Hollywood Husbands Who Are Barely Recognizable Now

There are presumably a lot of benefits to being famous, but there's also at least one major drawback: Maintaining a relationship in the spotlight is hard. Every week, it seems, there's news of a new couple getting together and an old one splitting up; it's rare to hear of a Hollywood relationship actually prevailing. That isn't, of course, to say a successful relationship in Hollywood is impossible — but between hectic schedules, paparazzi and gossip magazines, and the pressure of living life under a magnifying glass, celebrity relationships are a lot more fragile than your average relationship, and far more susceptible to outside influence. 

There are, however, many celebrities that have made their relationships last, and nearly all of these couplings have two thing in common: They keep their personal lives as private as possible, and the husband is happy to stay out of the limelight and watch his wife shine. We've rounded up a list of Hollywood husbands that you probably wouldn't be able to recognize without their famous wives. Nearly all the couples on this list have maintained healthy, successful marriages for years, despite the constant pressure of Hollywood, so you know they're doing something right.

If you don't recognize Peter Sarsgaard from his roles in DC Comics' Green Lantern, mid-aughts rom-com Garden State, or Netflix series The Killing, don't feel bad — the 48-year-old actor stays mostly out of the spotlight, opting for a quiet life in Brooklyn, New York with wife Maggie Gyllenhaal (whom he married in 2009) and daughters Ramona, 12, and Gloria, 7. 

Sarsgaard has also changed his appearance quite a few times since making his screen debut in the 1995 film Dead Man Walking (including wearing an unruly fake beard throughout 2015 for his role in Experimenter, a biopic detailing the life and accomplishments of social scientist Stanley Milgram). In fact, he's sort of known for his ability to transform for roles, such as when he played a homophobic, deranged serial killer in the 1999 flick Boys Don't Cry. These days, however, Sarsgaard keeps it simple, wearing his his newly grey-tinted hair long and combed back, and his (real) facial hair short and slightly scruffy. He's got that hot-Brooklyn-dad thing going on, and we're all about it.

Don Gummer has seen his share of red carpets over the years, but he's not exactly someone you'd recognize on the street — at least, not without his ultra-famous wife, Meryl Streep, by his side. Though the duo got married more than 40 years ago in 1978 (after dating for just six months!) and have been inseparable since, Gummer has been able to maintain a relatively low profile over the years, even while accompanying his successful wife to awards shows and other highly-photographed Hollywood events. 

That's partly because Gummer looks much different than he did in the early years of his marriage to Streep: His curly brown hair has softened to a striking silver-gray, and his handsome face — while still, as always, clean-shaven — is beginning to show the changes that come with age (not everyone can be as flawless as Meryl, after all). It's a look perfectly fitting for Gummer's most important role to date: First time grandfather (his and Streep's daughter, Mamie, gave birth to her first child in early 2019).

If you're a huge football fan, you may be familiar with Eric Johnson, a former tight end for the San Fransisco 49ers. If not, you probably only know of him as the husband of singer and designer Jessica Simpson, and father to her three children, Maxwell, 6,  Ace, 5, and Birdie Mae, born in March 2019. 

Johnson began his career as a wide receiver for at Yale University's football team, and later played in the NFL for seven years before retiring in 2008. He and Simpson met in early 2010 and married later that same year; they've been pretty much inseparable ever since. Though Johnson is well-known amongst football buffs, you'd be unlikely to recognize him out and about without his famous wife, especially considering how much he's has changed his appearance through the years. But while he's aged noticeably since his retirement in 2008 — and embraced his greying, salt-and-pepper hair — Simpson remains "very attracted" to her hot husband. Honestly, we get it.

A figure in the music industry for more than 20 years, Kings of Leon frontman Caleb Followill is no stranger to celebrity life. But despite his band's success — and the fact that he's married to ultra-famous Victoria's Secret Angel Lily Aldridge — Followill rarely appears in paparazzi shots or celebrity gossip magazines, instead preferring to let his wife take the spotlight. 

Followill and Aldridge met at Coachella music festival in 2007 and married a few years later in 2011; since then, they've welcomed two children, Dixie Pearl (born in 2012) and Winston Roy (born in January 2019). Despite once telling Entertainment Weekly he "[doesn't] like change much," Followill's fashionable wife also inspired a pretty significant transformation in regards to his personal style. He's replaced his long locks (and apparent penchant for vests) with a new, closely cropped 'do, subtle facial hair, and a decidedly more polished wardrobe — though the Tennessee native still lets his Southern roots shine through from time to time. See, Caleb? Sometimes change is good — or in this case, really, really good.

The best part of being a child star? You can grow up and go relatively unnoticed, as is the case for Spy Kids actor Daryl Sabara. 

Though Sabara starred in all three Spy Kids films as the goofy child spy Juni Cortez, he's barely recognizable now, having outgrown his awkward phase in a major way. In 2018, after an introduction by mutual friend Chloe Grace-Moretz, Sabara married "All About That Bass" singer Meghan Trainor in an intimate backyard ceremony at their home in Los Angeles. And while Sabrara's more grown-up appearance can be attributed to, well, growing up, Trainor has undergone a bit of a transformation too: In 2018 she spoke to Entertainment Tonight about her new slimmer figure, crediting Sabara with "saving her life," explaining, "he taught me how to work healthy, and we work out together." 

Both of them are looking better than ever, and we couldn't be happier for the newlyweds.

Fans of pop-punk band Good Charlotte probably remember frontman Benji Madden as the eyeliner-wearing, trucker-hat aficionado, rock-and-roll bad boy he was in the band's heyday (the early 2000s were a weird time for everyone, okay?). These days, however, Benji is but a (handsome) shadow of his former self. 

He's ditched the makeup and over-the-top punk threads in favor of a seriously sleek new style, no doubt influenced by wife Cameron Diaz, whom he married in 2015. He also removed his facial piercings, instead opting to grow out some well-groomed facial hair. Though remnants of his rocker past remain (those tattoos aren't going anywhere) and his affinity for hats remains the same, Madden's new, grown up look has us doing a double take in the best way possible. But fans, fret not: Madden may look different, but Good Charlotte is still going strong after returning from a four-year hiatus in 2015. 

While you probably know his name, Stedman Graham keeps his personal life pretty quiet — a true accomplishment, considering his partner, Oprah Winfrey, is easily one of the most recognizable people in the world. 

Stedman Graham and Oprah Winfrey started dating more than 30 years ago in 1986; though never married, they've been together ever since. In Goop's very first podcast in March 2018 (via Vanity Fair), Winfrey suggested the longevity of their relationship can be credited to the fact that they keep out of the public eye, explaining, "every time there's a new photograph, there's a new story." 

Unsurprisingly, Graham's appearance — as well as Winfrey's — has changed significantly since the iconic pair first got together in the '80s: He's aged, and his once inky-black, curly hair has faded to a bright silvery-white. His trademark mustache, on the other hand, remains exactly the same as it was when we were introduced to him all those years ago. Some things never change (and honestly, we wouldn't want them to).

Even if you haven't heard of Jeff Richmond, you've undoubtedly seen his work: The multi-talented man behind the scenes (and husband of 18 years to actress Tina Fey) has lent his talents producing, composing, and directing to everything from Netflix hits (The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), network series (NBC's 30 Rock) and Broadway musicals (the live-action Broadway adaptation of Mean Girls). 

Despite having more than a few impressive filmography credits under his belt, Richmond is not someone you'd likely recognize, in part because he generally stays out of the spotlight — and in part because his look has changed a lot over the years. Recently, the 58-year-old father of two has been seen sporting a full salt-and-pepper beard, a significant and distinctive change from the clean-shaven look he sported when he was younger. He's also grown out his curly hair quite a bit, giving the composer some serious scruffy-college-professor vibes. We have a feeling Fey's a fan.

Up until late 2018, few people realized that Full House star Lori Loughlin (aka Aunt Becky) was married to fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, of Target's now-defunct Mossimo line. But news of the pair's criminal activities (namely, their bribery of college officials to secure daughters' Olivia Jade and Isabella Rose admission to the University of Southern California) has propelled the couple into the spotlight. 

Unsurprisingly given their legal woes, Giannulli has been looking worse for wear. He was photographed in March 2019 just after posting bond, his usually clean-shaven face hidden behind an unkempt white beard and long, messy hair, while his normally healthy-looking figure appeared a quite a bit thinner than usual. 

Though we hope he finds a healthy way to cope with the stress that surely comes from having to face the repercussions of his poor decisions, being a little unrecognizable may come in handy for the time being as it's probably in Giannulli's best interest to lay low while the courts decide his and Loughlin's fate.

Actor and professional chef David Burtka is no stranger to the spotlight: He's acted in television and films since the late '90s, and has been married to actor Neil Patrick Harris since 2014 (though they were together for a decade before tying the knot). 

After celebrating their 15-year-anniversary on April 2, 2019, Burtka spoke to Closer Weekly later that month about how he and Harris have managed to maintain a healthy relationship in Hollywood for so long. The 43-year-old explained, "I think people forget that we grow individually and relationships grow individually and that it's okay... if you're becoming different people sometimes. I think you have to go into the future and into the unknown with brave abandonment. ...It's work, you know, but if you can do it healthily and you can do it with trust and honesty then, you know, it's a no-brainer." 

Though the father-of-two has aged a bit since his silver screen debut in 1999, its clear marriage (and fatherhood) has done Burtka well; even with graying hair and deepening smile lines, he's just as handsome — if not even more so — than ever. We're betting Harris agrees.

You may recognize actor Thomas Sadoski from his roles in HBO series The Newsroom or CBS sitcom Life in Pieces, but did you know he's married to Mean Girls and Mamma Mia! star Amanda Seyfried? The two met on the set of off-broadway play The Way We Get By in 2015 and eloped in March 2017 after just a year of dating.

Despite the pair's combined fame in the entertainment industry, Sadoski and Seyfried stay out of the Hollywood circuit as much as possible. While they have homes in both New York and Los Angeles, the first-time parents (who welcomed a daughter in 2017, shortly after their spur-of-the-moment wedding) spend much of their downtime on an idyllic farm in upstate New York, complete with chickens, horses, and goats. 

The pair's preference for privacy also means you'd be unlikely to see Sadoski in public aside from his current role in Public Theater production White Noise — though if you did, you may not recognize him with his newly-graying stubble and his casual, dad-friendly threads.

Few Hollywood marriages are able to stand the test of time, but actor Courtney B. Vance and wife, actress Angela Bassett, have demonstrated that there are exceptions to every rule. According to People, the pair first met at the Yale School of Drama and wed more than a decade later after reconnecting by chance in the mid '90s. Since then, they've maintained a strong (and unusually private) marriage, raising twins Slater and Bronwyn (born in 2006 via surrogate), and supporting one another in their acting careers. 

While Bassett is easily recognized thanks to her starring roles in Ryan Murphy's American Horror Story and Marvel smash hit Black Panther, Vance keeps a slightly lower profile, despite his extensive credits in film, television, and theater productions. The 59-year-old actor snagged an Emmy Award (plus Golden Globe and SAG Award nominations) for his portrayal of Johnnie Cochran in FX's 2018 miniseries The People Vs. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, and is set to appear in HBO series Lovecraft Country in 2019. He's come a long way since his humble beginnings as a drama student — and we can't wait to see what comes next.

Unless you're a true film buff, you're probably unfamiliar with Cash Warren. The 40-year-old made a name for himself in Hollywood as a producer, working on films such as Taxi and Fantastic Four — the latter of which introduced him to his wife of more than ten years, Jessica Alba. The pair "fell in love at first sight," Alba told Cosmopolitan in 2010 (via Popsugar), and have three children together: daughters Honor, 10, Haven, 7, and son Hayes, born in 2017. 

Unlike his wife, who is seemingly immune to the passing of time, Warren has undergone something of a transformation since his debut as a Hollywood husband in 2008, going from a young, fresh-faced bachelor with great hair to a handsome, distinguished "stud" (with even better hair). Alba seems to find her hubby just as hot as ever, though, as the pair were spotted kissing and holding hands while celebrating Alba's 38th birthday in Morocco in April 2019.

Hockey fans may be familiar with Canadian athlete Mike Fisher, former player for the Ottawa Senators and Nashville Predators, but off the ice, he's best known as singer Carrie Underwood's handsome husband. 

The pair met through a mutual friend in 2008, and immediately felt an attraction: Underwood revealed on VH1's Behind The Music (via Country Living) that after meeting Fisher for the first time, she texted her friend to thank him for setting her up with the "hot, hot, hot" athlete. The couple married in 2010, and have since had two sons: Isaiah Michael, born in 2015, and Jacob Bryan, born in early 2019. 

Fisher retired from the NHL in May 2018 after 18 seasons, and quickly traded in his hockey gear for a Southern-inspired wardrobe, no doubt influenced by his country-star wife. The rugged look, a long way from the retired athlete's native's early days in the NHL, suits Fisher — and we're willing to bet Underwood still finds him as "hot, hot, hot" as the day they met.