Strange Things Everyone Ignores About Jennifer Lawrence's Marriage

Oscar-winning actor Jennifer Lawrence has been married to art director Cooke Maroney since 2019, and the two share a son, Cy Maroney. In October 2024, Lawrence revealed that she is pregnant with Maroney's second child. While Lawrence and Maroney seem to have marital bliss, there are several strange and unexpected aspects to the Hollywood A-lister's marriage, including her friendships with her exes and not enjoying planning her own wedding.

Lawrence met Maroney after the two were introduced in 2018 by a dear friend of both parties. After showing affection in public, it was confirmed that the two were indeed in a relationship. After less than a year of dating, Lawrence and Maroney got engaged, before getting married in Rhode Island in October 2019, where the two allegedly had a vivacious reception. According to People, a source close to the couple described the wedding as a lavish experience. "It was an all-night party. Jen and Cooke were the last people to leave at 5:30 a.m.," the source told the outlet. "They waited until all the guests were gone so they could personally say goodbye."

After getting engaged to Maroney, Lawrence spoke extremely highly of her partner while a guest on "Naked with Catt Sadler." "'How do I feel? Is he nice? Is he kind?' It's just — this is the one, I know that sounds really stupid but he's just, he's — you know," Lawrence said. "He's the greatest person I've ever met, so I feel very honored to become a Maroney,"

While her marriage seems to be a success, Jennifer Lawrence revealed to E! News in January 2024 that she was severely uncomfortable during the days leading up to her wedding. "It's so stressful, you're not having fun," Lawrence said of being a bride. "You're just like 'Is that person having fun? Is everybody having fun? You hungry?'" Lawrence went on to explain that being a bride also made her paranoid. "I'll never forget. I was freaking out about the guests being cold," Lawrence said. "And all of my friends were lying, they're like, 'Nobody's cold, nobody's cold, everything's fine, everything's fine.'" However, her mom did actually share her concern. "It's freezing out there, your grandmother almost died," Lawrence recalled her mother saying.  

Lawrence revealed that acclaimed actor Robert De Niro was present at her rehearsal dinner, where she was not enjoying herself. Lawrence informed E! News that she didn't feel comfortable watching De Niro be all alone at the dinner. "I looked over and I saw Bob, who doesn't know anybody and he's kind of wandering around, and I immediately was just like, 'No, this isn't what he wants to be doing. I don't want him here,'" Lawrence said. "So I went over and whispered, I was like, 'Go home' and he was nice — he like talked to my parents and was polite — but I was like, 'Go.'" She added, "That just genuinely made me feel better."

While Jennifer Lawrence and Cooke Maroney did get married, Lawrence revealed to The New York Times in November 2022 that she dealt with major commitment anxiety the same year as her wedding, which almost led her to end her relationship with her husband. During her exclusive conversation with The New York Times, Lawrence declared that she started to have doubts about her relationship with Maroney at one point while filming her 2019 drama film "Causeway." "When you don't fully know yourself, you have no idea where to put yourself," the "No Hard Feelings" actor stated. "And then I met my husband, and he was like, 'Put yourself here.' I was like, 'That feels right, but what if it's not?'"

Lawrence went on to discuss how when she saw Maroney again after filming on "Causeway" concluded, she knew her relationship with the art gallery director was the best thing for her. "Then I went back, and when I'm home with my husband making this family, I'm so happy I stayed," Lawrence explained. "I'm so happy I didn't freak out and cancel the wedding and run away and go, 'I'll never be taken down!'"

In addition to not enjoying being a bride and experiencing commitment anxiety, A-lister Jennifer Lawrence may surprise fans with the fact that even though she is married to Cooke Maroney, she is close with many of her former partners. One of these exes who morphed into a friend is Nicholas Hoult. Lawrence met Hoult in 2010 when they both worked on the comic book sequel "X-Men: First Class." The pair dated on and off until calling it quits for good in August 2014. 

While Lawrence felt as though ending her relationship with Hoult was the right thing to do, the "American Hustle" star spoke to ABC News host Diane Sawyer and admitted that after the initial breakup, everyday life was difficult. "I was also in a relationship with somebody for five years, and we broke up around the same time that I wrapped those movies," Lawrence said of her relationship with Hoult and the "Hunger Games" film series. "Being 24 was this whole year of, 'Who am I without these movies? Who am I without this man?'"

In the years that have followed since Lawrence and Hoult's breakup, the two have kept a close friendship. While speaking to funnyman Marc Maron on his podcast, Lawrence gushed about Hoult. "All my boyfriends have been wonderful. Nick [Hoult] was a great boyfriend."

In terms of staying close to her former partners, Jennifer Lawrence seems to think it's a fairly normal thing. During a 2018 episode of "WTF with Marc Maron," the actor declared that she still has feelings for filmmaker Darren Aronofsky, whom she dated from September 2016 to November 2017. While speaking to Marc Maron about Aronofsky, Lawrence stated, "I still love him very much." 

Lawrence went on to reveal that she maintains a friendship with basically all of her exes, and she believes she's able to stay close after the romance fades because of her sheer authenticity. "I'm friends with all my exes, actually. For the most part, yeah," Lawrence told Maron. "I have a theory. I think it's because I'm blunt. I don't think that you can have any sort of bad relationship with anybody if you're just blunt. Everybody always knows how you feel at all times and there's no lying, it's just honesty. Everybody's a good guy to each other."

Many people may assume that this fact may be strange for Lawrence's husband Cooke Maroney, but he has seemed comfortable with his wife's choice to stay friends with her exes. In 2018, Lawrence and Maroney both attended Nicholas Hoult's movie premiere.

Another fact that some fans may be surprised to learn is that at the start of Jennifer Lawrence and Cooke Maroney's relationship, the actor behind Katniss Everdeen was hesitant to not include her security guards on their dates. During an exclusive interview in 2021, Lawrence explained how she felt shame regarding her desire to bring security everywhere she went. "So, when I started dating my now husband, I was so embarrassed to bring my [security guard] when he asked me out," she told Vanity Fair. "I mean, how mortifying would that have been? So I didn't, and it made me really nervous the first few times, and it turned out totally fine," the Oscar-winner said. "I realized you get more privacy if ... I don't know if this is even safe to talk about. I have security all the time. Twenty-four hours a day. And a gun!"

Yet another interesting tidbit about Lawrence's marriage is that she adores grocery shopping with Maroney. Lawrence also informed Vanity Fair, "I really enjoy going to the grocery store with him. I don't know why but it fills me with a lot of joy. I think maybe because it's almost a metaphor for marriage. 'Okay, we've got this list. These are the things we need. Let's work together and get this done.'" While some of these aspects of Lawrence and Maroney's marriage are unexpected, the truth is that the couple is thriving and enjoying their family life together.