Real-Life Celebrity Breakup: Julia Roberts and Kiefer Sutherland

Years before Julia Roberts starred in the movie Runaway Bride, she was the real-life version of her eventual character when she decided not to marry Kiefer Sutherland at the very last minute.

The end of their relationship was splashed across magazine covers and caused a media stir, especially because their wedding was planned and ready to go. From how they met to their shocking split, find out more about this once great celebrity romance.

How Did Julia Roberts and Kiefer Sutherland Meet?

The two actors met on the set of the 1990 film, Flatliners, and though they were both in relationships with other people at the time, sparks flew instantly.

Ending Other Relationships
Sutherland ended his marriage to Camelia Kath in 1990, the same year Flatliners was released, while Roberts broke off her engagement to former co-star Dylan McDermott. In January 1990, Roberts won the Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe for Steel Magnolias and thanked Sutherland in her speech, calling him her “best friend.”

Wedding Plans
Roberts and Sutherland got engaged shortly after going public with their romance and were set to tie the knot in June of 1991 on a 20th Century Fox sound stage. The couple invited 150 guests to witness them saying their vows and Roberts reportedly was going to wear an $8,000 two-piece dress with a long jacket. Then the wedding was called off three days before it was supposed to happen.

Parting Ways

While it was initially believed that Roberts postponed the wedding, the reality was she called it off entirely. Sutherland moved out of their home on what was supposed to be their wedding day and Roberts was spotted catching a flight to London with her Lost Boys co-star Jason Patric, whom she later had a relationship with.

Everything Happens For a Reason
Despite their very dramatic breakup, Sutherland thanked Roberts for not going through with the wedding decades later. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Sutherland said, “I commend Julia for seeing how young and silly we were, even at the last minute, even as painful and as difficult as it was. Thank God she saw it.”