Leslie Bibb and Sam Rockwell’s love story is the kind that Hollywood doesn’t churn out often—long-lasting, unshaken by industry chaos, and defined by humor and devotion rather than spectacle. They’ve been together since 2007, which is an eternity by Tinseltown standards. But despite what people might assume, they’ve never tied the knot. Not in the traditional sense, anyway. Rockwell himself has said they’re “basically married.” She’s in his will. They live like husband and wife. It’s just that the paperwork doesn’t interest them. As he told The London Evening Standard in 2022, “We don’t want kids. We don’t feel the need to get married. We just like it the way it is.”
Their meet-cute couldn’t be more cinematic if it tried. It was October 2007, and Bibb was waiting in the lobby of the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood, about to head to dinner with friends. Rockwell, who was staying at the hotel while filming Frost/Nixon, happened to be walking past. They locked eyes, exchanged smiles, and something clicked. “I just smiled, and he smiled at me, and I thought, ‘Oh no, what’s that?’” Bibb recalled in a 2012 interview on The Rosie Show. Something about that moment had her shook, and for good reason—it was the start of something serious.
Sam Rockwell and Leslie Bibb Are Not Husband and Wife, but They’ve Been Together for Almost Two Decades
Their first date came about a week later. A classic daytime museum date at the Getty turned into an entire day together. And yet, Bibb was initially hesitant about diving into a relationship. She had just come out of some rough dating experiences, including a short-lived marriage to investment banker Rob Born, whom she married in November 2003 and divorced in December 2004. After that, she was focused on figuring out why she kept picking the wrong people. But then along came Rockwell, and, despite her best efforts to play it cool, she found herself falling fast. “Three weeks later, I was like, ‘I love you so much,’” she admitted.
Rockwell, on the other hand, almost blew it before it even began. On The Drew Barrymore Show in 2024, he confessed that he had actually scheduled a backup date with another woman the same evening he and Bibb went out. But Bibb caught on to his little plan, and when she suggested they grab drinks after their day date, he had no choice but to fess up. Luckily, they laughed it off, had margaritas and salsa, and the rest is history.
The boyfriend and girlfriend duo have built a relationship that has outlasted countless Hollywood marriages, all while maintaining their independence. They’ve co-starred in films like Iron Man 2 (2010) and Don Verdean (2015), but they’ve never needed to work together to stay connected. Their rule? Never go more than three weeks without seeing each other. “You get too independent if it’s four weeks, five weeks,” Rockwell told Us Weekly in 2018. That simple boundary has been a game-changer for their relationship, especially when they’re both off shooting different projects around the world.
Though they don’t flaunt their relationship for the cameras, they’ve never shied away from celebrating each other. When Rockwell won the SAG Award in 2018 for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, he gave Bibb a heartfelt shoutout: “She’s my beloved. She keeps me laughing, and we take care of each other.” The same year, when he won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, he wore cufflinks with her name on them. And Bibb? She was right there beside him, screaming and celebrating like a proud partner should.
Despite their undeniable commitment, fans have speculated for years whether they secretly got married. Bibb fueled those rumors in 2017 when she posted a photo on Instagram with the caption: “Buona sera…ti amo…night lovebugs xo-the rockwells.” But no, they didn’t pull a fast one on us. They just like to keep people guessing. And truthfully, the concept of marriage just isn’t something they feel is necessary to define their love.
Bibb, for her part, has never needed a ring to feel secure in their relationship. “We live like a married couple. We don’t need that piece of paper,” she told PEOPLE. And Rockwell echoed the sentiment, saying, “She’s in my will. That’s what matters.”
For all their red carpet glam and Hollywood success, at their core, they’re just two people who have built a life together on their own terms. Whether they’re cracking jokes, supporting each other at awards shows, or spending months apart for work only to reunite with an Instagram-worthy hug, one thing is clear: this is the kind of love story that doesn’t need a label. It just works. And in Hollywood, that’s rarer than an Oscar-worthy performance.
