Oliver Hudson and Erinn Bartlett’s Relationship Timeline: From Classmates to Parents of 3
Oliver Hudson and Erinn Bartlett’s romance has withstood several ups and downs.
Despite falling in love after meeting as students in an acting class, Hudson was hesitant to tie the knot. “To be honest, it was not easy. I didn’t want to get married,” he shared during a January 2022 episode of E!’s Daily Pop. “I thought that the perfect relationship was [my stepfather] Kurt [Russell] and Mom [Goldie Hawn].”
Hudson noted that it was his mother who convinced him to change his opinion on marriage after noticing he would gift Bartlett lots of jewelry — except an engagement ring.
“She's the one who says, 'What are you doing? Do you want to spend the rest of your life with this person or not?' And I said, 'Yes, I do. I'm deeply in love but I'm just scared,'" Hudson shared. “And she says, 'It's a token. You don't have to get married right away.' And so I gave her the ring and it was very scary, and we were engaged for two and a half years.”
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Hudson and Bartlett eventually tied the knot in 2006 and went on to welcome three kids together, sons Wilder and Bodhi and daughter Rio.
Keep scrolling to relive Hudson and Bartlett’s best relationship moments:
1990s
“I had a girlfriend, and then she had a boyfriend, and it was about a year and a half of friendship before we actually got together,” Hudson said of his and Bartlett’s early days in a joint February 2023 interview with Access Hollywood. “But it was [a] very charged friendship. We were paired in a scene together, and immediately, it was like, ‘Oh my, God. I think I like this girl,’ but I was being a good boy.”
They eventually connected romantically during a “Super Bowl weekend” after splitting from their respective partners.
February 2004
Hudson popped the question to Bartlett in his newly-purchased West Hollywood home.
During an April 2024 episode of his and Kate Hudson’s “Sibling Revelry” podcast, Hudson admitted that he cheated on Bartlett during their engagement. “When I got engaged, something happened psychologically, and I spiraled,” he explained. “I was unfaithful, and I was cheating, and I was crazy.”
Though he was never “caught” in his actions, Hudson said he told Bartlett “everything because I couldn’t live with myself and get married and be married and have children with this sort of weight.”
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The pair were able to move past the rough spot, but Hudson doesn’t have “many regrets” about his past actions. “It was a choice that I made, whether it was a positive one or a negative one. I’ve made some horrible, horrible choices in my life just generally, he stated. “You would think I regret doing that, but I don’t know who I would be if I didn’t make that choice.”
June 2006
The couple said “I do” during a Mexico wedding ceremony attended by family members and close friends.
August 2007
Hudson and Bartlett become parents with the birth of their eldest son, Wilder.
March 2010
The duo’s family continued to grow with the addition of their middle child, son Bodhi.
July 2013
Hawn announced that her son and Bartlett welcomed their third child, daughter Rio, via X. “Welcome Rio! Our first baby girl to join our family!” the actress wrote at the time, thanking the couple “for bringing so much JOY to our lives!”
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September 2018
Hudson exclusively gave Us Weekly a funny glimpse into his and Bartlett’s relationship, revealing they had gotten multiple Brazilian waxes together.
“It started a little bit ago when she gave me a list of errands to run and that was one of them,” he shared at the time. “So I did it and then fun things happened because of it, so I went with her a few more times and it was something we did together. … But, I think I’m over it now, it hurts just a little too much to keep continuing to do it.”
May 2022
The spouses launched their “Unconsciously Coupled” podcast and opened up about their relationship, family life and more.
June 2023
Hudson commemorated his and Bartlett’s 17th wedding anniversary by sharing a throwback and recent photo of the two of them via Instagram. “17 years ago today … TODAY!!!!” he captioned the sweet snaps. “Happy anniversary my beautiful queen!!!!!”
