celebrity

Robin Wright and Sean Penn were married for 14 years. This is what their lives look like now.

In the '80s, there was one major couple on the radar of entertainment reporters in Hollywood: Sean Penn and Madonna

Then, when the pair split in 1989, Penn quickly confirmed his budding relationship with fellow actor, Robin Wright. What would follow was a 14-year marriage that was reportedly very tumultuous.

In 1991, they welcomed their first child together, daughter Dylan, and then in 1993 had son, Hopper. 

For a few years following, Wright explained that she put her career to the side for the sake of their family, with Penn still able to pursue acting and directing.

"We were learning as we were going along," Wright told Vanity Fair in 2015 of that time. "We agreed as parents that we'd not work at the same time so that one of us was always with the kids. He was making more money than I was at the time, so it was a simple decision: 'You go work. I'll stay with the kids'."

Watch: Even celebrities need wingmen. Post continues below.


Video via Mamamia.

By 1996, they were married. But throughout their 14-year marriage, there were plenty of breakups in between. 

"Marriage ain't easy, but it's great most of the time," Penn told Entertainment Weekly in 1997. "I love Robin. I've always loved her."

ADVERTISEMENT

The first breakup was just before their wedding in 1995. The second was in 2007, when Wright filed for divorce. Then after four months, she retracted the papers and they reconciled. 

In 2009, soon after Penn didn't mention Wright in his Oscars acceptance speech, he then filed for divorce, before retracting it a few months later.

The final divorce application was in 2010, when Wright was the one to file, and this time the couple split for good. The divorce however, was not amicable.

"When you get divorced, all the truths that come out, you sit there and you go, 'What the f**k was I doing? What was I doing believing that this person was invested in this way?' It can make somebody very bitter and very hard and closed off," Penn said to Esquire.

"There is no shame in saying that we all want to be loved by someone. As I look back over my life in romance, I don't feel I've ever had that. I have been the only one that was unaware of the fraud in a few of these circumstances blindly."

Robin Wright and Sean Penn when they were married. Image: Getty.

ADVERTISEMENT

After their divorce, Penn went on to have relationships with a few high-profile women. 

In 2011, he had a brief relationship with Scarlett Johansson. In 2013, Penn and Charlize Theron paired up and were together for just over a year. In 2020, Penn married Australian actor Leila George in an intimate ceremony at their home, after reportedly being in a relationship since 2016.

Then in 2021, George filed for divorce, though the pair remain close.

"She is the best friend in the world and definitely the most influential, inspiring person, outside of my own blood, that anybody could ask to have in their life," he said to Hollywood Authentic in an April 2022 profile. 

Along with directing, Penn has merged into the activism and documentary-making space. 

More than three times, the actor has visited Ukraine amid the war, aiming to raise awareness and work on a documentary covering the conflict.

"I'm not an idiot, I am not certain what I can offer. I don't spend a lot of time texting the president or his staff while they're under siege and their people are being murdered. We don't have any tangible evidence that documentaries really change anything. We just don't. We only know they can give hope."

ADVERTISEMENT

As for Wright, her career skyrocketed in the wake of House of Cards. In 2016, she was one of the highest-paid actors in the United States, earning US$420,000 per episode for the Netflix hit.

Then in 2017, Wright began a relationship with fashion executive Clement Giraudet, who has worked for fashion houses like Christian Dior, Balmain, and Saint Laurent. The following year, they married in France. 

After four years of marriage, Wright and Giraudet filed for divorce in 2022, citing irreconcilable differences. Neither Wright or Giraudet publicly spoke on their relationship, keeping things very private. 

Wright recently said that her priority now has been spending time with her two kids who she shares with Penn - daughter Dylan, 31, and son Hopper, 29.

ADVERTISEMENT

As for whether Penn and Wright communicate today, the pair were actually photographed together at LAX Airport. The duo hadn't been seen in public together since their split in 2010.

Penn said when it came to co-parenting, they're in a much better place now than they were a few years ago, opting to keep things separate rather than make parenting decisions together and fight over them.

"We have very separate relationships with our kids at this point, and it seems to work better that way because they are making their own decisions."

As for Wright, she said to Vanity Fair that the passing of time had helped the two of them regain respect and friendship again.

"My eyes are set forward and I've never been happier. I have too much respect for Sean and our two extraordinary children to sell our past joys and woes for public consumption and fodder," she said.

"I believe we were together not only to have our beautiful children but to learn how to love… for the next time around, the right way. And then, what I'm looking for in people now is kindness."

Feature Image: Getty.

Can’t live without your phone or the internet? Take our survey now and you go in the running to win a $100 gift voucher!

TAKE SURVEY ➤