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- Charlize Theron has been romantically linked to Sean Penn, Stuart Townsend, and Third Eye Blind’s Stephen Jenkins.
- In 2020, Charlize revealed she hadn’t gone on a date in five years, as she prioritized her kids instead.
- In 2023, Charlize was photographed holding hands with model Alex Dimitrijevic.
From Oscar-winner to action star, Charlize Theron has remained one of the biggest, baddest, and most breathtaking stars on the silver screen. The 47-year-old star of Monster, Mad Max: Fury Road, Atomic Blonde, and The Old Guard has enjoyed an incredible career – and some incredible romances, as well. Charlize has been involved with Sean Penn, Stuart Townsend, and Third Eye Blind frontman Stephan Jenkins.
In May 2023, Charlize was spotted holding hands with a new man: model Alex Dimitrijevic. This marked Charlize’s biggest romantic moment in a while. “I’ve been on a few dates, but I haven’t dated anybody for over five years,” Charlize told Drew Barrymore in 2020, per USA Today. Not the kind of game that we think of. The kind of game that’s like, ‘My life is really good, so you better be able to bring that and maybe better,’ because I just won’t accept anything less.”
Charlize explained that her high bar for potential partners came after motherhood. She has adopted two children – one daughter in 2012 and a second in 2015 – and she said the experience changed what she expected in dating. “It’s not that it replaces something or that it makes you less interested in something else,” she told Drew. “I think your priorities are in a place that is of high demand because it’s a lot of work to be a parent. And then part of that is, at the end of the day, I get in bed, and I go, ‘Oh my God, I wouldn’t want this day to be anything different.’”
Charlize also said she was not “eager to jump into a relationship” because of her difficult upbringing and didn’t want to upend her kids’ lives. “I am so proud of the fact that my kids live in a home where they feel like they’re safe, and they feel like they’re never gonna have to walk on eggshells, and they’re never gonna have to come down and worry about how their day is gonna go.”
As it appears this new man passed the test, get to know about him and Charlize’s past romances.
Alex Dimitrijevic
Charlize and Alex Dimitrijevic caused a stir in mid-May 2023 when they went for a stroll in Los Angeles. The two walked hand-in-hand through the Los Feliz neighborhood, causing speculation of a possible romance between them. When Daily Mail published the photos of their lunch date, not much was known about Alex, except that he was a model repped by NEXT MODELS.
His listing with the agency said he was 6’3″ and had a 42-inch chest and 34-inch waist. The AlexanderDimitrijevic.com website showcased some of his modeling work and linked to a deactivated Instagram account. It also linked to a LinkedIn account that listed him as the Design Director for Malbon Golf, the co-founder of undrtone sport, and the Design Director for Short Par 4. The LinkedIn account also stated that he went to UC Santa Barbara for Sociology.
Sean Penn
The “five-year” dating hiatus that Charlize spoke about in 2020? That started after she split from Sean Penn in June 2015.
In 2020, Charlize clarified a misconception about her relationship with the controversial actor. When appearing on The Howard Stern Show, the host suggested that She “almost got married” to Penn. “What? That’s not true. No. I did not ‘almost get married to Sean.’ That’s such bulls—t,” she said, “We dated. That was literally all we did. It was a relationship, for sure. We were definitely exclusive, but it was for barely a year. We never moved in. I was never going to marry him. It was nothing like that.”
“I never wanted to get married. That’s never been something that’s important to me. On the lives of my children, I’ve never been lonely. I’ve never felt alone,” she added. Charlize did say that her life, at that moment, “doesn’t allow a lot of room for something like [dating] to happen. But in saying that, there’s not this thing that drives me [to have a romantic relationship].”
“I enjoy being set up on dates, but I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to live with somebody again,” she added. “To be totally frank, they might have to buy the house next to me. I don’t know if I’m going to be able to deal with that ever again, I’m too old for that s—t.”
Stuart Townsend
Charlize’s longest relationship was with Irish actor Stuart Townsend. The two met on the set of 2002’s Trapped. “We sat beside each other, and I honestly really didn’t take that much notice, maybe because we were working,” he said of their first read-through in a 2004 interview with Irish America (h/t InStyle). “All I remember is Charlize had a dog with her and I remember thinking, “Oh, there’s the mad lady with the dog!’”
Later that night, Charlize dressed up for dinner with Stuart and the director, and Townsend’s jaw was left on the floor. “When she glams up it’s ridiculous,” he continued. “She can look so hot. She’s a goddess, man, a total goddess. That night we had so much fun. I was just smitten after that.”
Charlize said she wasn’t taken by Stuart at first. “He had all the criteria for somebody who wasn’t going to be anything serious,” she told Marie Claire. “He lived over there [in England]; I lived over here. So we were very honest with each other: ‘I think you’re hot, I think you’re nice, I think you’re smart. We can go on dates. What do you think?’ And then, things happened.”
The two were together for eight years, before rumors of a breakup started to stir around 2010. In 2011, Charlize said she’d previously taken a break from acting to fix things with Stuart. “It was sinking, and I had to give it a fight,” she said, per InStyle. “I really wanted to try and make it work. That was the priority. I wouldn’t do it any different way.”
It’s unclear what caused the breakup. In 2017, she told Howard Stern that her “heart was married” to Townsend. She would also tell Vogue that what they had was “more than love.”
Stephan Jenkins
Charlize had a “tumultuous three-year relationship” with Stephan Jenkins, per SF Gate. The couple dated from 1998 to 2001. When asked in 2003 if his band’s new album, Out of the Vein, had any songs inspired by Charlize, Stephan said, “Yes. Um…no, I think that…[pause] I think she was definitely a…[long pause] Um, what’s the word…[longer pause] I think that’s a good answer: Yes.” (per People).
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This story originally appeared on Hollywoodlife
