The Real Reason Why Shonda Rhimes Never Got Married

Shonda Rhimes has it all career-wise, thanks to the huge success of hit shows like Grey's Anatomy, Scandal, and How to Get Away with Murder. But most women of a certain age start to wonder what's missing once the job stuff is sorted. Will they ever get married and have kids? Are their lives worthless without those things?

Thankfully, for a behemoth like Rhimes, such concerns don't bother her. In fact, the proud Chicago native was never the one dreaming about walking down the aisle in a white dress or even meeting the man who would sweep her off her feet. The hugely successful showrunner and author of hit memoir Year of Yes had different aspirations, and the older she got, the surer Rhimes became about her chosen path.

While appearing on Oprah Winfrey's SuperSoul Sunday, Rhimes revealed, "I'm one of those people, since I was 5, I could tell you I was going to have kids. I could tell you I was going to have three. I could tell you they were going to be girls." However, Rhimes had no interest in settling down otherwise.

"I have never wanted to get married. I never played bride. I was never interested," she admitted, acknowledging the freedom experienced by sharing the seemingly taboo desire with Winfrey. Rhimes was thrilled by finally getting the opportunity to stand up and mark herself as someone with no desire to get married... ever. It was a scary proposition, however, considering the pressure and constant questions fielded by women in their 30s and 40s who haven't wed.

Year of Yes found Rhimes going deep on the crippling anxiety that was negatively affecting her life, ultimately helping the TV superstar to overcome her fears. One of those fears related to not wanting to marry the person she was seeing at the time. As Rhimes told Entertainment Weekly, "I was seriously dating somebody and I was like, I don't want to do this."

The Grey's Anatomy creator realized subconsciously that she was feeding that energy into the show, writing a similar storyline for character Cristina Yang. "We're all so conditioned to want it, I felt like there must be something wrong with me," she confessed. Thankfully, once Rhimes told her family how she was feeling it was like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Now, as far as she's concerned, "There's no pressure if you're not looking for it."