Charlie Hunnam’s relationship has become the subject of much interest now that the actor is back on screens in Monster: The Ed Gein Story. His character on the show may be one of the most gruesome killers in history, but perhaps it’s Hunnam’s undeniable talent that has his fans still wondering: Is that guy single?
The 45-year-old actor from Newcastle in the United Kingdom burst onto the scene in 1999, with the series Queer As Folk. He later shot to international fame as Jax in Sons Of Anarchy, with equally impressive turns in films Pacific Rim, The Gentlemen and King Arthur.
Interestingly, throughout this entire time, Hunnam’s love life has remained intensely private. But that’s not to say it’s without excitement!
For instance, did you know an 18-year-old Hunnam once married his girlfriend of three weeks at a shotgun wedding in Vegas? In the years since, he’s dated models and filmmakers, and has since found happiness with jewellery designer, Morgana McNelis.
Read on for everything we know about Charlie Hunnam’s love life.
Does Charlie Hunnam Have A Wife?
First thing’s first, is Charlie Hunnam married? The short answer is no, he’s not. However, before you get too excited, he’s in a loving, long-term relationship with his girlfriend of nearly 20 years, Morgana McNelis. Despite being in a committed partnership for so long, the two have yet to walk down the aisle—as far as the public knows!
Charlie has been married before, wedding Katharine Towne in 1999. The two met at an audition for Dawson’s Creek, and were married in Las Vegas after dating for only three weeks. They formally divorced in 2002.
Hunnam later described the marriage as “three terrible, painful, expensive years,” and has said he doesn’t want to get married again. In 2020, he told SiriusXM that he is “indifferent” towards marriage, but that his partner was eager. “I’ll do it because it’s important to her, but I don’t have any great romantic feelings towards it,” he said.
He later expressed regret for saying this, telling reporters, “I have to say that really hurt my girlfriend’s feelings,” Charlie admitted at LAX. “I really regretted saying that, cause I actually didn’t mean it at all.”
“I’m like so romantic!” he continued. “The reality is I sort of consider myself married. I’ve been with my girlfriend for 14 years… I suppose what I was trying to articulate was that the official government sanctioning of it doesn’t mean anything to me; but the romance of it means an enormous amount. I really regret saying that.”
Who Is Charlie’s Girlfriend, Morgana McNelis?
Hunnam has been in a relationship with jewellery designer Morgana McNelis since roughly 2005 or 2006. The story of how they met is yet to be shared, but in 2020, Hunnam confirmed in an interview that he’d been with his girlfriend for “13-and-a-half [or] 14-and-a-half years”.
While Hunnam will happily confirm his relationship status, the two rarely make appearances together in public. They’re not believed to have any children, but have thought about it. “There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about them,” Hunnam told Entertainment Tonight in 2017. However, the couple was weighing the “responsibility” of parenthood. “We are dealing with seemingly insurmountable challenges in society, like looming, inevitable economic collapse, environmental destruction… it’s a question about the responsibility of bringing more children into the world.”
Despite not being married, McNelis has used her vocational skills to give Hunnam a special diamond ring. “She told me she was making me a diamond encrusted ring… and I was like ‘Uh-oh. This is not going to go well for me,’ ” Hunnam told ELLE in 2012. “But I love it. It’s so discrete and beautiful.”
In 2016, Hunnam came to McNelis’ defence after hearing she’d been targeted by online bullies. “It has been brought to my attention that there is a group of immature girls posting a large number of hard messages aimed at my longtime girlfriend,” he wrote on Facebook at the time. “I would respectfully ask you to stop doing this. She is an intelligent, beautiful, kind person who just tried to live a simple life and has nothing to do with the entertainment industry.”
Despite making a limited number of public appearances, Hunnam took McNelis to the 2025 Emmy Awards, and also to the premiere of Monster: The Story Of Ed Gein, in which he plays the lead.
Charlie Hunnam Relationship History
Katharine Towne, 1999-2002 (married)
Charlie and Katharine had a brief three-year romance, during which time they were both married and divorced. The two actors met at an audition for Dawson’s Creek in 1999. Three weeks later, they were married in Vegas.
Hunnam was only 18 or 19 at the time of the wedding, which he later described as “three terrible, painful, expensive years.”
Towne is the daughter of actress Julie Payne and the Academy Award-winning writer of Chinatown, Richard Towne. She has had small roles in Buffy, But I’m A Cheerleader and She’s All That, to name only a few.
Hunnam is also believed to have dated model Sophie Dahl, actress Stella Parker and filmmaker, Georgina Townsley.