As she makes the rounds for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’s 2024 movie schedule debut, Winona Ryder is looking towards the future. She’s also got a healthy eye on the past too, as a recent interview actually brought up the fact that Ryder frequently refers to her perennial co-star/dear friend Keanu Reeves as her husband. There’s a whole history behind why she does that, and there’s no time like the present to dig into the truth behind how one of Winona Ryder’s best movies became a recurring sign of warmth between these crazy kids.
Wait, When Did Winona Ryder And Keanu Reeves Get Married?
Don’t adjust your set, folks, as Ms. Ryder isn’t saying that she and the iconic John Wick actor are in a marriage that’s been hidden from the public. On the contrary, these nuptials were on display for everyone to see in 1992’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula. However, it wasn’t until a 2018 interview with EW where Winona Ryder actually brought this up with Keanu Reeves.
As the two were promoting their seemingly destined rom-com Destination Wedding, the actor who played Mina to Reeves’ Jonathan dropped the following bombshell:
We actually got married in Dracula. No, I swear to god I think we’re married in real life. In that scene, Francis [Ford Coppola] used a real Romanian priest. We shot the master and he did the whole thing. So I think we’re married.
Apparently Francis Ford Coppola‘s taste for the authentic shaped this perfect storm of oops, and he didn’t quite realize it until it was all in the can. I mean, if you’re accidentally going to get married, I can think of worse scenarios than becoming betrothed to someone that you have a “healthy crush” on.
And those aren’t my words, but rather Winona Ryder’s from an Entertainment Tonight interview for Destination Wedding. Is it just me, or does anyone else feel like they may have missed out on not seeing this movie when it was first released?
Just when you thought this story couldn’t get any cuter, Keanu Reeves’ reaction to this revelation is absolutely the sweet sort of surprise you’d expect. Digging further into this story about really committing to the bit, the pair went back and forth about whether or not they were hitched. Here’s the rest of that story:
“Keanu Reeves: We said yes?
Winona Ryder: Don’t you remember that? It was on Valentine’s Day.
Reeves: Oh my gosh, we’re married.”
If that didn’t just warm your heart, I don’t know what’s wrong with you. Considering their first collaboration bore the tagline, “Love Never Dies,” the enduring friendship between Keanu Reeves and Winona Ryder is even more delightful in hindsight. And before we go any further, here’s the Bram Stoker’s Dracula scene in question that literally sent this pair down the aisle… as well as turned one of its characters into a vampire:
That is the most real fake wedding I’ve seen in quite some time, and I’m a veteran of watching some of the best rom-coms ever committed to the screen. Before we move forward, I have to warn you of two things, the first of which is that Winona Ryder and Keanu Reeves are romantically seeing other people.
It bears repeating, as I don’t want anyone getting their hopes up about these lovely actors getting together. But the second warning is more important, as this tale is about to get even more adorable without even trying.
How Keanu Reeves And Winona Ryder Still Bring Up Their On-Set Marriage
Admittedly, the catalyst for this rundown was Winona Ryder’s Happy Sad Confused podcast episode, which saw her stumping for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’s theatrical release. It’s thanks to her discussion with host Josh Horowitz that this historical footnote is going to probably see some increased discussion, as Ms. Ryder shared this further tidbit about their enduring friendship:
We do text, and we always say who it is, even though it says it on the text. On his birthday it’s like ‘Happy birthday my husband.’ And as I put ‘Noni,’ he’s like ‘Hey wife! Love you! KR57.’
It’s been roughly six years since the Destination Wedding interview made this mind-blowing connection, and yet Keanu Reeves is still mentioning it. So for as long as I’ve actually been married to my wife, Winona Ryder and her would-be beloved have continued to keep this connection in the conversation. And don’t think this is just a one-sided deal either!
Check out this November 2021 interview that Keanu did with Esquire, in which he calls out the bridal gown in the room:
In the eyes of you, the reading audience, I have to ask, why aren’t we putting Keanu Reeves and Winona Ryder in even more rom-coms or shared projects as a whole? And furthermore, thanks to Ms. Ryder’s praise of Jenna Ortega, could we get the Wednesday star to play their child? Because that feels like a complete set right there.
This entire scenario is giving off the sort of positive energy we all could use more of. The fact that I’m even using that sort of description is proof, because I don’t normally talk like that. Alas, there’s one more question to answer, which will bring us all back to reality.
Who Are Winona Ryder And Keanu Reeves Currently Dating?
I need to play the Reality Police one last time here, but it’s worth it because both Winona Ryder and Keanu Reeves are in their own committed relationships of love. For Reeves, his current partner is visual artist Alexandra Grant, whom he has been dating since 2018. Reeves & Grant’s 2023 red carpet appearance showed the lovely couple in a rare moment in front of the Hollywood press, and yeah, they’re pretty damned adorable.
The same could be said about Winona Ryder and partner Scott Mackinlay Hahn, who were both spotted by People Magazine during Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’s premiere at the Venice Film Festival. Together since 2010, Ryder met her fashion designing gentleman at a party promoting the picture Black Swan, and they have been comfortably low-key together since.
Do Keanu Reeves and Winona Ryder still feel like they would make the perfect married couple? The ‘yes’ I would speak aloud is as confident as Gary Oldman’s Dracula trying to win over his lady love. But does that mean the reality of their solid friendship is any less beautiful with separate partners? It absolutely does not.
Happiness looks beautiful on both of these icons, and if anything, we should all be hoping for them to reunite on screen. I mean, it’s been six years since they last appeared together, and that’s way too long as far as I’m concerned. It’s a good thing Bram Stoker’s Dracula is available to stream with an MGM+ account, which can conveniently be added onto a Prime Video subscription.