Stuart Townsend, Charlize Theron’s longtime boyfriend, is publicly calling her his wife, and the two both have rings on their left ring fingers. Townsend tells People that the two are married, even though they haven’t gone through a religious or civil service.

“‘I’m married,’ Townsend told People this week. ‘I didn’t do a church wedding or anything, but we’re married. We’re husband and wife. We love each other and we want to spend our lives together,’ the 34-year-old actor said about his nearly seven-year relationship with Theron, 32, who he calls ‘the greatest woman I’ve ever met.’

“‘We didn’t have a ceremony,’ he added. ‘I don’t need a certificate or the state or the church to say otherwise. So no there’s no big official story on a wedding, but we are married. … I consider her my wife and she considers me her husband.’

[From People]

So I guess all those breakup rumors were crap. If it’s true, that’s great, though without confirmation of some sort from Charlize, there’s the possibility that Townsend is delusional. It’s sorta weird that he said “I’m married” instead of “We’re married” but whatever. The two have been working on Townsend’s film “Battle in Seattle” about the World Trade Organization riots in Seattle in 1999. Townsend wrote and directed the film, and Theron has a starring role.

“During a dinner party at The Supper Club, the couple even showed off their rings – Theron fidgeted with hers as she shared a story about it and then grabbed Townsend’s hand to display a silver cross-shaped band on his ring finger.

“‘It was really amazing tonight to premiere the film with her,’ Townsend said. ‘She’s proud and she was crying, so it’s as important to her as it’s important to me. We’re a team and we’re in this together. That’s what you do. You look out for each other.’”

[From People]

It sounds legitimately true. Charlize doesn’t seem like someone who just randomly wears rings on her left ring finger to get gossip buzzing (ahem, Britney Spears). They’ve been dating long enough that one could assume they’ve made some kind of commitment to one another. There’s a lot of famous couples that have made life-long commitments to each other without formalizing the agreement. Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins come to mind, though I don’t believe they refer to each other as husband and wife. There’s certainly countless non-celebrities that do it. I guess Stuart Townsend is saying he and Charlize are married in their hearts, so congratulations. I’d send you something, but I’m guessing you didn’t formalize things by registering, either.

Picture note by JayBird: Here’s Charlize and Stuart (with a ring visible, if you squint hard enough) at the “In the Valley of Elah” premiere on September 13th. Images thanks to PR Photos.