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Hollywood’s Sweetheart, Julia Roberts, has been one of the industry’s most beloved icons for decades. The actress rose to stardom with her unforgettable role inPretty Womanand has ever since reigned both in romantic comedies and dramatic roles likeNotting Hill, My Best Friend’s Wedding, Steel Magnolias,andErin Brockovich.
Ever since Roberts skyrocketed to fame in the ‘80s, her dating life has been a bit like a rom-com plot itself. Fans followed her romances with some of Hollywood’s biggest names. Roberts has been married twice, although her first marriage was short-lived, her second marriage with Danny Moder has been the real love story for over two decades now. Together, they share three children, twins Hazel and Phinnaeus, and a son, Henry.
From nearly walking down the aisle with Kiefer Sutherland to a whirlwind marriage to country singer Lyle Lovett, Roberts’ romantic journey has remained in the spotlight. There was also her serious relationship withLaw & Orderstar Benjamin Bratt, which ended just as her career was skyrocketing. Now, Roberts has finally found her true love with Moder. Let’s have a look back at her complicated relationship history.
Liam Neeson
At the tender age of 19,Julia Robertshad an intense fling with none other than Liam Neeson. Back in the ‘80s, when Julia was just starting and Neeson was a rising star himself, the two met on the set of the 1988 filmSatisfaction.
Despite their 16-year age difference, their romance sparked quickly until they called it quits after dating briefly. Neither Neeson nor Roberts ever revealed exactly when and why they ended their relationship. But sources like reporter Tyler Johnson of The Hollywood Gossip claimed that Neeson and Roberts dated for two years.
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He said in an interview,
“They embarked on a relationship that lasted for quite some time. Liam Neeson was great with Julia Roberts. This would start a pattern with other leading men.”
According to celebrity biographer Kitty Kelley, she claimed that Roberts’ attraction toLiam Neesonwas possibly due to the fact that her father died when she was 10 years old. Kelley said in a TV special,The Kitty Kelley Files: Julia Roberts,
“You don’t have to be Dr. Freud to figure that one out. I mean, all of us would fall in love with Liam Neeson, but for someone who never really had a father figure that she could look up to and admire … He was her first leading man, but he was also her first big love affair.”
Neeson and Roberts also starred together in 1966 Michael Collins.
Dylan McDermott
Shortly after Roberts ended things with Neeson, she quickly moved on with Dylan McDermott. The two met in 1989’sSteel Magnolias,where McDermott played her character’s husband. While the movie was a turning point in her career, it was also the beginning of her serious relationship with McDermott.
The pair began dating in 1988 but called it quits after two years despite keeping their relationship low-key. Interestingly, sources claimed that their relationship was at a point where McDermott popped the question and Roberts said yes. However, before the couple could exchange their ‘I do’, Roberts abruptly called off the engagement with rumors that she fell for one of her co-stars.
Kiefer Sutherland
Following her break up with McDermott, Roberts was working onFlatlinersoppositeKiefer Sutherland. While it was claimed that she fell for him which led to her calling off the engagement with McDermott, it eventually came true as she and Sutherland became one of the biggest love triangles in the Hollywood industry.
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After Roberts parted ways from McDermott, she and Sutherland started a relationship as the actor was also recently divorced from actress Camelia Kath. The couple quickly got engaged and set a wedding date with their ceremony planned to take place on the 20th Century Fox’s Soundstage 14. However, three days before Roberts was set to walk the altar, a publicist for each of the couples released a joint statement announcing, “It has been mutually agreed upon that the wedding has been postponed”, as per People.
Recalling their break up, Roberts shared in an interview withEntertainment Weekly,
“I feel like Kiefer, for whatever reasons, tried to make it seem like he was the victim of the situation. I quite honestly believe that Kiefer knows that it’s the best thing for himself and for me that it didn’t happen. But he shouldn’t try to make himself look better by taking shots at me.”
Even Sutherland chimed in about his thoughts on calling off their wedding with Rolling Stone. He admitted that Roberts made the right call and “commended” her for realizing soon that they were young and silly.
But the plot twist came on the day when Roberts and Sutherland’s wedding was called off, theEat, Pray, Lovestar was spotted having lunch with fellow actor and best friend of Sutherland, Jason Patric. Ever since then, the fans have drawn comparisons to Roberts’Runaway Bridecharacter, her habit of leaving men at the altar.
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After their lunch, Roberts and Patric had also flown to Ireland together but there was no confirmation of them being romantically involved. In an interview withEntertainment Weekly, Roberts was questioned about Patric but she refused to talk about him, explaining that it is “dignified and deserving of respect than to put it out there and allow people to give their opinions on it at lunch.”
Years later, Patric weighed in about the love triangle and confirmed that he was with her for a while and it ended.
Lyle Lovett
After Julia Roberts was last spotted together with Jason Patric following her break up with Sutherland, she found new love with Lyle Lovett. The former couple began dating in June 1993 and shocked everyone after tying the knot within a few weeks of dating. They starred together in Robert Altman’s 1992 film,The Player, and had already met before through mutual friends.
Roberts once gushed to Barbara Walters about Lovett,
“I had a very strong reaction to meeting him. Different from the way I’ve ever reacted to any person on the planet… He’s perfect.”
Surprisingly, Roberts was always a fan of Lovett’s music before they even met and would often listen to his “tapes” in her car. The couple even shared insights about her wedding while on the cover of People magazine. They explained how they had a classic church wedding that came together in just 72 hours, squeezed between Roberts’ film shoot and Lovett’s tour schedule. Roberts even shared that she walked down the aisle barefoot wearing a white Comme des Garcons gown with an added tulle scarf in place of a veil.
While everything was a fairy tale for Roberts and Lovett, things began to get ugly for the two after a while. In fact, the last year of Roberts and Lovett’s life as a married couple was swamped in PR scandals after Roberts was spotted dancing with actor Ethan Hawke at a business dinner. Addressing the moment, she toldRolling Stone,
“I danced. Is that a felony?”
Besides given the former couple’s career paths, they had to spend much time apart which didn’t go unnoticed by the media. Lovett toldPeople,
“We’ve never gone more than a week without seeing each other since we got married. But before that, we’d never spent more than seven days together.”
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Unfortunately, the pair announced their separation two years later by sharing a joint statement. Reflecting back on her marriage with Lovett, Roberts once spoke withThe New York Daily Newsadmitting that she has no regrets and that she and the musician shared “great experiences that never had any nasty moments.”
Matthew Perry
After Roberts guest starred in the hit sitcomFriends, she and late starMatthew Perrydated for a while. Roberts reportedly cameoed in two-part episodes ofFriends. While speaking withThe Hollywood Reporter, the show’s creators recalled sharing that Perry actually contacted Roberts and lured her into starring on the show. Though she agreed, she wanted to appear only if her storyline involved Perry’s character, Chandler Bing.
Moreover, in Perry’s 2022 memoir,Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing,Perry admitted that he actually did that. He explained how he sent her a paper about writing about wave-particle duality which led to flirting between the two via fax. However, after two months, Perry got overwhelmed with his fears that Roberts might dump him. He wrote in his memoir,
“So instead of facing the inevitable agony of losing her, I broke up with the beautiful and brilliant Julia Roberts. I can’t begin to describe the look of confusion on her face.”
Matthew Perry reportedly died on July 11, 2025.
Benjamin Bratt
Roberts first met Benjamin Bratt in 1997 in a restaurant as she toldVanity Fair. Recalling the day, she explained how he walked in and she looked up at him and felt like “something hit me over the head with a bat.” From there on, they started dating and became famous for being spotted at regular New York City hotspots like Le Madri, Café Lure, and Cafeteria. The two were so deeply in love with each other and couldn’t stop gushing as Bratt once toldPeople,
“All that I have to say about Julia couldn’t possibly fit into one or two sentences. We’re just ecstatically happy.”
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Sadly, with time, cracks begin to appear in their almost perfect relationship, but still, Bratt and Roberts were able to balance their private and public love life. They would constantly appreciate each other for their fans as Roberts toldPeople,
“He’s very good-looking and his handsomeness pales in comparison to his kindness. That is all a girl could ask for, really.”
However, their efforts eventually felt pale as their relationship came to a close in 2001. After almost four years together, Roberts and Bratt were “no longer together.” A source close to the couple toldABC News,
“At this point, they haven’t seen each other in months. It’s not necessarily over, but it’s certainly hit a crisis point.”
But soon after, Bratt admitted to the reporters of the LA Times that they had decided to live their lives separately, confirming their break-up rumors.
Danny Moder
When Julia Roberts was still in a relationship with Benjamin Bratt, she met cameramanDanny Moderwhile filmingThe Mexicanin 2000. While Moder was married at the time to makeup artist Vera Steimberg, the two got divorced.
Moder and Roberts quickly hit off in their first meeting and ended up tying the knot in 2022 in a ceremony at the actress’ ranch in Taos, New Mexico. During aninterview with Oprah Winfreynext year, she talked about her husband adding,
“He makes me feel my most comfortable self. I don’t alter myself in any way.”
In the interview, she further explained that she didn’t believe she was the cause of Moder’s divorce from his previous wife. She explained,
“He sorted his whole thing out, separate and apart from me. And I sorted my life out, separate and apart from him. I think that’s the only reason we were able to ultimately fall in love with each other and be together.”
During an appearance on Gwyneth Paltrow’sThe Goop Podcast, Roberts discussed how she and Moder have kept up their romance all these years explaining,
“He truly, to this day, to this minute is just my favorite human. I’m more interested in what he has to say or his point of view just than anybody.”
Moder and Roberts didn’t wait long to grow their family as they welcomed twins, Phinneaus and Hazel in 2004 and their third child, Henry, in 2007. Unlike any other Roberts’ relationship and marriage, this one turned out to be the one for her.
Samridhi Goel
Content Writer
Articles Published :375
Samridhi breathes HOLLYWOOD. A seasoned professional content writer boasting three years of experience. Her expertise shines in the realm of entertainment, where she skillfully craft narratives that breathe life into movies, music, and pop culture. She has completed her Masters in Commerce but her obsession with Hollywood lead her to curate content for the same.
