Odd Details About Ali Larter's Marriage To Hayes MacArthur

Ali Larter has undergone something of a career renaissance thanks to her starring role in the Paramount+ drama "Landman." Larter had previously made a name for herself by starring in early-2000s big-screen hits like "Legally Blonde" and "Final Destination." Her star continued to rise thanks to her lead role in the popular TV drama "Heroes," and though she appeared in numerous films since then, she wouldn't find similar popularity until 2024. That's when she solidified her full-time comeback by appearing as Angela Norris, ex-wife of Billy Bob Thornton's Tommy Norris, in "Landman."

Indeed, Larter has had a stunning transformation since her earliest days in Hollywood. By her side throughout all of it has been none other than her husband and fellow actor, Hayes MacArthur. As it turns out, Larter and MacArthur's relationship is just as interesting as most TV shows.

Make no mistake, there is clearly a great deal of love between Larter and McArthur, as evidenced by the fact that they're still going strong after getting married all the way back in 2009. When asked what their secret was during a December 2025 interview with People, Larter had a simple answer: "Enjoy every day. Try to be really kind." That being said, most couples out there have their eccentricities and idiosyncrasies, and these two are no exception; in fact, even the quirkiest of couples might raise an eyebrow at some of Larter and MacArthur's decisions. With that in mind, here are some odd details about Ali Larter's marriage to Hayes MacArthur.

It's not at all uncommon for actors to meet their partners while working on movies or TV shows together. Even so, it's pretty odd to fall in love on the set of a movie that featured a number of adult film stars playing cave people alongside Gary Busey, Tom Arnold, David Carradine, and Francis Ford Coppola's sister, Talia Shire, even by Hollywood standards. That's exactly what happened to Ali Larter and Hayes MacArthur, who had their meet-cute after both being cast in "National Lampoon's Homo Erectus" (also known as "National Lampoon's Stoned Age").

While you've probably heard about such classic National Lampoon films as "Animal House" and the "Vacation" series, "Homo Erectus" was a later release that largely flew under the radar. The film was shot near the end of 2005, which is when Larter and MacArthur first crossed paths, beginning their relationship soon after.

"Homo Erectus" received a very limited theatrical release in 2008 and more or less went straight to DVD in January 2009. By that point, Larter and MacArthur were likely already planning their wedding, which took place in August 2009. If it were up to Larter, though, she and MacArthur probably would have been exchanging vows before the cameras even stopped rolling on their ill-fated National Lampoon film several years earlier.

During an interview with Cosmopolitan in September 2007, just under two years after she and Hayes MacArthur started dating, Ali Larter confessed that she had been ready to tie the knot with her beau pretty much immediately after they started seeing each other. "I told my boyfriend after three weeks that I wanted to marry him and that we could do it tomorrow," she said. Cooler heads evidently prevailed, as Larter and MacArthur ultimately didn't go through with a whirlwind wedding. Regardless, Larter clearly knew what she wanted by the time she chatted with Cosmo. "I do want to get engaged and married ... and I look forward to that time when I'm home with babies," she said.

Discussing marriage with Cosmopolitan must have reinvigorated Larter's commitment to wasting as little time as possible. By December 2007, just three months after the interview, Larter and MacArthur were engaged. As previously stated, they then wed in August 2009. While a lot of couples prefer to wait a couple of years to have children after they tie the knot, Larter and MacArthur welcomed their first child in December 2010.

To be fair, during that Cosmo interview, Larter was rather open about why she was keen to move so fast with MacArthur. "I'm in a healthy relationship, and now that I'm actually in love, I know that what came before wasn't real," she said. But what exactly did come before?

Speaking of moving fast — Ali Larter not only wanted to spend the rest of her life with Hayes MacArthur shortly after they began dating, but she's also rumored to have done so hot on the heels of a previous relationship. At least, that's one of the rumors floating around about Larter, and it should probably be taken with a grain (or grind) of salt. 

According to multiple gossip websites, Larter was in a relationship with independent filmmaker Azazel Jacobs in 2005, and they broke up the same year. That's also the same year that Larter began dating MacArthur, so it's possible that she was fresh from a breakup when she fell head over heels with her future husband. 

While it's difficult to say for sure if there's any merit to these rumors, assuming there is at least a nugget of truth in there, it really speaks to just how quickly Larter was willing to go from dating to being off the market entirely. Although from the sound of things, if there's one thing she and longtime husband MacArthur have in common, it's that they're both ready and willing to make big life changes on a dime.

Picture the scene: Life has ground to a halt, and your parents' jobs are in flux, so they decide on a whim to pile everything into the car (including you and your sibling) and hit the open road with no clear goal in mind other than adventure. The next thing you know, this spontaneous excursion turns into a full-time move to a town that's completely different from the one you first grew up in. The whole thing would probably feel pretty jarring, right? Well, this hypothetical scenario was very much a reality for Ali Larter and Hayes MacArthur when they decided to leave Hollywood behind in the early 2020s, yet another example of their impulsive nature as a couple.

During a September 2024 interview with Rue, MacArthur explained that his and Larter's sudden decision to get out of dodge came about a year after the initial COVID-19 outbreak, which shut down production on countless films and TV shows. "The industry was at a total standstill and our kids were stuck on screens with remote schooling," he said, adding, "So, after a year, we just packed up the car and bounced." After becoming enamored with the small town of Sun Valley, Idaho, Larter and MacArthur made yet another quick decision: this was going to be their new home.

However, adjusting to this new way of life was a bit of a process, especially for the couple's eldest son, Theodore. "He likes fast cars and, like, designer colognes ... he wants to be in the big city. I'm like, 'At 18, you can go,'" Larter said on "Live with Kelly and Mark" in January 2025, though added that Theodore had since come around to Sun Valley. Perhaps he has similarly adjusted to his parents' somewhat odd and impulsive personalities, as well.