Julia Roberts Described Husband Daniel Moder As The 'Best Decision' She's Ever Made — Inside Their Marriage

Mar 04, 2022 by apost team

Julia Roberts has been one of the top leading actresses in Hollywood since she starred in the 1990 film “Pretty Woman,” which is still one of the roles she is most remembered for. The star has received numerous accolades for her acting over the years, including an Academy Award and three Golden Globes. 

But alongside her very public rise to stardom, Roberts also had a rich private life that included dating not one or two, but quite a number of her co-stars. In fact, she was quite the "Runaway Bride" in real life, since she was married once and engaged to multiple men before she finally settled down with the one.

What's rather interesting is that despite being one of the most famous people in the world and almost exclusively dating celebrities throughout the '80s and '90s, Roberts found her soulmate in cinematographer Daniel Moder, whom she married in 2002. Although Daniel works in the film and television industry just like her, he's not a celebrity. 

The couple met on the set of the movie “The Mexican,” where Moder had been a cameraman and Roberts the leading lady. Together they have three children — twins Phinnaeus and Hazel, 17, and a son named Henry, 14.  Since they got together, Julia has done her best to keep herself and her family away from the public eye.

However, clearly in love with her husband of nearly two decades the actress even opened up to Gwyneth Paltrow on her "Goop" podcast in 2018 to talk about her marriage, among other topics. She said that her husband is her "favorite human" and that she's more interested in his point of view than anybody else. Let's find out more about Roberts' beloved husband.

Roberts' road to finding true love was not a straight line — in fact, the actress went through quite a number of potential suitors before she landed on the one. From the moment she began her Hollywood ascent in the late-'80s, Roberts was almost always involved with another actor, oftentimes her co-stars. She was even engaged to a number of partners before they broke up, which in hindsight, gives new meaning to the term (and her hit film) "runaway bride"!

Her first famous boyfriend, early in her career was Liam Neeson, who she met after the two appeared in the 1988 movie "Satisfaction" together, about an all-girl rock band. The two began dating and were together for over one year before they broke up. The couple's age gap was considerable, with Roberts 19 years old at the time while Neeson was 35, and he'd already established himself in Hollywood.

"The Kitty Kelley Files: Julia Roberts," as per The Irish Times, reported that the two were involved in a passionate affair that saw them move in together after only two weeks. Neeson would be the first of many relationships that Roberts had with her fellow leading men.

Soon after Roberts ended her relationship with Neeson, she began dating Dylan McDermott in May 1988. The two met on the set of the movie "Steel Magnolias," in which, funnily enough, they portrayed newlyweds. In a case of life imitating art, Roberts and McDermott were engaged for much of their nearly two-year relationship — the first of Roberts' multiple engagements — but before they had a chance to say "I do," the actress broke things off in 1990. This would be the first of a number of men the actress would be engaged to in her life. 

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Just like how she met Neeson and McDermott, Roberts then met Kiefer Sutherland on a film set when the two starred in "Flatliners" together. Their relationship began in April 1990 and after they dated for less than one year, they revealed their engagement, which was Roberts' second.

However, once again, it wasn't meant to be, and similarly to how her relationship with McDermott ended before the couple took a trip down the aisle, Roberts called off her wedding to Sutherland too. However, that time she did so a mere three days before the planned date of their wedding in June 1991 and it wasn't without controversy. At the time, it was reported that on the day that Roberts was meant to wed Sutherland, she actually flew off with actor Jason Patric, who happened to be a good friend of his. The pair jetted off to Ireland and although they enjoyed a whirlwind romance, they split up by 1992.

With two failed engagements, Roberts would finally settle down and get married to musician and actor Lyle Lovett in 1993. It's said that the two had an immediate connection when they met on the set of "The Player" in 1992 and by June of the following year, they'd tied the knot, which marked Roberts' first successful marriage. However, it wasn't meant to be, and by March 1995 the couple had divorced.

Following her divorce from Lovett Roberts was linked to "Friends" star Matthew Perry between 1995 to 1996, however, there isn't much information about their union. Their relationship was said to have started when Roberts guest-starred in an episode of "Friends" in 1994, which is consistent with her pattern of dating co-stars. Nevertheless, the couple didn't last. 

Fans of Roberts will surely remember her relationship with actor Benjamin Bratt — after all, she thanked him publicly when she won her Oscar in 2001 for "Erin Brockovich." In fact, their relationship is one of her longest romances as they were together for nearly four years.

It's reported that the actress first met Bratt while she was at a restaurant in Nov. 1997, before they were introduced by friends. Although they appeared to be in it for the long haul, they ended up splitting in June 2001, which happened to be around the time Roberts' movie that she worked on with Moder came out.

After years of being a runaway bride — including one marriage and multiple engagements that she ended herself — Roberts finally found the one when she met her future husband. Although Moder isn't an actor like most of her other exes, he and Roberts did meet on a movie set. A cameraman, Moder had worked on "The Mexican," the 2001 movie in which Roberts starred alongside Brad Pitt. 

However, there was a small issue before the couple got together — Moder was still married to his first wife Vera Steimberg when he and Roberts met. Nevertheless, Moder ended his marriage soon after and their love proved to be the real deal. By June 2002 the couple got married — there was no more running away for this bride! 

A few years after their wedding the couple expanded their family to include twins Phinnaeus and Hazel, 17, and a son named Henry, 14. Although she tends to keep her personal life private, Roberts has on a few occasions opened up about her relationship with Moder and just how happy they make each other.

In her interview with Gwyneth Paltrow for the GOOP Podcast in 2018, Roberts — who is usually very private in interviews — uncharacteristically opened up about how incredibly special the connection she shares with Moder is. She said:

"I think that first kind of real 'seismic shift' was meeting Danny, getting married to Danny ... That was the first like, my life will never be the same in the most incredible, indescribable way."

She continued to praise her husband and described him as her "favorite human." She added:

"He truly, to this day, to this minute is just my favorite human ... I'm more interested in what he has to say or his point of view just (more) than anybody. Really, we're so lucky in that way. We just really, really like each other and we just enjoy each other's company."

The actress went on to talk about marriage and how they've chosen to parent their children together. She said: "We've been married for 16 years, we've been together for 18 ... It just gets deeper, it just gets more complex." She then explained how you never really know how marriage will work until you're already doing it:

"... you're young and you fall in love and go, 'Yeah, we're going to get married and we're going to build a house and will have kids,' and all these things that we all kind of dream of, but you don't know if you're going to like the same couch and you don't know if he is going to want to get patterned towels."

She continued as she revealed that things fell into place very easily for them:

"Then, of course, the bigger ones are, will you parent in a way that has balance to it, that holds hands in philosophy ... You just don't know these things until you are right there doing it and we are so fortunate that there is some kind of some explicable harmony to the way we do things."

If it wasn't already obvious that Roberts is completely enamored with Moder, she made it clear when she said:

"He's the best decision I've ever made."

In the last few years, Roberts has begun to open up about her relationship with her husband. Although they've kept to themselves in the past, she's shared tributes for their wedding anniversary on her Instagram in recent years.

Roberts didn't hold back when she honored their 19th-anniversary last year. When the date rolled around on July 4, 2021, the actress couldn't help but post something personal. She shared a candid photo of the two of them on a beach in which she's beaming. Meanwhile, Moder appeared to have just had a swim, as his hair was wet and tousled and he was wrapped in a towel. Roberts had her arm around Moder in the photo, which looked to be a selfie. She captioned the sweet tribute:

"19 years ❤️🤍💙 Just getting started!"

The red, white and blue hearts appear to be a nod to the U.S. flag, as their wedding anniversary falls on Independence Day. Famous friends and fans alike congratulated the couple, including Tom Hanks' wife Rita Wilson, who commented: "Happy happy anniversary! Gotta celebrate big on 20th!" Roberts even replied to her friend's comment with, "we will come to your house!🥰💓💋🥳." 

In 2020, Roberts shared a sweet anniversary tribute to Moder that included a photo of her kissing him on the cheek while he smiled at the camera. She captioned it, "18 years #heckyes"

Then on their 17th wedding anniversary in 2019, Julia shared a picture of herself wearing a T-shirt that had a photo of her husband as a kid doing a wheelie on a bicycle. She captioned it #TheWheelieKingsWife. 

That year, Moder posted a tribute to his wife in May for Mother's Day. His post included a picture of their family of five posing for a cute photo and said: "That pretty mama in the middle. We love you so much."

The couple's children have mostly stayed out of the spotlight, but in a rare and unexpected appearance, 17-year-old Hazel accompanied her father to the Cannes Film Festival in France last year, where she made her red carpet debut. Moder was there to promote the movie "Flag Day," on which he was the cinematographer.

Although she didn't appear in the film, Hazel came along to the movie's premiere with her dad and it was incredibly sweet. Her natural beauty shined through and while she has certainly inherited features from her mom, including her smile and nose, there's no doubt that Hazel looks a lot like her father as her beaming blue eyes are an exact carbon copy of his. Daniel was a very supportive father at the event, as he stayed by Hazel's side the entire time and also put his arm around her.

There's no doubt Roberts has found the one in Moder and together they've raised their kids in a loving family. Back in 2020, an insider told Closer Weekly that "(Roberts and Moder) truly feel like soulmates," and added that the couple is "committed to staying together for the long haul, whatever it takes.” 

Did you know about Julia Roberts' relationship with her husband Daniel Moder? What about her long dating journey to finally meeting the one? Let us know what you think and then pass this on so others can read about it too!