Julia Roberts MY MARRIAGE SECRETS

THE STAR SPILLS ON TWO DECADES OF LOW-KEY LOVE WITH DANNY MODER

-  Jennie Noonan

In 2002, guests turning up to a July 4 bash at a 16-hectare ranch owned by Julia Roberts near Taos, New Mexico were in for a surprise. “Come celebrate our Independence Day on the green grass under the stars with the dogs and horses,” read their invitations sent to family and close friends, including George Clooney and Brad Pitt. They were also asked to wear linen or “sweet summer hats” in line with the theme, “Midsummer Night’s Dream-ish meets Great Gatsby-like combined with Wild West Bohemian”. Shortly after midnight, under a large white tent, Roberts exchanged vows with cameraman Daniel Moder in a top-secret wedding ceremony. In the two decades since, the low-key couple has still managed to keep much of their relationship under wraps. However, as they celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary, Roberts spilled her advice for lasting love. “Two bathroom sinks,” she jokingly advised on SiriusXM’s The Jess Cagle Podcast. “And lots of kissing.”

The couple, who share 17-year-old twins Hazel and Phinnaeus, and son Henry, 15, spend most of their life away from the public eye, dividing their time between properties in New York City, San Francisco, Malibu, Taos and Hawaii. Roberts, who at one time was one of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood, says her husband has played a significant role in shaping how her life looks now. “I think that first kind of real … ‘seismic shift’ was meeting Danny,” she told Gwyneth Paltrow’s The Goop Podcast in 2018. “Getting married to Danny. That was the first, like, my life will never be the same in the most incredible, indescribable way.”