Celebrities Who Reportedly Turned Down Marriage Proposals – SheKnows

Marriage proposals can be quite daunting in many ways. Aside from having to plan the most romantic moment that perfectly embodies the two of you as a couple, there is always the possibility that your significant other will say “no.” And while we hope this doesn’t happen to anyone reading this, it turns out that even some of our favorite stars have turned down marriage proposals over the years.

Related story

According to reports, Leonardo DiCaprio’s recent birthday proved that he has already taken this big step with Vittoria Ceretti

From Marilyn Monroe to Jennifer Lopez to Kylie Jenner, it turns out that many stars have been hesitant to walk down the aisle. And while some of these couples, like Denzel Washington and his longtime wife Pauletta, eventually tied the knot, for some couples, like Nicole Scherzinger and Lewis Hamilton, the rejection was the nail in the coffin of their relationship.

To learn more stars who turned down proposals, scroll below!

• Nicole Scherzinger

  
  Photo credit: David M. Benett/Getty Images

  Nicole Scherzinger and Lewis Hamilton were once a strong couple and experienced many ups and downs in their relationship. Lute! News: The Formula 1 driver even proposed to the singer a month after she announced her retirement in July 2013.[Hamilton] “I proposed to Nicole on the beach in Malibu” and “tried to win her back,” a source revealed. Scherzinger, for her part, rejected the romantic marriage proposal. Shortly afterwards the two separated for good.

• Jason Trawick

  
  Image source: Gregg DeGuire/FilmMagic via Getty Images

  While Britney Spears is one of the most famous women in the world, her former partner Jason Trawick reportedly didn’t take the opportunity to say “yes” to the singer while they were together. According to Marie Claire, Trawick initially turned down her marriage proposal because he “takes marriage very seriously.” The two eventually got engaged, but broke up shortly after in 2013.

• Pauletta Washington

  
  Photo credit: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic via Getty Images

  Before Denzel Washington’s longtime wife Pauletta became one of Hollywood’s biggest power couples, she was hesitant to say “yes.” As it turns out, Denzel got down on one knee not once, not twice, but three times! “She rejected me, she said no,” the actor told Access Hollywood, per E! News. “And since it was three times, that means she rejected me twice.” The two have been happily married since 1983.

• Katy Perry

  
  Photo credit: Kevin Mazur/WireImage via Getty Images

  Following their split, John Mayer reportedly proposed to Katy Perry shortly after she was seen moving on with her new husband Orlando Bloom. “He [proposed] over the phone,” a source told Star, according to Hollywood Life. “He told her he was ready to buy her a Cartier ring and knelt down. He still calls her and texts her all the time and when he asked her the question she couldn’t believe it.”

  As for her reaction, it seems like Perry completely turned her relationship with Mayer on its head. “She pretty much laughed at him,” the insider continued. “But Katy is so sick of John loving her and leaving her behind, and she told him she can see a real future with Orlando.” Many years and a baby later, it seems she was right!

• Marilyn Monroe

  
  Image source: Baron/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

  Shortly before her untimely death, Marilyn Monroe reportedly rejected a marriage proposal from another major star: Frank Sinatra. “Frank wanted to marry the bride,” Jilly Rizzo, Sinatra’s closest aide, told James Kaplan in the biography “Sinatra: The Chairman,” according to The Mirror. “He asked her and she said no.”

• Kate Upton

  
  Image source: Michael Buckner/Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images

  Before tying the knot in 2017, Kate Upton reportedly rejected her now-husband Justin Verlander’s marriage proposal in 2015. “She feels like she has years left to be a wife,” the source told OK! by the time. “She’s so confident in their relationship that she knows Justin will wait.” Turns out she was right!

• Helena Victory

  
  Photo credit: Piero Cruciatti/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

  Football star Zlatan Ibrahimovic told Piers Morgan how his long-term partner Helena Seger once rejected his proposal. “That was a few years ago because I said, ‘After 20 years, you deserve to be married to me,'” Ibrahimovic said on Piers Morgan Uncensored, according to The Sun. “She said, ‘I don’t have to be married to you to be with you.’ She’s strong, she’s very strong.”

• Jennifer Lopez

  
  Photo credit: Andreas Branch/Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images

  During an appearance on The Late Late Show With James Corden, Jennifer Lopez famously admitted that she had proposed marriage a total of five times, despite only being married three times (at the time). One of those two rejected proposals reportedly came from her ex-boyfriend Casper Smart, who proposed “at least five times” in 2015, according to Life&Style and Bustle.

  “Jen eventually snapped at Casper by ordering him to stop proposing because she was tired of being told no,” a source told the outlet. “He’s probably asked her at least five times this year alone!”

• Reese Witherspoon

  
  Photo credit: Kevin Mazur/VF/WireImage for Vanity Fair via Getty Images

  After her divorce from Ryan Phillippe in 2008, Reese Witherspoon began dating fellow actor Jake Gyllenhaal. According to some rumors, Gyllenhaal even popped the question, but Witherspoon declined, People reports.

  “Family is all we have in life, but I don’t know how I feel about marriage,” Witherspoon told Parade around the same time, according to People. “Obviously I’m not far enough from marriage to think about doing it again. You are, so to speak, restoring your family. You find a family with people who come into your life for a reason.”

• Heinrich Hager

  
  Photo credit: Peter Kramer/NBC/NBC Newswire/NBCUniversal via Getty Images

  Five years before Henry Hager got down on one knee and proposed to Jenna Bush, she took matters into her own hands and proposed to him instead. “I asked Henry to marry me,” she once told Today Show co-host Hoda Kotb, according to Oprah Daily. When asked why Kotb didn’t know this beforehand, Jenna replied, “Because he said no.”

  “After three months of dating – I could have maybe had a Christmas cocktail – and we were dancing and I said, ‘That’s it, I know it, let’s just get married, what are we waiting for?'” she recalled. “He smiled and said, ‘I’m crazy about you, but you’re young.'” The two eventually got engaged in 2007 and tied the knot a year later.

• Kylie Jenner

  
  Photo credit: Brenton Ho/Billboard/Penske Media via Getty Images

  Back in 2018, Hollywood Life reported that Kylie Jenner rejected her boyfriend Travis Scott’s marriage proposal while they were on a romantic getaway together.

  “When Kylie and Travis were on their trip, he spontaneously asked her to marry him, but she turned him down for now,” a source told the outlet. “Kylie definitely wants to marry Travis, but she also really loves the way things are the way they are. She knows she rushed into this relationship, so she’s trying to slow things down and enjoy each phase. She also receives a lot of advice from Khloe [Kardashian] encouraging her to wait out the whole wedding thing.”

  Jenner and Scott, who have children Stormi and Aire together, separated for the second time at the end of 2022.