Second Time's the Charm: Why Hollywood's A-Listers Keep Saying I Do Again

Here’s a wild thought: what if your wedding day wasn’t actually the end of the story, but just the beginning of a series? Welcome to the world of celebrity vow renewals, where saying“I do”once apparently isn’t nearly dramatic enough.

From Jenny McCarthy and Donnie Wahlberg turning their anniversary into an annual tradition (they’re up to at least seven times and counting) to Beyoncé and Jay-Z recommitting after weathering infidelity and a decade of marriage, these A-listers are proving that love gets a second—and sometimes third, fourth, or fifth—act. The reasons vary wildly. Some couples, like Alec and Hilaria Baldwin, use vow renewals as a way to celebrate milestones and include their growing families in a meaningful way. Others, like Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne, treat them as a rebirth after surviving serious rough patches. And then there’s Michael Phelps and Nicole Johnson, who apparently couldn’t decide on one wedding day in 2016 and just went ahead and married three times.

What’s striking isn’t just the frequency—it’s the intentionality. These aren’t shotgun Vegas ceremonies or impulsive moments caught on camera. Stephen Curry surprised his wife Ayesha with a vow renewal ceremony in their backyard, complete with their daughter Riley officiating. Ellen DeGeneres got a star-studded ambush courtesy of Portia de Rossi, with Kris Jenner officiating and Brandi Carlile performing. Even couples like David and Victoria Beckham, who kept their renewal ceremony intimate with just six people, emphasized that the whole point was recommitting consciously in the middle of life’s chaos.

The common thread? Marriage isn’t a finish line—it’s something you actively choose, over and over. Jenny McCarthy said it best when she told Us Weekly:“We always do it! And it’s so nice to take that moment when you’re so busy to remember those words that you say to each other and the vows and the promises.”In a culture obsessed with the wedding industry’s first-time spectacle, these renewals quietly suggest something more radical: that staying in love is worth celebrating as much as falling in love ever was.

Whether it’s a decade-long marriage like Danielle Pinnock’s stunning vow renewal with her husband Jack Wallace in 2023—where her mother finally got to walk her down the aisle after missing the original wedding—or Jenny McCarthy and Donnie Wahlberg’s decidedly annual affair, there’s something refreshingly honest about these repeat ceremonies. They’re admissions that love requires work, that commitment needs tending, and that sometimes you need an excuse to put on a gorgeous dress (or tux) and mean every single promise all over again.