The Scandalous Love Triangle That Rocked Julia Roberts’ Reputation In The ’90s

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Julia Roberts’ dating history is more complicated than the plot twists in some of her movies. From her 20-month marriage to crooner Lyle Lovett in the mid-90s to two failed engagements, the “Pretty Woman” star’s love life garnered her a reputation for being flighty in love.

One entanglement that tarnished Roberts’ reputation involved two best friends and fellow actors, Kiefer Sutherland and Jason Patric. Roberts was engaged to Sutherland for around a year before their publicists released a joint statement (as reported in People) declaring that the union, set to take place in June 1991, was canceled.

What made matters even worse was that on the day the wedding was set to take place, Roberts was spotted having lunch with Patric in L.A. before they were later seen flying to Dublin together. It appeared as if Roberts had decided to ditch Sutherland and steal his best friend in the process. America’s sweetheart had some questions to answer, like did she actually ditch her fiancé and take off with his BFF?

Julia Roberts wasn’t actually the bad guy

By 1992, the relationship with Patric was over and she moved onto Lovett. In terms of the Julia Roberts-Jason Patric-Kiefer Sutherland love triangle, eventually the air was cleared, with all parties involved later referring to the drama. Roberts, for her part, asserted that it wasn’t a sudden cancellation of the wedding and that Sutherland knew it wasn’t her fault (there were cheating rumors on his part, per Entertainment Weekly).

Patric told New York Magazine that the whole situation was blown out of proportion by the media and he wasn’t at fault for breaking up the relationship. Sutherland later told Jess Cagle that Roberts was to be commended for her foresight in calling off the wedding. And Patric and Sutherland resumed their friendship, acknowledging that neither relationship with Roberts lasted, but their friendship did.

Her reputation for playing with fire took one more hit, however, when she fell for Danny Moder, who was part of the camera crew on “The Mexican.” (Roberts said that life was never the same after meeting Moder in 2000.) The meeting ultimately led to marriage in 2002, but the relationship started on a thorny path, as both Roberts and Moder were in relationships at the time: she was with Benjamin Bratt and he was married to makeup artist Vera Steimberg. But ultimately, this relationship settled Roberts’ restless ways; the couple celebrated 22 years of marriage in July 2024. The “Runaway Bride” runs no more.