The Red Flag In Elizabeth Banks' Relationship That Everyone Ignores

Regardless of your taste in movies and TV shows, there's a pretty good chance you've seen Elizabeth Banks in something. Since getting her start in showiz (and changing her name), she's appeared in everything from action-adventure flicks like "The Hunger Games," and superhero blockbusters like "Spider-Man," to sports biopics like "Invincible" and comedies like "The 40-Year-Old Virgin." Banks even appeared in an episode of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" you probably forgot about. Naturally, she's had plenty of on-screen love interests as well, from Chris Pratt in "The Lego Movie" to Seth Rogen in "Zack and Miri." But in real life, Banks is married to Max Handelman, a Hollywood producer and former sports writer. Unfortunately, their relationship does have a bit of a red flag that everyone sort of tends to ignore.

During a 2012 appearance on "Conan," Banks recalled meeting Handelman as soon as she started college — the catch being that she was actually still dating her high school boyfriend when she and her now-husband got together. "I dated the same guy all through high school," Banks said, adding, "And I basically — and he knows this, so ... this is no surprise to him — cheated on him with my now-husband." Obviously, beginning a relationship with someone you cheated on your former partner with doesn't usually tend to go well. However, to be fair to Banks, she and Handelman were very young at the time. And although the morally questionable start of their can certainly be seen as a red flag, their continued commitment to each other all these years later is a green flag if ever there was one.

Not only did Elizabeth Banks cheat on her high school boyfriend with now-husband Max Handelman in college, but college relationships in general have a lot working against them as far as long-term success goes. After all, during her "Conan" interview, Banks herself acknowledged that she and Handelman were young and not yet particularly wise when they first got together. And as Marriage.com expert Maggie Martinez explains, people often have a lot of growing to do even after college, which can result in them outgrowing their campus sweetheart. However, Banks and Handelman have more than proven that they were willing to put the work in as it pertains to making things last. In fact, Banks has gone on record saying that the longevity of her romance with Handelman is the thing she's most proud of in life.

Banks discussed her relationship with her husband while speaking to Porter in 2019, at which point they'd been married for 16 years and together for 27. "Twenty-seven years. It's the thing I'm most proud of," she said, adding, "I do think people grow together or they grow apart. We definitely grew together. We were constantly making decisions that kept us close." Banks later echoed this statement during a 2025 appearance on "The Kelly Clarkson Show," sharing Handelman initially sought her out after seeing her in their college's face book (as in, a literal face book, not the social media platform). "We found each other, but then we just kind of kept hanging out, and we're still hanging out. And it's been 33 years. ... It's the thing I'm most proud of," she said.