Julia Roberts 'Swallowed' Her Pride When She Found Out Her Fiancé Cheated before Their Wedding

Hollywood's leading lady Julia Roberts' former fiancé went MIA on her just a few days before their wedding. When he reappeared in the nick of time, he called it off, something Roberts was also planning on doing.

Julia Roberts is an award-winning actress who knew right after finishing high school that she wanted to act. Soon enough, her wish got granted, and by 1991 she had already appeared in eight films.

Those roles represented a step in the right direction because when she starred on "Mystic Pizza," she got noticed. Later, "Steel Magnolias" turned her into a rising star, but her stint on "Pretty Woman" made her a household name.

BRIEF ROMANCE WITH LIAM NEESON

Yet Robert's love life was more of a rollercoaster ride during her prime years, and at that time, she got involved with some of Hollywood's hunks, such as movie star Liam Neeson.

Roberts and the "Taken" actor started dating after appearing in the 1987 film "Satisfaction." The former couple was romantically linked for over a year before calling it quits in 1988. According to a report, the pair briefly lived together before parting ways.

FAILED RELATIONSHIP WITH DYLAN MCDERMOTT

Shortly after the "Notting Hill" star ended things with Neeson, she moved in with Dylan McDermott in May 1988. She met "The Practice" actor on the set of "Steel Magnolias," where they portrayed roles of husband and wife.

The exes were engaged throughout their nearly two-year relationship, but Roberts broke up with McDermott in 1990 before they got a chance to walk down the aisle.

SAME FATE WITH KIEFER SUTHERLAND

The "Runaway Bride" star decided to take another chance at love when she met British Canadian actor Kiefer Sutherland on the 1990 sci-fi film "Flatliners."

They were both young rising stars at the time, and Sutherland (then 24), was recently divorced from actress Camelia Kath while Roberts (then 23) had just broken off a short-lived engagement with former co-star McDermott.

The duo was set to ty the knot in June 1991, but mere days ahead of their big day, their publicist released a joint statement that read:

"It has been mutually agreed upon that the wedding has been postponed.”

On what was supposed to be their wedding day, Roberts was spotted having lunch with Sutherland's close friend and fellow actor, Jason Patric.

Her pictured out and about with another man was a subtle way of saying she and Sutherland were merely rushing into things by getting married. Roberts also continued with the romance with Patric even after she and Sutherland split.

After planning their wedding for 150 guests, from having the venue ready, which was set to take place on the Twentieth Century Fox sound stage, to décor set up, Roberts was dubbed the runaway bride.

Following her brunch with Patric, they hopped on an airplane and flew down to London. The pair later headed to Dublin, where they booked separate rooms at the Shelbourne Hotel. At the time, a hotel staffer revealed:

“She looked very drawn. She had lost a lot of weight. Her hair was pale orange, like a dye job gone wrong.”

Pretty soon, the twosome was hounded by reporters and decided to slip out at dawn the following day and head to the countryside.

When asked if having Patric was one of the good things in her life, the now 54-year-old bluntly said he was. When asked when he became a significant part of her life, Roberts explained:

"I think that at this point, the things I am choosing to discuss are things I am willing to give to the public. I choose not to speak about Jason for the reason that it is far more dignified and deserving of respect than to put it out there.”

Post-breakup with Sutherland, a friend of his reportedly labeled her Miss Tinkerbell romantic, stating one minute she was in love with a guy and then the next with another. While Roberts was at the peak of her career at the time, she said:

“The success you achieve on a professional level can have nothing and everything to do with your personal life.”

The main reason for breaking up with Sutherland was because he had cheated on her during their engagement. On top of that, he painted the idea that Roberts was the one who called off the wedding.

She told Entertainment Weekly once that during that time, she had returned from a trip in Arizona and had intended to tell Sutherland that it would be best if they did not get married.

However, he beat her to it because the next time she talked to him was on the phone after he called her, and she asked where he had been after disappearing for days without communicating.

Sutherland then proceeded to tell her what she planned on telling him, that he did not want to marry her, and his delivery was more ruthless than anything else according to Roberts:

"He was very vicious, for lack of a better word, about it, and seemed quite specific in how she felt."

The now 55-year-old had been in Los Angeles but was nowhere to be found. He hung up the phone on the Georgia native but called her back a few hours later and said: "So, is it on or off."

Roberts shared she said what she was going to say to him before. After releasing a joint statement announcing their split, Sutherland started acting like a victim, and the public blamed her.

But the "24" star was far from being innocent in their situation because, as it turned out, he had been linked to a stripper, Amanda Rice, 24 years old at the time. When the news broke, Roberts said:

"I swallowed my pride a little bit and said, okay, the woman is the last to know. This had been going on for a long time. So, then I had to say, well, I have made an enormous mistake in agreeing to get married, to begin with."

SURPRISING REACTION TO THEIR SPLIT

In April 2006, Sutherland said that he applauded his former fiancée for being brave enough to end their tumultuous romance while sharing despite it being difficult at the time, it had to happen:

“I commend Julia for seeing how young and silly we were, even at the last minute, even as painful and as difficult as it was. Thank God, she saw it.”

FORGIVE & FORGET FOR PATRIC?

When asked if he had forgiven his pal Patric, the "Designated Survivor" said: "It's not a matter of that fact. We were friends, and I'm surprised that I never got a call from him saying I'd fallen in love with da-da-da. Instead, I found out from a stranger."

During an interview with People, he said that Roberts had to be realistic for herself, which was much better. "She had the courage; it wasn't what she wanted to do in the end," Sutherland added after stating how in love he was with her.

PATRIC & SUTHERLAND'S REUNION

However, the relationship between Patric and Roberts was short-lived as it ended a year later. In April 2021, Sutherland and Patric reunited on Michael Rosenbaum's "Inside of You" podcast to talk about their dramatic love triangle with the "Eat Pray Love" star.

When asked during the interview where he and Roberts jetted off to amid their fling, Sutherland cut him off before whispering that they were in Ireland. Regardless of the biggest scandal of the '90s, Patric and Sutherland mended fences and have even worked together since then.

ROBERT'S OTHER HIGH-PROFILE ROMANCES

Following her whirlwind romance with Sutherland and Patric, Roberts crossed paths with fellow actor Lyle Lovett after starring in 1992's "The Player."

The former couple had an instant connection and decided to get hitched in June 1993, but they divorced less than two years later, in March 1995.

There is not much information on her next relationship with "Friends" actor Matthew Perry, but the pair were linked from 1995 to 1996. Their romance is said to have begun after she guest-starred on an episode of the show in 1994.

ROBERT'S HAPPY EVER AFTER

The Academy Award winner finally found true love with her second husband and cinematographer Daniel Moder, 52, whom she wed in July 2002.

The couple first met on the set of the "Mexican" in 2001 and later started their family when they welcomed their twins Hazel, and Phinnaeus, in 2004. The arrival of their youngest child, son Henry, was in 2007.

An insider told Closer Weekly in July 2021 that the lovebirds feel like they are soulmates despite challenges along the way and that nothing could come between them because they are committed to staying together forever, no matter what it takes.