Known for projects like Edward Scissorhands, Beetlejuice, and the extremely popular Stranger Things, Winona Ryder is a woman of unending talent. Her skills are evident from the fact that she was one of the youngest artists to have been nominated for the Academy Awards at the age of 23. Winona Ryder went on to win a Golden Globe for her work in The Age of Innocence. Clearly, she knew what she was doing since the very beginning.
Apart from her lustrous career, Winona Ryder is also known for her very public relationship with renowned actor Johnny Depp. The two began dating in 1990 and called it quits in 1993. However, they had gotten so close to each other that Johnny Depp even proposed to the actress! Since Winona Ryder was quite young, her father didn’t allow her to get married. A few years later, the actress revealed how she is now skeptical about getting married.
Winona Ryder Prefers Staying Unmarried Over Divorce
In an interview with The Edit (via Entertainment Tonight), Winona Ryder opened up about her love life and why she is not thinking about getting married. She started off by stating that she is a “serial monogamist” and that she has had trouble dating since a very young age.
“I am a serial monogamist. I was single for a while and dating and…I just didn’t know how to do it! I’ve always been like that: when I was 15, there was a guy I liked and we made out, and I thought that meant he was my boyfriend. My mom had to explain it to me.”
About why she has not gotten married, despite being in a long-term relationship, Ryder stated that her high expectations do not allow her to tie the knot. The Girl, Interrupted actress added that while there is nothing wrong with getting a divorce, she prefers not being married at all over getting divorced.
“But marriage? I don’t know. I’d rather never have been married than been divorced a few times. Not that there’s anything wrong with divorce, but I don’t think I could do it if that was a possibility. When your parents are madly in love for 45 years, your standards are really high. But I’ve been happily with someone for quite a while now.”
The “someone” is fashion designer and entrepreneur Scott Mackinlay Hahn, who she has been in a relationship since 2011. The couple made their red carpet debut in 2016 during the premiere of Stranger Things season 1. The pair is still going strong.
Why Winona Ryder Was Not Allowed to Marry Johnny Depp
Asking a father for his blessing and his daughter’s hand in marriage is still a tradition many like to follow. And while Ryder’s father, Michael Horowitz, was quite fond of Johnny Depp, he just couldn’t give the young couple his blessing to take the next step in their relationship.
Depp was eager to settle down with Ryder as he proposed to his Edward Scissorhands co-star just 5 months after they began dating. Since Ryder was way too young at the time, her father had to step in. Talking to Vogue, Horowitz once stated that he thought Ryder and Depp were the Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt of their time.
“They were the hottest couple in the US at that time, like Brad [Pitt] and Angelina [Jolie]. You guys were cool.”
When Ryder reminded her father that he still “stopped a wedding,” Horowitz replied, “We loved Johnny but you were 17.” In a 2001 interview with Cinema.com, Ryder stated that she had a “fiercely deep love” with the Pirates of the Caribbean actor and that she didn’t know if she’d ever witness that ever again.
Clearly, Ryder and Depp are still on good terms as the actress spoke in favor of him during the recent defamation trial. In a statement read in court, Ryder talked about how she knew Depp as a loving, caring, and protective guy and that she felt “very, very safe” with him. She also said she found Amber Heard’s allegations impossible to believe.
Source: The Edit (via Entertainment Tonight)