In the late 1990s, Sons of Anarchy star Charlie Hunnam was just 18 years old when he moved to Los Angeles hoping to launch a career in Hollywood. It would be nearly another decade before he landed the career-making role of Jax Teller. But at the time, Hunnam met a fellow actress and fell in love. It was a big “coming of age” moment, and he decided to mark the occasion with a back tattoo that he had repeatedly dreamed about. But now, the 40-year-old admits that his first tattoo was “a very bad idea for many reasons.”
Charlie Hunnam got his first tattoo after falling in love during a ‘Dawson’s Creek’ audition
According to Us Weekly, Hunnam was auditioning for the classic teen drama Dawson’s Creek in 1999 when he met actress Katharine Towne. The two fell for each other hard and fast. Three weeks into the relationship Hunnam decided to get the tattoo he had dreamt about.
At 11:00 in the morning while he was getting his ink, Hunnam recalls Towne saying they should go to Las Vegas and get married. Hunnam thought it sounded like “a jolly nice idea.” After getting the tattoo, the couple drove to Vegas and eloped. At two in the morning, Hunnam married Towne at the Silver Bell Wedding Chapel.
“We thought, ‘What if we never see each other again? Let’s get married and then we’ll have to see each other again even if it’s just to get divorced,’” Hunnam told the Associated Press. “So we came to Vegas. But I couldn’t even get a drink so I actually didn’t think I would be able to get married.”
The ‘Sons of Anarchy’ star says the tattoo was a ‘very bad idea for many reasons’
Unfortunately, things “didn’t turn out that well” for Hunnam and Towne. The couple ended up divorcing in 2002 after “three terrible, painful, expensive years.” Hunnam says that he did get a “small victory” after the split because he “got the cats.”
Hunnam told MTV International that the connection of his tattoo with his failed marriage proves it was a “very bad idea for many reasons.”
Things got better in Hunnam’s personal life in 2005 when he started dating jewelry designer Morgana McNelis. The couple has been together for 15 years, and they live in a $2.76 million home in the Hollywood Hills.
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Their unconventional relationship has left many fans wondering if the pair will ever make it official and get married. While speaking with Andy Cohen back in January during his press junket for The Gentleman, Hunnam said he was “sort of indifferent” about getting married again.
“She does not feel the same. She’s very eager,” Hunnam added. “I’ll do it because it’s important to her but I don’t have any great romantic feelings toward it.”
Charlie Hunnam already considers himself married
Us Weekly reports that Hunnam later cleared up what he meant when he said he was “indifferent” about marrying McNelis. He admitted that he “really hurt” his girlfriend’s feelings and insisted that he is a romantic.
Hunnam explained that he already considers himself married. But he will make it official because that’s what McNelis wants. He says what he was trying to articulate is that the “official government sanctioning of it doesn’t mean anything” to him. However, “the romance of it means an enormous amount.”
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Hunnam and McNelis’ unique partnership might not have government documentation to prove their commitment. But they are very happy together after 15 years. The relationship does include plenty of sex, as Hunnam told Men’s Health that he tries to make love as often as possible.
“That’s an important part of fitness. … We are supposed to be very active animals. It’s our DNA,” the Sons of Anarchy star declared.