fairchild Archive/Penske Media/WWD Legendary singer Madonna and English director Guy Ritchie were married for eight years before calling it quits in 2008. But the iconic signer welcomed their son Rocco Ritchie three months before they tied the knot in Dec 2000.
They split in 2008 shortly after finalizing the adoption of another son, David.
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Matthew McConaughey & Camila Alves
Image Credit: Michael Buckner/Variety Oscar-winning actor Matthew McConaughey and model Camila Alves have the cutest love story. They got engaged on Christmas Day in 2011. But before they officially tied the knot in 2012, they already had two children (and Alves was pregnant with their third).
Son Levi was born in 2008, daughter Vida in 2010, and a few months after their wedding, they welcomed son Livingston.
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Jessica Simpson & Eric Johnson
Image Credit: Ella Hovsepian/Getty Images Jessica Simpson and Eric Johnson had their first two children before they tied the knot in 2014. They had Maxwell Drew in 2012 and Ace Knute in 2013. Simpson gave birth again in 2019 with their daughter Birdie Mae after their marriage.
Simpson and Johnson announced their divorce in January 2025.
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Natalie Portman & Benjamin Millepied
Image Credit: Roger Kisby/WWD Natalie Portman and Benjamin Millepied welcomed their first child, Aleph, in 2011 before marrying in 2012. They had another child named Amalia in 2017.
Amid allegations that Millepied cheated on her, Portman filed for divorce in July 2023.
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Mark Wahlberg & Rhea Durham
Image Credit: Michael Buckner/Variety Oscar-nominated actor Mark Wahlberg and model Rhea Durham had all four of their children before they tied the knot in 2009. The couple share Ella, 21, Michael, 19, Brendan, 16 and Grace, 15.
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Isla Fisher & Sacha Baron Cohen
Image Credit: Elizabeth Goodenough/Everett Collection. Isla Fisher and Sacha Baron Cohen dated for 10 years before their 2010 wedding. They welcomed their daughter, Olive, three years before marrying and added daughter Elula and son Montgomery in 2010 and 2015, respectively.
They announced their separation in April 2024.
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Tobey Maguire & Jennifer Meyer
Image Credit: Michael Buckner/Variety Tobey Maguire met jewelry designer Jennifer Meyer back when he was shooting Seabiscuit. After welcoming their first daughter, Ruby, in 2006 they tied the knot in 2007 in Hawaii.
In 2009, their son, Otis, was born. The couple split in 2020.
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Snooki & Jionni LaValle
Image Credit: Kristin Callahan/Everett Collection Snooki and her now-husband Jionni LaValle had two kids — Lorenzo Dominic, 9, and Giovanna Marie, 7 — before tying the knot in Nov. 2014. They welcomed their third child, Angelo James, in May 2019.
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Kristin Cavallari & Jay Cutler
Image Credit: Emiley Schweich/Everett Collection. Reality star Kristin Cavallari and Jay Cutler welcomed their first child, Camden, about a year before they tied the knot in 2013 in Nashville.
They had another son, Jaxon, in 2014, followed by their daughter, Saylor, in 2015. They announced their divorce in 2020.
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