He is one of Hollywood’s best-known actors, while she is a former actress-turned-real estate agent-turned-personal assistant.
Russell Crowe, 61, has been in a relationship with US-born Britney Theriot since 2020, but the two mostly stay out of the spotlight – and it now seems unlikely they will ever walk down the aisle, judging by the Aussie star’s recent comments.
It’s the latest chapter in Crowe’s high-profile romantic history. The Gladiator star had a short-lived relationship with Meg Ryan before marrying his former flame, singer Danielle Spencer, with whom he had two children before they split.
Past loves
Crowe was born in Wellington, New Zealand, on April 7, 1964.
His family moved to Australia when he was four where he began acting as a child before they returned to New Zealand when he was 14.
By his late teens, he was performing as a musician under the stage name Russ Le Roq before getting into acting. He appeared in the New Zealand and Australian stage productions of The Rocky Horror Show, which led to more theatre work, TV and movie roles.
He was back in Australia and starring in the 1989 film The Crossing when he met singer and actress Danielle Spencer.
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The two had a long, on-off relationship before Crowe started dating rom-com queen Meg Ryan, whom he met while filming the 2000 film Proof of Life.
After a one-year relationship, the two split and Crowe reunited with Spencer. They married in 2003 and went on to have two sons, Charles and Tennyson, before they split in 2012.
A new romance
Crowe and Britney Theriot reportedly first met on the set of the film Broken City in 2013. Crowe, then 49, was one of the stars of the film while Theriot, who was reportedly 21, played Valerie.
According to People, Theriot returned to her native Louisiana in 2017 to become a real estate agent and she was one of her firm’s top agents in February 2019.
Around that time, there were reports Crowe was dating everyone from Terri Irwin to Julie Burgess – matriarch of the Burgess league-playing family.
But somehow, he and Theriot reconnected and they were first spotted kissing and embracing on a tennis court in Sydney’s Rushcutters Bay in November 2020, with photos published by the media.
In April 2021, the two were photographed again, this time cycling through Sydney’s Newtown with British pop star Rita Ora.
At the time, Crowe was back in Australia to film Thor: Love and Thunder, which was directed by Ora’s now-husband Taika Waititi.
Cycling seems to be a mainstay of Crowe and Theriot’s relationship, with the pair pictured again in February 2022 as they cycled around Sydney.
In June 2022, they were seen on the tarmac at Sydney Airport after flying in from his farm at Nana Glen, outside Coffs Harbour.
A month later, Theriot was spotted in photos Crowe shared on social media of a trip to Rome with his sons.
“Taking the kids to see my old office,” he captioned the photo, making a reference to his Academy Award-winning role in the film Gladiator.
By then, Theriot was joining Crowe – who is almost 30 years her senior – on movie sets.
According to IMBd, she was credited as an assistant to Crowe on his 2022 film The Greatest Beer Run Ever and his 2024 movies Sleeping Dogs and Land of Bad.
She also joined him on the set of his 2022 film Poker Face, where she is credited as an assistant to the director.
The couple finally made their red carpet debut in October 2022 at the film’s Rome premiere.
They followed this up with an appearance at the film’s Australian premiere in November 2022.
The couple reportedly returns to Australia whenever they can. Crowe owns an apartment in Sydney’s Woolloomooloo as well as his Nana Glen property.
The tennis fans took in the women’s final of the Australian Open in both 2022 and 2023.
Theriot also supports Crowe when he is touring with one of his bands.
In a February 2024 interview with People, Crowe gave a rare insight into their relationship.
He said they were at an after-party in an underground nightclub in the Czech Republic in 2023 when they wound up on the dance floor.
Crowe said he was taking a shortcut after visiting the bathroom “when I bumped into my girlfriend, Britney”.
“Naturally, she thought I’d come there to find her,” he recalled, “so I took her into my arms and we danced.”
He said he used “the type of moves my old man would” when dancing with his mother.
“It was like a scene from my childhood. Britney used to be a cheerleader for the [New Orleans] Saints, so she’s got rhythm,” he said.
“I was spinning her around and bringing her back. Her eyes were sparkling with the fun of it all.
“For a couple of minutes, [everyone] stopped and watched. It was like a scene from a movie.
“As the song ended, I spun her back into me and we kissed. The crowd cheered and the world around us flooded back in. It was just a perfect little moment.”
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Since then, there have been more ‘perfect moments’ for the pair.
In July, they were among the crowd at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships.
Then in September, Theriot joined Crowe at the premiere of his new film, Nuremberg, at the Toronto International Film Festival.
But when asked this week if there was any chance he might one day waltz his love down the aisle, Crowe answered with a firm ‘no’.
Crowe was chatting to Karl Stefanovic of Nine’s 60 Minutes when attention turned to whether or not he would marry again.
“All these reports keep coming out saying that Britney and I are engaged and I’m going to get married again,” he said.
“No, we are very very good friends and we have a wonderful relationship.
“My life is so joyous and happy at the moment… why would I ruin that with a wedding?
“I’m not going to get married again. Doing it once is cool, great, but I don’t want to do it again.”
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