Celebrities Who Got Married or Engaged Over the Christmas Holidays

Christmas holidays bring with them a lot of cheer and merriment. And for these 18 couples, it was the perfect time to get on one knee or tie the knot

These celebrities gave each other the gift of forever at Christmas.

From Jerry and Jessica Seinfeld‘s Christmas Day nuptials, to Chrissy Teigen and John Legend‘s romantic holiday proposal to Hilary Duff and Matthew Koma‘s private pre-Christmas wedding, many stars have used the season to get engaged or married.

Here, a list of 18 couples who either got engaged or married at Christmastime.

01of 18

Jerry and Jessica Seinfeld

Jerry and Jessica Seinfeld’s meet-cute is something straight out of a romance novel.

The pair met at a Reebok Sports Club in New York back in 1998 and the rest was history.

“I was going through a difficult time, and I was approached by Jerry Seinfeld and he attempted to make me laugh, and I was really not interested in being entertained at that moment,” Jessica told The New York Times in a 2007 interview. “He came around again and said something funny, and I actually had to laugh.”

The two wed on Christmas Day 1999 and have been going strong since. “25 years on the 25th! Lots to celebrate, especially a remarkable constellation of family and friends who have enriched our lives since before that Christmas Day in 1999 through today,” Jessica wrote under an Instagram post commemorating their milestone wedding anniversary.

“May all your Christmases be bright 🎄 and your Shamash candles illuminate our homes, our streets and the world. 🥂🕎” she concluded.

02of 18

Hillary Duff and Matthew Koma

The former Lizzie McGuire star married the DJ and record producer on Dec. 21, 2019. The pair had always kept their relationship relatively low-key so when they tied the knot in front of their L.A. home, only a select few close family and friends attended.

“The ceremony started at sunset and they got married inside the house. When the ceremony was over, guests cheered. The reception was in a white tent in the backyard,” a source told PEOPLE at the time.

To commemorate their third anniversary, the couple wrote sweet Instagram messages to each other and shared some wedding pics with fans.

“We crushed 3 years @hilaryduff 🧡Anyone who says marriage is easy, hasn’t been married or is raging slightly too high a microdose,” Koma wrote. “But the work is the best part. The beauty truly is in going deeper with someone than you’ve ever been before and navigating an invisible map that only the two of you can trek. The hard stuff makes the great stuff even greater.”

Duff wrote, “Matthew. I love you so much. Happy 3 years! I don’t know if you knew what you were getting into or that you weren’t going to sleep or sit down for the next 5-10 years but I think for the most part you’re pretty happy about it. Our life is so full and I’m over the top grateful for the guy that I got to do all this madness with.”

Days before their fourth wedding anniversary, the pair announced they are expecting their third child together.

03of 18

Ludacris and Eudoxie Mbouguiengue

Riding high (literally) on Ludacris’ private plane proposal, the now-Bridges decided to tie the knot once they landed — yes, the same day.

“Why wait? Did the thing before 2015. #mrandmrsbridges,” Ludacris wrote of their wedding, which happened on Dec. 27, hours after Eudoxie accepted a ring from the rapper. Once home, she donned a white dress from her own closet and the two exchanged vows in front of friends and family.

“Eudoxie wanted a simple ceremony and it was exactly what she dreamed,” a source told PEOPLE at the time.

04of 18

Sofia Vergara and Joe Manganiello

Joe Manganiello and Sofia Vergara had only been together six months when he proposed to her during a Christmas vacation in Princeville, Hawaii.

“Our first date was in June, and then I proposed to her on Christmas Eve … When you know, you know, and we knew right away — like, very quickly,” the True Blood actor told Haute Living.

“We had this big bay window, and the sun was going down pink over the mountains and over the bay, and I had this ring,” he said of the proposal. “I had looked at every ring in the world, and this is the ring that I wanted. I had a whole speech prepared in Spanish. I proposed to her on one knee in Spanish with the sun going down. It was awesome.”

In July 2023, the pair announced their divorce.

05of 18

Julia Garner and Mark Foster

To have a big wedding or elope in Vegas? That was the question when Julia Garner and her now-hubby, Mark Foster, were deciding wedding plans. Ultimately, they chose to go with a courthouse wedding in N.Y.C.

The pair quietly wed on Dec. 27, 2019, and announced the news on Instagram. “12/27/19 💍” she captioned a black and white photo of the two of them in the back of a cab.

Similarly, for their third anniversary, the Ozark actress simply wrote, “💫 3 years today 💫” to which Foster commented, “my sweet bride.”

06of 18

Gordon and Tana Ramsay

In honor of his 26th wedding anniversary to wife, Tana, chef Gordon Ramsay shared a snapshot taken on their Dec. 21, 1996, wedding day.

“Happy anniversary to this amazing woman @tanaramsay love you ❤️,” the MasterChef judge wrote.

Tana, on the other hand, posted an entire carousel of their big day. “26 years ago, 21/12/1996 we started this journey x so blessed and so lucky to share my life with you, thank you for everything. Happy Anniversary,” Tana wrote on a corresponding post.

The lovebirds are now parents to six children.

07of 18

Martin and Janet Sheen

Martin and Janet Sheen have truly gone the distance. The pair wed on Dec. 23, 1961, and have been together since. And with that many years under their belt, the couple has, of course, been through some tough times together.

While filming 1979’s Apocalypse Now Martin suffered a heart attack and nervous breakdown and credits Janet for helping him pull through.

“It was very serious, and she handled it like a pro. She had me laughing in the most dire circumstances. She said, ‘Don’t take yourself so seriously,'” he told Closer Weekly in 2016. And these days, it’s smoother sailing, he added: “Every day is a celebration with this dame.”

08of 18

Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise

Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise fell in love on the set of 1989’s Days of Thunder and tied the knot “during a private Christmas Eve ceremony at a Colorado ski resort,” as reported by the AP at the time.

The couple eventually split after 11 years of marriage and now rarely discusses their marriage publicly; Kidman went on to marry Keith Urban while Cruise married and later divorced Katie Holmes.

09of 18

Serena Williams and Alexis Ohanian

When tennis legend Serena Williams and tech entrepreneur Alexis Ohanian got engaged over the Christmas holidays in 2016, there was no better place to announce the news than on the platform he co-founded: Reddit.

In a sweet poem posted to her official Reddit account on Dec. 29, the Grand Slam winner revealed her boo had popped the question.

She wrote: “I came home. A little late. Someone had a bag packed for me. And a carriage waited. Destination: Rome. To escort me to my very own ‘charming.’ Back to where our stars first collided. And now it was full circle. At the same table we first met by chance. But by choice. Down on knee. He said 4 words. And I said yes.”

The two welcomed daughter Alexis Olympia on Sept. 1, 2017 and wed on Nov. 16, 2017. In August 2023, daughter Adira joined the family.

10of 18

Reese Witherspoon and Jim Toth

Reese Witherspoon and Jim Toth kept their relationship quiet from the get go, and that continued up until their intimate engagement over the Christmas holidays in 2010.

At the time, sources told PEOPLE that Toth was head over heels for the Legally Blonde actress. “Jim knows Reese is the one for him,” the source said at the time. “It’s what he’s been waiting for. [Getting engaged] is a natural step for them.”

The two married on March 26, 2011, and welcomed a son named Tennessee James in September 2012. They divorced in the spring of 2023.

11of 18

Pam Anderson and Dan Hayhurst

Pamela Anderson and her bodyguard, former builder Dan Hayhurst, fell in love during the COVID-19 pandemic and things got serious quickly. According to the Daily Mail, the two tied the knot at the Baywatch actress’ Canadian home on Christmas Eve 2020.

The union didn’t last long; the pair split in January 2022, after one year of marriage.

12of 18

Katherine Heigl and Josh Kelley

Former Grey’s Anatomy star Katherine Heigl tied the knot with her musician hubby, Josh Kelley, just before Christmas in Park City, Utah.

The pair met when Heigl starred in a video for Kelley’s song “Only You.” They have since welcomed three children: son Joshua Bishop and daughters Adalaide Marie Hope and Naleigh Mi-Eun.

“​​This man…this day…this marriage…I am damn grateful,” Heigl wrote in commemoration of their 12th wedding anniversary in 2019. “That he found me. That I found him. That we have somehow miraculously bettered each other. Happy 12th anniversary, love of my life.”

13of 18

John Legend and Chrissy Teigen

John Legend and Chrissy Teigen got together when she starred in his music video for “Stereo” back in 2006. And though there was a very brief breakup in 2007 the two have been together since.

After five years of dating, the “All of You” singer popped the question while he and Teigen were vacationing in the Maldives over the Christmas holidays in 2011. They got hitched in September 2013 and share four children together.

14of 18

Natalie Portman & Benjamin Millepied

The final days of 2010 brought lots of joy for Natalie Portman, whose then-boyfriend Benjamin Millepied proposed while she was pregnant with their first child. “I am indescribably happy and feel very grateful to have this experience,” Portman told EW at the time.

The two got hitched in Big Sur, California, two years later, in a small Jewish ceremony reserved for close family and friends. They welcomed son Aleph in 2011 and daughter Amalia in 2015.

After 11 years of marriage, the pair finalized their divorce in March 2024.

15of 18

Michael Jordan and Yvette Prieto

Michael Jordan popped the question to his girlfriend of three years, Yvette Prieto, during the Christmas holidays of 2011.

The lovebirds wed two years later in a lavish ceremony held at an Episcopal church called Bethesda-by-the-Sea in Florida and their 300 guests later attended a reception at the Bears Club in Jupiter, Fla.

16of 18

Matthew McConaughey and Camila Alves McConaughey

The Dallas Buyers Club actor brought the holiday cheer when he proposed to his model girlfriend of five years on Christmas Day 2011.

“It was the last gift to be opened and I wrapped it in seven different boxes so Camila would have to keep unwrapping,” McConaughey told PEOPLE of the engagement. “She got the ring, I took a knee and asked her to marry me and take my name. After a bit, she conceded … thankfully.”

17of 18

LeAnn Rimes and Eddie Cibrian

LeAnn Rimes and Eddie Cibrian had a Lifetime-perfect proposal over the Christmas holidays in 2010 — fitting, as they first met on the set of one of the network’s original movies.

“Yes, they were engaged over the holidays and are very happy,” her rep told PEOPLE at the time, adding that the couple “had family and close friends in town who helped them celebrate.”

18of 18

Liam Hemsworth and Miley Cyrus

The pair surprised fans on Christmas 2018, revealing they had tied the knot that week.

Cyrus shared wedding photos featuring her embracing Hemsworth, captioned “12.23.18” and “10 years later …..” In a snapshot of the newlyweds kissing, the singer wrote: “This is probably our one – millionth kiss.”

Hemsworth also shared the same photo, writing, “My love.”

On Aug. 10, 2019, Cyrus’ rep exclusively confirmed to PEOPLE that the couple had split. “Liam and Miley have agreed to separate at this time,” the rep said in a statement.

The divorce was finalized in 2020.