The Supreme Court’s decision to strike down DOMA and dismiss California’s Prop 8 was a triumphant step forward for same-sex couples. But they're not the only ones. The rulings are also a game-changer for that small but fierce group of the rich and famous who said they wouldn’t get married until same-sex marriage was legal.
In hopes of separating the real life same-sex marriage activitist celebrities from the I-don’t-want-to-marry-this-person-and-this-seems-like-the-noblest-excuse celebrities, here’s a look back at who promised what.
Nowhere to hide now, kids. Let the wedding bells ring.
Kristen Bell & Dax ShepardK.Bell and her baby-daddy Dax came running out of the gate post-DOMA with Bell marriage proposing to her longtime boo over Twitter. ".@daxshepard1 will you marry me? Xo #marriageequality #loveislove." The couple had announced their plans to wait before tying the knot during an interview with The Advocate in 2012. “The reason we’re not rushing to get married is because I don’t feel appropriate taking advantage of a right that’s denied to my [gay and lesbian] friends,” Bell said.
Lena Dunham & Jack AntonoffGirls’ master of the universe Lena Dunham is widely known as an avid supporter of gay marriage—a view she cemented earlier this year when she told reporters she wouldn’t get married until “all gay people can.” The 26-year-old proved her rainbow flag was real on Twitter shortly after the decision. “No one be shocked if I get married and pregnant with a daughter today in a slightly premature fit of joy #americathebeautiful.” Can't wait for the fun. wedding. (Dunham's boyfriend is fun. band member Jack Antonoff.)
Angelina Jolie & Brad PittHollywood’s royal couple received more than a little criticism for their decision to time their wedding off a political agenda. Luckily haters got what they wanted when, in a 2012 Hollywood Reporter interview, Pitt admitted he’d lost patience. “We made this declaration some time ago that we weren’t going to do it till everyone can. But I don’t think we’ll be able to hold out,” he said. Although the couple got engaged just four months later, they’ve still yet get hitched. If Angelina’s been playing us all along, it’s time to come clean.
Jason Mraz & Tristan PrettymanThe fedora-wearing singer nobly declared to US Weekly in 2011 that, although he had proposed to girlfriend Tristan Prettyman, he wouldn’t marry her right away. “We can't get married until [gay] marriage is legal and equal... I think giving people the right to marry will be a huge movement in civil rights.” In the same interview, Mraz admitted that the decision had caused “fights” between the two of them. Maybe one too many—the couple broke up shortly after their engagement. Somebody's suddenly marriage material.
Jodie Sweetin & Morty CoylePerhaps the former Full House star should have kept her promise. After Sweetin’s boyfriend popped the question in 2011, she told People that the two were going to hold off on making it official until gay people could too. “We want to wait until there's equality for everybody to get married,” she said. Apparently that plan went South. According to recent headlines, she not only already married—she's already done. The grown-up Stephanie Tanner allegedly filed for legal separation from Coyle this week, after just 15 months of marriage.