They may not be married, but Charlie Hunnam, 41, and Morgana McNelis, 38, have a true fairytale romance. The Sons of Anarchy actor has been dating Morgana, a jewelry designer and actress, since 2005. The couple has not tied the knot, but they’ve enjoyed over a decade and a half now of pure bliss while mostly keeping their relationship out of the public eye. Find out more about the pair’s love story below!
Charlie Hunnam & Morgana McNelis
For most, Charlie Hunnam is best known for his lead role in the hit FX drama series Sons of Anarchy. But before that, he appeared in the 1999 British TV series Queer as Folk, which chronicled three gay men living in Manchester. Aiden Gillan and Craig Kelly also starred in the series. In 2008, Charlie began playing Jackson “Jax” Teller, a member of an outlaw motorcycle club based in California, in Sons of Anarchy, which ran for seven seasons until 2014. Charlie’s portrayal of Jax garnered him critical acclaim and earned him two nominations for the Critic’s Choice Television Award for Best Actor. Charlie has also appeared in several films, including Green Street, Pacific Rim, Crimson Peak, The Lost City of Z, Triple Frontier and The Gentleman.
Morgana, meanwhile, has a much lower profile. She too is an actor, having appeared in short films such as 187: The McKenna Murders and Acting 101. But Morgana’s personal success and passion comes from her jewelry brand, Maison de Morgana. Her Instagram page is typically dedicated to her jewelry designing, with a few photos of she and Charlie here and there, and she even has her own website for her products that is expected to be launching soon
How Did Charlie Hunnam & Morgana McNelis Meet?
Charlie met Morgana through her jewelry business, according to reports, and they started dating in 2005. However, the pair did not go public with their relationship until 2014. Once Morgana was confirmed to be Charlie’s girlfriend, she became the subject of online hate from trolls who criticized her looks and questioned the couple’s relationship. But Charlie did not stand for that and defended his sweetheart.
“She is an intelligent, beautiful, kind person who just tried to live a simple life and has nothing to do with the entertainment industry,” he wrote in a since-deleted Facebook post in 2016, per Entertainment Weekly. “If you want to talk s**t, talk s**t about me, leave her out of it,” he added. Charlie went on to say in the scathing message, “This is a girl I love very much and have spent the last 11 years of my life with and hope to spend the next 60 years.” Talk about a loyal boyfriend!
Charlie Hunnam’s Past Relationships
Before Morgana, Charlie was married to actress Katherine Towne from 1999 to 2002. The pair met after both auditioning for Dawson’s Creek. They dated for only three weeks before getting married in Las Vegas, only to divorce three years later. In a 2017 Us Weekly interview, Charlie described his marriage to Katherine as “three terrible years.” He added: “Three terrible, painful, expensive years. I got the cats at the end of it, so that was good. There was a small victory.”
After his divorce, Charlie went on to have romances with model Sophie Dahl, actress Stella Parker and film producer Georgina Townsly, per reports. But none of those relationship stuck — until Morgana came into the picture.
Charlie Hunnam’s Top Moments With Morgana McNelis
Charlie and Morgana’s 16-year relationship (and counting!) has largely been kept away form the public eye. The two rarely attend public events together, and since Charlie isn’t on social media, fans sadly don’t get a peak into their life together too often. Morgana does have an Instagram, and while she mostly uses it to plug her jewelry, she has posted her beau on it before. In March 2019, Morgana shared a photo of she and Charlie celebrating Holi, an Indian festival. The two were decked out in colorful paint, which is common during the celebration.
Although the couple’s romance isn’t out there in the public too much, Charlie has spoken about his life with Morgana in multiple interviews over the years. “I try to keep the romance on the reg,” he told PEOPLE at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival. “I’ve been with my girlfriend 11 years and as anyone knows who’s been a long term, fully monogamous relationship, it requires work, a lot of work,” the actor added.
Charlie has also been open about how his relationship with Morgana can be unconventional at times. In 2016, he told EW that he didn’t speak to Morgana for five months while he was filming The Lost City of Z in Cambodia in 2015. “The mail system doesn’t really work very well. It’s completely unreliable,” he explained to the publication. “I received a letter from her, and I realized that from the tone of it and the things she was saying that she hadn’t received the two letters that I sent before. My girlfriend is a jewelry designer, so I was able to come back with an appropriately sized gift. It didn’t remedy all of the trouble I was in, but it got me halfway there.”
Charlie Hunnam & Morgana McNelis’ Future
If the past 16 years are any indication, then Charlie and Morgana have a beautiful future ahead of them. But will they ever get married? Andy Cohen asked Charlie just that during a 2020 interview, and Charlie said that while he is “sort of indifferent” about tying the knot, he said Morgana “does not feel the same.” “She is very eager,” Charlie said of Morgana wanting to become a bride. “I’ll do it because it’s important to her but I don’t have any great romantic feelings towards it,” he added.
Days after the interview with Andy, Charlie told TooFab that his comments about marriage were “stupid.” The actor added, “I have to say that really hurt my girlfriend’s feelings. The reality is I sort of consider myself married … 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.”
Regardless, Charlie has made it clear before that Morgana is the one. The two have continued to keep a low profile after moving out of Hollywood to a private ranch in California. And we are wishing them the best in what’s to come!