Goldie Hawn Explains Why She and Kurt Russell Never Got Married

Samantha Franco | December 10, 2024 11:00 am

Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell are two Hollywood icons. And once they started dating, became an “it-couple” of the film industry. They have been together for almost 40 years now without ever tying the knot. With Hawn 77 years old now and Russell 72, many have wondered why?

Hawn and Russell have both been married before

Neither Goldie Hawn nor Kurt Russell are strangers to marriage. While they first met on the set of The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band in 1966, it wouldn’t be until 1983 that the two would get together. Hawn was 38 and Russell 32 when they first started dating, meaning they had plenty of time to forge relationships with other people before getting together.

Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell side-hugging.
Actor Kurt Russell and actress Goldie Hawn on July 23, 1983, leaving the Carlyle Hotel for a night out in New York City. (Photo Credit: Ron Galella / Ron Galella Collection / Getty Images)

Hawn was married twice before her relationship with Russell. First, she married Gus Trikonis in 1969, who later went on to be a film director. Their time together was short, as they eventually divorced in 1976. Then, she married musician Bill Hudson of the band the Hudson Brothers in 1979. They share two children, Kate and Oliver Hudson, but they too divorced in 1980.

Russell has only one marriage under his belt, having wed Season Hubley in 1979 after meeting the former actress on the set of Elvis. They share a son together named Boston, but their marriage came to an end when they filed for divorce in 1983.

Hawn and Russell share a son together, Wyatt Russell.

Divorce is enough of a motivator

Hawn appeared on Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace?, where she got candid about her relationship with Russell. When Wallace pressed her, asking, “Why aren’t the two of you married?” Hawn retorted, “Why should we be? Isn’t that a better question?”

Goldie Hawn, wearing a long red gown, is interviewed by Jimmy Fallon in 2017
Goldie Hawn during an interview on May 1, 2017 — (Photo Credit: Andrew Lipovsky / NBCU Photo Bank / NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images)

She continued, explaining that both of them have seen firsthand what happens when a marriage comes to an end, which is motivation enough to prevent them from tying the knot. “When it doesn’t work out, it ends up to be big business,” she said.

“It’s always ugly. Somebody actually has to take a look and say, ‘How many divorces actually are fun? How many divorces actually don’t cost money? How many divorces actually make you hate the person more than you did before? How many divorces have hurt children?’”

Wallace commented on the strength of their relationship, saying, “But [you and Russell have] been together 40 years, you’re not going to get divorced.”

Hawn simply replied, “How did you know that then?”

Hawn says they both value their independence

Hawn went on to explain that really, it’s the ability to choose to stay in the relationship that is so appealing to her and Russell. “I mean, you know, relationships are hard,” she said. “They’re not always easy. There’s all kinds of hurdles we go through. There’s things that we believe in, things we don’t believe in, agree on.”

Kurt Russell kissing Goldie Hawn's cheek.
Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell attend Goldie’s Love In For Kids at Ron Burkle’s Green Acres Estate on November 3, 2017, in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo Credit: Frazer Harrison / Getty Images)

“So I think ultimately staying independent with independent thinking is important, so you can hold on to yourself, and you can actually have that feeling,” Hawn explained. Russell has previously given his opinion on their relationship as well, saying that a “marriage certificate wasn’t going to create anything that otherwise we wouldn’t have.”

Whatever they chose as their marital status, they’re still one of our favorite Hollywood couples.