11 Celebrity Couples With Political Differences
There are plenty of celebrity couples we never would have guessed would get together, but those couples that make us really tilt our heads to one side are the ones in which each partner is on a different side of the political aisle. If you’re not in a relationship like that yourself, it can be impossible to imagine how it would work: if your core values determine your political stance, shouldn’t there be at least some overlap with how your partner sees the world? But recently, famous couples have been popping their heads out of the woodwork to say yes, it is possible to be in a long-term relationship with someone whose views you don’t agree with: From exes like Shailene Woodley and Aaron Rodgers to married couples like Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell., it’s very interesting what these stars had to say.
Let’s take a closer look at this first example of controversial exes, Woodley and Rodgers. Woodley is known for her Emmy-nominated work in Big Little Lies and has historically been an outspoken political activist whose values align with the Democratic Party, particularly when it comes to environmental issues. Rodgers, however, was in the news for his anti-vaccine stance, digs at President Biden, and comments about the 2020 election, all of which heavily suggest he aligns with the Republican Party.
Now, there’s a lot that we don’t know about this couple’s relationship, but it’s hard to imagine these two both being so outspoken and so at odds in their beliefs while making it work. According to a People source, however, they simply “agree to disagree” when it comes to politics — and it’s working for them just fine.
Read on for more celebrity couples who make it clear they don’t share their partner’s politics.
A version of this article was originally published on 2022.
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Aaron Rodgers & Shailene Woodley
According to a source who spoke with People in 2022, Shailene Woodley and then-fiancé Aaron Rodgers have adopted an “agree to disagree” approach when it comes to their personal politics.
“They disagreed on a lot of things. Early on, they decided to agree to disagree about things and not debate them,” the source shared. The insider further explained that Woodley, who’s used her platform to highlight her activist efforts, “is not someone whose mind you can change, so Aaron hasn’t even tried.”
The couple split in 2022 after two years together.
Kurt Russell & Goldie Hawn
Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn have been together for well over 40 years now, and it seems that they have one major difference between one another: their politics.
Russell is a proud libertarian, and Hawn does not share the same mindset. In fact, in a 2024 episode of SiriusXM’s Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend via People, she said, “We don’t agree on everything. His politics are different than mine. You know, there’s all these things that could divide you. But the one thing that we have, the greatest thing in God’s world, is our family.”
“That is where we thrive and where we have incredible amounts of joy and really focus on that,” she added.
Kim Kardashian & Kanye West
Everything in the Kardashian-West household seemed to be going well until the 2016 election. West became an apparent Trump supporter — MAGA hat and all — and Kardashian, while not actively endorsing any one candidate, began to distance herself from him at the time, though she later met with former President Trump to discuss criminal justice reform.
Even more transparent than the Trump divide, however, was the distance Kardashian began to put between herself and her spouse when he made the decision to run for president too in 2020. A lot of elements contributed to Kardashian eventually filing for divorce from West in February 2021, and something tells us his failed presidential bid may have been one of them.
Kellyanne Conway & George Conway
While Kellyanne Conway was a longtime Donald Trump supporter and even worked in the Trump White House, her husband, George Conway, has always been an outspoken critic of the Trump administration. While we can never know the full scope of the couple’s marriage during those pivotal four years, it was clear that there appeared to be some tension. When her husband spoke out against President Trump in 2019, Conway told Fox Business she was “raised in a household of strong Italian Catholic women who taught me that you air disagreements like that in private.”
They filed for divorce in 2023.
James Carville & Mary Matalin
James Carville and Mary Matalin have differing political opinions, and yet somehow they make their marriage work. Carville is a longtime Democrat and political strategist who worked with the Clinton’s during former President Bill Clinton’s first campaign run. Matalin was a Republican strategist who worked on George H. W. Bush’s failed reelection campaign. She changed her party affiliation to Libertarian in 2016. They’ve been married since 1993 and have two daughters.
Demi Moore & Bruce Willis
While many know that Demi Moore and Bruce Willis were married from 1987 to 2000, many may not know that their political affiliations are quite different. While both of them are more private about who they support, we did find some clues.
For instance, back in 2016, Hollywood Reporter discovered that while Moore has identified as a Democrat forever, there was a mix up and she accidentally listed herself as Independant. “Demi Moore is not, nor has ever been, a member of the American Independent Party,” her told the Times via the same oulet.
Willis has switched up over the years between Democrat and Republican, supporting both Democratic and Republican candidates in the past. Per NBC, though, he did say in 2006, “I’m a Republican only as far as I want a smaller government.”
Alan Thicke & Kristy Swanson
Remember when Alan Thicke and Kristy Swanson dated? Yeah, we’d like to not remember this since she was 17 when they started dating, and he nearing his 40s. They dated from 1987 to 1989, then got engaged, and ended up calling it quits in 1991.
Now, along with the wildly inappropriate age difference, they had another big difference: their political affiliation.
Before Thicke died in 2016, he was a well-known Democrat, and was a big Hilary Clinton supporter, per Hollywood Reporter. In the same piece, Thicke urged anti-Trump protests to use social media. “That’s how Trump got elected. Use that tool to say, ‘Join us, here’s our website, we’re citizens against the Muslim registry. We’re citizens against the wall, and get enough signatures and get enough attention.’ But not by clogging the freeways,” he said.
As for Swanson, she has been one of Donald Trump’s supporters in Hollywood. Not only has she tweeted about her love for him time and time again, but she even boasted about meeting him. Swanson is a very proud Republican, and confirmed it in 2017, saying she’s always been a “proud Republican.”
Dennis Quaid & Meg Ryan
This one probably won’t shock you at all: but formerly married couple Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan have very different political views. The pair dated for three years after before getting married in Feb 1991. Then they divorced in 2001.
Quaid is a Republican, and supports Trump. Dennis previously told Piers Morgan, “He [Trump] just makes sense. People might have called him an a**hole, but he’s my **hole.”
As for Ryan, she’s a Democrat, and she’s reportedly donated nearly $10,000 to Democratic politicians like Al Franken, John Kerry, and Barack Obama
Jennifer Aniston & Vince Vaughn
For those who don’t know, Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn played on-screen lovers in the film, The Break Up, in 2006. They dated throughout filming, and while many believe it was a PR relationship, it seemed real to just as many.
However, a big difference between them was that Jennifer Aniston is a Democrat, while Vince Vaughn is a Libertarian. While many believe he was Republican after seen shaking Trump’s hand, she’s actually a “self-described libertarian,” per Fox.
As for Aniston, she’s been relatively open about her liberal ideals, and voted for Joe Biden in 2020, per National News.
Jennifer Lopez & Alex Rodriguez
As many know, Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez dated from 2017 to 2021, and despite their high-profile engagement, they did call it quits. But what many may not know is that Jennifer Lopez is a Democrat and Alex Rodriguez is a Republican.
Lopez famously endorsed Joe Biden back in 2020, per Heavy.
But Rodriguez? Per the Washington Examiner, Rodriguez donated nearly $10,000 to Republican presidential hopefuls John McCain and Rudy Giuliani.
