12 Celebrity Couples Who Have Opened Up About Why They Don't Want Kids

For generations, having children has been treated less like an option and more as a milestone that one is inevitably expected to cross, preferably with a spouse in tow. Couples who make alternate lifestyle choices, especially those that involve neither marriage nor parenthood, therefore find themselves at the receiving end of incessant and unsolicited scrutiny. The judgment reserved for celebrities in this regard is exponentially higher, given that their private lives are deemed public property destined to be microscopically dissected and served on a silver platter for everyone to devour. 

Lily Tomlin, a lifelong convention bender and one of Hollywood's foremost free spirits, was famously put on the spot by television host Johnny Carson in 1973, when he cast a spotlight on her unconventional choices by probing if she wanted children. "You could hear the audience stop dead. Because as a female, even to say you didn't necessarily want to have a child or act out the traditional role of any kind was heavy," she recalled to Metro Weekly. Even so, the oppressive atmosphere didn't stop her from asserting, "I like children but I don't really want to have any children and raise them." 

From the '70s to now, Hollywood has come a long way, and child-free couples are increasingly out, loud, and proud about their decision to eschew parenthood. Here are celebrity couples who have opened up about why they don't want kids and their take on the criticism that surrounds them. 

Seth Rogen doesn't play by the rules when it comes to his life choices, and things are no different on the parenthood front. The actor and his wife, Lauren Miller Rogen, have been enjoying each other's company for 22 years now — seven of them as a married couple — and are doing more than okay without children. 

"The older we get the more happy and reaffirmed we are with our choice to not have kids," he said on "The Diary Of A CEO" podcast. "We understand ourselves more than we ever have. We have the capacity to achieve a level of work and a level of communication and care for one another ... Me and my wife seem to get a lot more active enjoyment out of not having kids than anyone I know seems to get out of having kids."

Though the Rogens have been going steady on their decision — which the "Pineapple Express" star has reiterated also stems from a wariness around making a life-altering choice and then regretting it later — those around them haven't digested it too well. He told Esquire, "People really had strong takes on it, being like ... Who the f**k does he think he is not to have kids?" To them, his response is: "Well, if you hate me that much, why do you want more of me?" 

Portia de Rossi and Ellen DeGeneres have been one of Hollywood's foremost power couples for over 20 years, without any kids in the mix. And while that decision often left them feeling like they were, in De Rossi's words, "disappointing the whole of America" – with tabloids and her mother always hopeful of a pregnancy announcement — the television stars made it through to the other side without changing their minds (via "Jimmy Kimmel Live"). They directed any parental instincts they had toward the nieces in their family, whom the two seem to dote on. 

The topic of having children has apparently arisen many times in their marriage, but the couple has been wise enough to make a distinction between wanting kids and having the capacity for them. "I love kids. But that's such a big commitment. And it seems long-term," DeGeneres said on Today, before punctuating that thought with humor. "It seems like a commitment that you have to stick with. And I just don't know if I can — it's too risky. Like, what if I don't like the kid? What if it turns out that it's not as cute as I wanted or as talented?" 

Given how good-looking they are, fans have often wondered what Alison Brie and Dave Franco's children would look like. But to that end, the world will simply have to be content with going as far as their imagination can take them, since the actors have decided against becoming parents. "I don't really want to have kids ... It would be nice, but I think of all the things that would be so stressful," Brie told The Times, emphasizing the lack of stress she enjoys as a child-free actor who can plan her shooting schedules without worrying about pregnancy. 

It's not as if the pair don't have any reference points for what their life might look like with children to care for. As Brie added, "I think about how much we're involved in our cats' lives. Oh my God, if it was a child!" The convention-defying tone that would come to define their marriage was set right off the bat in 2017, when Brie and Franco decided to eschew modern celebrity traditions of hosting a luxurious, publicity-heavy wedding and instead tied the knot in a lowkey, home-bound ceremony on their balcony. 

Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman have been happily wedded since 2003 and attribute at least some part of their shared matrimonial success to their parenthood choices (or rather, the lack thereof). That, and "not being separated for Jurassic periods of time," as Mullally told GQ. Like many of their child-free contemporaries in the industry, the "Parks and Recreation" co-stars didn't really feel an instinctive pull toward bearing kids. That's not to say that they didn't still try. 

"We tried for about a year or so, and it didn't happen, and took that to mean it wasn't meant to be," Mullally said, noting that Offerman was the only person she would have been willing to give parenthood a shot with. She also emphasized, as she has on other occasions, that tying the knot with Offerman in her 40s probably already narrowed her biological window for bringing a child into the world. 

They seem to have reached a stage in their marriage where they can approach their choice to be child-free with the same easygoing touch of good humor that pervades their comedy careers. As Offerman quipped about their baby-making endeavors: "Our attempts may not have been great because we still haven't had full-on sex." 

Christopher Walken and Georgianne Walken are nearing 60 years of marriage, which by itself qualifies as a massive feat in an industry where celebrity marriages are incredibly short lived. And to think that the legendary Hollywood couple has sailed toward this rare marital milestone without leaning on parenthood to keep things together speaks volumes about the strength of their relationship. 

It's not as if the Walkens didn't ever toy with the idea of having children. The "Sleepy Hollow" star opened up to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association about wondering what his life might have been like with a daughter. It didn't seem to have been anything more than a moment of idle musing, though, with Christopher going on to say: "I'm glad that I don't have children. I have two brothers and they have plenty of children, they come to my house and I am always very glad when they leave." 

While Georgianne eventually bowed out of her Hollywood career, Christopher remained steady on his and built an incomparable legacy comprising over 70 years of acting work — something he attributes in no small part to his quiet, child-free lifestyle. He told The Guardian, "I don't have hobbies or children. I don't much care to travel. I've never had a big social life. I really just stay home, except when I go to work." 

The case Lily Tomlin has made for forgoing motherhood is a tad different from what her child-free counterparts have put forward. Instead of being dismissive of the whole idea, the legendary comedian has admitted to her love for children and also that she was not above entertaining the thought of having a mini version of her. She has even stated that she would have been a good mother. But here's the catch, as she told Metro Weekly, "I was selfish. I didn't want to be." 

As a multi-award-winning artist who shattered many glass ceilings to forge a pioneering comedy career in Hollywood, Tomlin understandably had little time — and bandwidth — to commit to motherhood. "I really do like kids, but there wouldn't have been room in my life to raise children ... I would have had to give up the career in large part because I could not possibly have shortchanged the child." 

During her over 50-year relationship with writer Jane Wagner — whom she married in 2013 — the topic of children was invariably raised, with Tomlin telling The Guardian that if it came to it, she would have been the one "to get up and fix breakfast for the kids and all that." That milestone never came, and Tomlin moved past it without regret. If anything, she was relieved. "When I think of the world now, I don't want to even deal with having to raise a child." 

John Cena has always known children would not fit well into his high-octane, pedal-to-the-metal lifestyle. It's a stance he is said to have maintained throughout his well-publicized relationship with ex-fiancée Nikki Bella — with rumor mills citing it as a reason for their breakup — and it's a view he holds even now in his marriage to Shay Shariatzadeh. "I try to approach the world with kindness and curiosity, but I don't think I'm personally ready, nor will I ever be, to invest the time it needs to be a great parent," he said on the "Club Shay Shay" podcast. 

In his explanation, which earned applause on the internet for its refreshing candor, the WWE world champion went on to say, "I want to live life for all it is, and I still have a lot to do ... I have a wonderful partner I do it with. We've had open conversations about this. We share the same values." Evidently, it's a subject Cena has pondered profoundly before publicizing his opinions. He also stated elsewhere that since he would not be able to offer a child the kind of time and care they deserve, forgoing parenthood entirely would be the more responsible option for someone like him. 

Sam Rockwell and Leslie Bibb understand that marriage and children are not hallmarks of a good relationship. And so, they have never cared to venture in either of those directions during their nearly 20-year-long love story. As Rockwell once put it to The Standard: "Leslie and I are very happy, we have [a] good life. We just like it the way it is. We don't want kids." 

Like most people who challenge tradition, "The White Lotus" co-stars also faced heat from people around them for choosing to forgo parenthood. But their conviction was steady enough to carry them through the criticism. "Listen, if I knew they'd turn out great, then maybe — but there's just no guarantee. Also, I don't want to be selfish and be a bad parent. My dad was a single parent, it takes a lot to be a parent," Rockwell said. 

Bibb's reasons to be child-free don't land too far from her partner's explanations. As someone who was single-handedly raised by her mother after her father died when she was a toddler, Bibb was exposed to the complexities of motherhood early on in her life. "I don't want kids. It's not a chip I have, and the mom I would want to be, I'm not sure I can be," she said on Today's "Open Book with Jenna." 

Oprah Winfrey and Stedman Graham have been a couple for 40 years, building a relationship that is as solid as it is nonconformist. Along with marriage, parenthood is another societal expectation the two have refused to give in to, despite the world relentlessly weighing in on Winfrey's personal life, which has been under the microscope ever since she became a celebrity. 

"I don't have the ability to compartmentalize the way I see other women do," the legendary host told People, elaborating how interacting with people through her shows confronted her with the reality of just how high-stakes the experience of motherhood was. It led her toward a newfound appreciation for her own life with Graham, who she said was "letting me be who I need to be in the world." 

As for any child-sized hole she may feel in her life, Winfrey has endless children in the fold of her philanthropic endeavors who fill it. "I feel like I am a mother to the world's children ... It doesn't matter if a child came from your womb or if you found that person at age two, 10 or 20," she told Good Housekeeping. "If the love is real, the caring is pure and it comes from a good space, it works."

Ricky Gervais is not known for mincing words. And one can best believe that he has been provocatively honest on the subject of why he hasn't become a father yet. "The world's overpopulated," he said in his standup special "Humanity," as the first of three reasons behind his decision to eschew parenthood (via Netflix). He further listed: "Two, kids are scroungers, aren't they? From day one, it's all, 'Me, me, me' ... And three, I'd worry sick about him." 

His partner of 44 years, author Jane Fallon, has been equally comfortable with her child-free lifestyle. "I've never regretted not having kids. Even as a child I found it hard to imagine being a mum," she wrote for The Guardian. "Being a mother wasn't who I was meant to be." Though she did admit to having mulled over the idea of having a larger family on occasion, her disposition pulled her back to reality. "In the end, it came down to the fact that I didn't think I'd be a good mum. I am too much of a worrier ... I know I would have stifled any kids I had with my overprotectiveness." 

Rachael Ray made the decision to be child-free many years ago — and staying steady on this path was hardly a cakewalk. The Food Network icon, who has been married to lawyer and occasional musician John Cusimano since 2005, has been open about the criticism her disinterest in motherhood brought her. "Boy, did I get bashed for it over the decades," she laughed on her podcast "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead," before going on to say that she pours her parental love into caring for her dogs. "They never talk back, they always want to hug you ... it really gets you through dark days." 

There was also a great degree of pragmatism attached to Ray's seemingly non-traditional life choices. As she told People not long after tying the knot, "I don't have time. I work too much to be an appropriate parent ... I just feel like I would do a bad job if I took the time to literally give birth to a kid right now and try and juggle everything I'm doing." In fact, motherhood wasn't the only aspect of her life she couldn't devote her attention to. Ray was unabashed in claiming that her mindset sometimes even failed to accommodate men beyond a point, something, she said, her husband was okay with.

At almost 60 years, Ina Garten and Jeffrey Garten share one of the longest marriages showbiz has ever seen. And it's a milestone they are reaching without any children in tow. The decision came largely from the world-renowned chef, who knew early on in her life that motherhood was a checkbox she had no interest in ticking off her list — a bold move, considering that she got married in the relatively conservative '60s. 

"I had no interest in having children," Ina said plainly on Julia Louis-Dreyfus' "Wiser Than Me" podcast. "I just had a terrible childhood. And it was nothing I wanted to recreate ... when I was 20, I didn't want anything to do with it." She luckily found a partner in Jeffrey who, despite his own desires to be a father, was supportive of her resoluteness to remain child-free. "He wanted me to be happy. And it was okay with him," Ina said of her economist husband. 

Ina has spoken extensively about how her childhood, overshadowed by abuse and neglect from her parents, shaped her outlook toward domestic dynamics and therefore the rest of her life. She said on "Good Hang with Amy Poehler," "I just can't imagine my life any other way. I've done what I wanted to do. I've had just a wonderful time."