Gerard Butler, 47: ‘In five years I want to be in a relationship… it’s about time’

Rome photocall for 'Geostorm'

Here are some photos of Gerard Butler promoting Geostorm in Rome over the weekend. I’ll give Butler a lot of credit for this, actually: Geostorm is a mess, but Butler has honored his contract and gamely promoted Geostorm all over the world, unlike some actors who go MIA when it comes to promoting a film they know will bomb. The reviews for Geostorm were terrible – here’s a sample of some of the reviews: “it’s a film where the dialogue is laughably awful [and] the twists are only surprising if you’ve never seen a film before,” the ending “achieves a kind of transcendent idiocy,” and the director “shouldn’t be directing actors for a living.”

While Geostorm is a complete bomb in its opening weekend in North America – it opened with about $13 million – it’s actually making some money overseas, which possibly explains why Butler has been promoting the hell out of it in Britain and Italy. Still, make no mistake: this mess cost about $130 million to make. It will not even break event. Still, Butler’s actually keeping up a full schedule despite getting into a really bad motorcycle accident just a few weeks ago. The accident was so bad that he was bedridden for several days and he has several broken bones. Let’s see, what else? Gerard wants you to know that he’s ready to start a family… in like five years or so. He’s 47 years old.

In his new action film Geostorm, Gerard Butler plays a scientist fighting to save the world from storms of epic proportions, namely for the safety of his young daughter. While Butler doesn’t have any children of his own, the actor, 47, tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue that he’d like to become a father in the not too distant future.

“In five years I want to be in a relationship,” Butler says. “I’d love to have one or two kids — it’s about time.”

Though the eligible bachelor, who previously dated interior designer Morgan Brown, is enjoying being single right now and finding some time to date, he says “it has been hard to get much done” romantically with his hectic work schedule. With five movies currently in the works, including Angel Has Fallen (the third installment of the Olympus Has Fallen series) and action thriller Den of Thieves, he admits, “I have no personal life.” In the future, though, Butler says he wants “to be more run by my personal life than my career.”

When Butler does get a day off, he enjoys “getting on a motorbike, putting a tent on the back and going to Sequoia National Park to camp and hike. My stomach aches when I think about nature and adventure. I have a place out in Malibu right now but [in five years], I want to have a place in North Carolina or somewhere that I spend more time in nature.”

[From People]

Imagine a world in which a 47-year-old actress suddenly declared that she would ideally like to “start a family” in five years or so. Men get away with so much, in society and biologically. As for the idea of Butler finally “settling down” – I’ll believe it when I see it. I actually thought, back in the day, that Butler would be more likely to settle down at some point, more likely than people like Benedict Cumberbatch or Michael Fassbender, but look at where we are now. Fassy just got married and Bendy married a unicorn and there are two Cumberbabies in the world.

Rome photocall for 'Geostorm'

Photos courtesy of WENN.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

80 Responses to “Gerard Butler, 47: ‘In five years I want to be in a relationship… it’s about time’”

Comments are Closed

We close comments on older posts to fight comment spam.

  1. Mabs A'Mabbin says:

    All his statement means is that he’s been an over-the-top man slut for 35 years (or so).

    • Enough Already says:

      Using that term implies there is a female equivalent. Butler is an adult in consenting relationships.

      • Who ARE These People? says:

        Thanks. You’re right, it implies that “slut” is a female norm.

      • ash says:

        comments like this have literally taken over Celebitchy…. it was an bitchy gossipy comment (WERE ON A GOSSIP SITE talking cash ishhh) and you still manage to clutch pearls…. why dont you comment on real news if you have to dissect evetything @enough already

      • Mabs A'Mabbin says:

        Lol, would immensely promiscuous hominid work for ya? ;D

  2. Green Is Good says:

    I like Gerry Butler as an actor, but God it’s so unattractive when men say stupid crap about wanting to “settle down”. *eyeroll* enducing.

  3. Enough Already says:

    At least he’s aware of what works for him. It would be worse if he catered to society and married/had kids by some magic age only to cheat/divorce. He’s kind of gross to me but he’s not hurting anyone. Men and women should own their agency.

  4. Lolo86lf says:

    Well, at least he was honest enough to get married if he wasn’t ready for a monogamous contractual relationship that is marriage. Better him a playing-bachelor than a cheating husband don’t you all agree? I do wonder if he will look for a younger woman to marry or will he find someone closer to his age.

    • INeedANap says:

      Yeah I’ll give him that — I don’t think he’s ever been married. I don’t know if he is a serial monogamist but he hasn’t jumped in and out of “happy family” set-ups.

    • MissMarierose says:

      Well, if he wants kids, it’s not going to be a woman his own age.

  5. S says:

    Ah, male privilege at its finest. You know, in 5 years when he’ll be 52 and still getting leading man roles, unlike his female peers, who will lucky to be playing grandmothers or nuns, if cast at all. Also, in a biological sense, he can party and play and frolic in the fields of available booty for at least 30 full years, not to mention focus solely on his career and just ‘be selfish,’ without worrying once about that his ability to be a parent, should he decide to want to do that, will no longer be available to him. You know, just like women his age. 🙄

    Let’s not even go into how many flops Butler has fronted while still getting shots at lead roles and working consistently, I find it hard to imagine any woman, or person of color, would be afforded the same number of seemingly infinite chances, given the same track record.

    • Lolo86lf says:

      I agree. It is so unfair that only few women get decent work when they are past their prime like Meryl Streep.

    • FHMom says:

      Male privilege, for sure. What a luxury it would be to be able to decide in your 40’s that you’ll be ready to start a family in 5 years. With some 30 year old, of course. A woman would get such sh*t for saying that.

      • aenflex says:

        I didn’t have a child until I was almost 36, by choice and design. My husband is 10 years younger than I.
        I found it quite easy and as yet haven’t received any flack from family or friends or the public at large for being an older woman with a toddler and husband under 30…..

      • Valois says:

        I think there’s a big difference between having a child at the age of 35 vs 50, aenflex.
        Even more so when you look at how many people react to it.

      • kibbles says:

        aenflex, our point exactly. 36 is NOT old, but women are made to feel guilty if we wait until our 30s (god forbid) to have a career and date around before having a family. Meanwhile, men can say stuff like, I’ll be ready to settle down and have my first child when I’m about 52, and it’s acceptable.

        It really annoys me that women are given so much flack for waiting until their 30s and 40s to marry and have children, like they are being selfish by taking the risk of having fewer eggs in their ovaries to reproduce as well as having a fulfilling life before starting a family. Again 35, 36, 37, and even 38 is not old. Let’s stop acting like women are dinosaurs who should no longer be having sex and reproducing at that age.

      • Annetommy says:

        Unfortunately you’ll have to take that grievance up with Mother Nature. I’m not fussed, he isn’t being a hypocrite, he’s doing what he wants. If a younger woman wants to have kids with him in future, that’s their choice, he’s not going to kidnap them. I’m not a Butler fan, though he was surprising good in the excellent Ralph Fiennes Coriolanus.

    • Enough Already says:

      I completely agree with you with the exception of your take that post-poning starting a family to focus on your career. It’s a personal choice and nothing to feel judged over. As for women having difficulty giving birth past a certain age, well, that is just biology. Fortunately each woman can make the choice that is right for her such as freezing her eggs, finding a surrogate, adopting or simply remaining child-free.

      • S says:

        I wasn’t judging it in the least, I was saying it was an option women don’t get to have when they’re 47. Sure, massive wealth can allow for egg freezing, if you’re rich while you’re still young enough, as well as some of the other options you mention — you’d also have to be rich to adopt at 52 — but 99.9999% of women DO have to make that choice that even average, everyday men don’t, necessarily.

        45-year-old Tom who works at Best Buy is more likely to meet and marry and have a second family with a 25-year-old “in the next five years” than even an extremely successful 45-year-old women is to be able to have those same options. That’s why there’s still truth in the old saying that men have choices, while women have responsibilities. There’s not a gol-darn thing wrong with WHATEVER choice a woman wants to make about family/not family; it’s just part of being female that you do have to make it before you’re 52, while men actually don’t.

        For another solid example of this see the John Stamos, 54, gets engaged to a 31-year-old story also out this AM. Not hating on him, just hard not to notice. Late middle-aged men seem to love to settle down and have a family after playing the field for decades. That way they have people to take care of them when they become truly elderly. It’s just a best-of-both-worlds scenario women don’t, realistically, get to employ.

      • Enough Already says:

        S
        The “being selfish” part threw me a bit because a lot of women who pursue careers instead of starting families are tarred with that brush. But yeah, no argument from me, your points are true, unfortunately.

      • S says:

        I was using the ‘being selfish’ phrase because it’s something you hear a lot of these guys who get older while the women they date stay the same age use when they finally do deign to bless the latest 20-year-old as their bride. Like, ‘I was just too selfish in my 20s/30s/40s to marry and now I can really give myself to someone fully. ‘

        Big eye roll. Dude, you just had too many options — options women don’t usually get — and now that you see actual old age coming up hard, you wanna lock someone down to care for you when you’re actually elderly, and, meanwhile, get to do that playing house thing you’d previously opted out of.

        Or, perhaps even more often in the real/non-celeb world, men that go on to have second families with women only slightly older, if at all, then the children from their first. ‘This works because I’m less selfish now,’ is what you often hear these guys say. Personally, I think first wives, who statistically will end up poorer for life and less likely to remarry (a stat that increases with each year older a women is when she divorces) than their former spouses, not to mention put with those idiots’ crap, probably for decades, the first time around, should get to punch men in the privates every time they even think that sort of B.S.

      • BB Carrots says:

        @Aenflex, first baby at 35 here. I will most likely be mistaken for her Nana at some point, but that is due to regional culture.

    • aenflex says:

      Women have options, too, if they want to push back having children. I think waiting until you are emotionally/financially ready for children is a smart idea, for any of the sexes.
      Society shouldn’t dictate the age at which people have children. Further, it is not men’s fault that, (unfortunately), biology holds some dictative power over women’s reproductive options.

      • S says:

        Seriously? The chances of a 47-year-old woman getting pregnant, naturally, are so low as to be, statistically, 0. (And, if they do, an 80% chance of miscarriage in first trimester.) Sure, use someone else’s eggs, or a surrogate, and it’s theoretically possible, but still not a realistic option for the vast majority of women and even with medical assistance, an extremely rare feat.

        You said above you didn’t have kids until you were 36. Well, me either. I had 3 after 34. But the difference between having a baby at 38 and one at 48, in fertility terms, is like jumping across a mud puddle or the Grand Canyon. At 34 I got pregnant, basically, instantly. At 37 it took ~6 months. At 39 it took a year, with actual conception planning (ovulation kits), something I never needed with 1 & 2. I never went back on birth control after No. 3, because we’d be OK with having a 4th, but 2+ years later we’re still a family of 5, and I strongly suspect we’re staying that way.

        What I’m saying is … “Society” doesn’t dictate the age at which women have children; by and large, biology does. The very few exceptions to this, prove the rule. As in, they’re news, because it’s so incredibly rare.

        Unlike men. I’m guessing everybody over the age of 30 knows at least a couple late 40s/early 50 fathers. Or, at the very least, still proving my point, there are no headlines that blare, ’55 year old man becomes dad,’ because it’s just not that unique.

        Again, women don’t need to procreate. Be a mom, don’t be a mom … Either is a totally valid choice. Just saying that for women it IS a choice, and one they must make well before they’re 47.

      • BlinkBanana says:

        Older fathers aren’t that unique but recent science suggests they are not completely unaffected by the ravages of time. Sperm isn’t everlasting and the older the father is the more at risk of birth defects or miscarriage. We’ve just all been fed a bunch of lies that female fertility is the only thing to be concerned about once you hit a certain age. Not true at all – https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jul/05/men-sperm-male-fertility-40

        And a related interesting article – https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/jul/29/infertility-crisis-sperm-counts-halved

      • Peeking in says:

        S – my mother had me naturally at 47, a fully healthy baby.
        She actually thought she was going through menopause, and didn’t realize she was pregnant until her second trimester.
        Sorry to go off-topic.

      • Neva_D says:

        S- My mother had me naturally at 44. I was a complete surprise, because she and my dad had never “tried” for kids and just assumed they weren’t going to have any. They actually found out she was pregnant while in the middle of a vacation to Europe, because my mom (who rarely gets sick) had horrible morning sickness. Surprise, mom!

    • Mike says:

      It’s a mans world

    • SJ says:

      Oh, Amen!

  6. Sixer says:

    Not entirely sure I’d describe Gerry as an “eligible bachelor”. I, for one, would be running for the hills if he looked in my direction.

    • Liberty says:

      @Sixer. Just don’t run toward a porta potty. 🙀

      Agreed. He lost me at “Coachella”…

    • QueenB says:

      He looks like he can transfer his grease with just a look.

      • notasugarhere says:

        I don’t think it is the grease you’d have to worry about him transferring. Need to go bathe my brain now.

      • ichsi says:

        @notasugarhere
        HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA and yes, true. I feel greasy from only reading this. Nevermind the STDs crawling all over him.

    • Sixer says:

      I don’t hate him or anything and I’m not sure why because he is so totally dreadful. I just shudder at the thought of any of that nekkid-nude stuff involving his greasy self.

    • Esmom says:

      Lol, me too. And I lol’d at “my stomach aches when I think about nature and adventure.” I’m guessing he meant that he yearns for it but this makes it sound like he dreads it. Blech.

    • Who ARE These People? says:

      Seriously, my first reaction was “You’ll be 52 then, who’s going to want you?”

      Then I read some comments and remembered – oh, yeah, actor, guy, double standard.

      Love those 5-year plans. Usually a way of pushing something you don’t want out into the future that you think people want to hear in the present.

      • notasugarhere says:

        That’s my take on it. Saying what he thinks his handful of female followers want to think; that he just hasn’t found the right partner vs. no intention of ever getting married but wants you to keep buying his DVDs.

        He was quickly ruined by fame. Too bad as he was decently talented early on, which has faded with the dissolute lifestyle. Could have been a good supporting actor for the rest of his life.

      • Max&cheese says:

        He says this every time he’s promoting a movie to get the attention of any females still dreaming they have a chance. As if. It’s not gonna happen.

    • Curiosity says:

      @ Sixer

      “Eligible bachelor” in today’s media culture merely means moneyed / loaded / filthy rich / powerful and well-connected bachelor. Sad.

      Well, look up Nat Rothschild. Rich. Connected. Old-money family. Aristocratic family (Baron Rothschild). But he married a page-3 topless glamour model girl with no education and no money, I believe. And that is because I believe he didn’t stand a chance with any woman from his own circle. Times are changing and women have a closer look at potential mates and I don’t think that it is only the money that counts in their eyes. Thank God, there is still hope for mankind.

    • Max&cheese says:

      He’s not eligible, IMO, for reasons his hard core female fans don’t want to face.

  7. Ann says:

    Dude, you are too old to be fathering a child now, let alone in 5 Years. Old man sperm is no bueno, look it up.

    • Beth says:

      He’s only 47, and women are still having babies at that age . Are women in their late 40’s s too old to be mothering? No, that not too old. It’s not like he’s one of the Hollywood guys having children while they’re in their late 60’s

      • Ann says:

        First time mothers in their late 40s are much rarer than first time fathers in their late 40s. The increase in autism is partially due to the increasing numbers of old/er men fathering children, advanced paternal age is associated with an increased risk of new mutations in the offspring

      • Giulia says:

        @Ann, well, a tiny number of woman have babies at that age and likely because they are using donated eggs, not their own. The ability to produce viable sperm also deteriorates as a man ages – add evrionmental toxins and any substance abuse problems (ahem) and the viability gets even lower…

      • Who ARE These People? says:

        It’s not about his ability to be nurturing; it’s about the rising risk of autism and other problems for the children. Then, given the age gap, the mother is going to more likely to have more years as a single parent to a child with disability etc.

    • Apple says:

      True. It’s kinda like how Robert De Niro jumped on the anti-vaxxer bandwagon because of his son’s autism, completely ignoring the fact that he fathered him in his 50s.

    • Frosty says:

      Yep. DNA fragmentation. But he might have frozen some of his?

  8. Joss RED says:

    Wow, he looks rough (he looks like mid 50’s in the pics). #Booze

    • PlainJane says:

      My thoughts exactly! He looks so bad now, who knows what 5 more years of boozing will do to him … #willyoustillbeabletoinfive?

  9. Giulia says:

    In 5 years? LOL. Just in time to con some young honey into care taking your old butt.

    Geostorm bombed, but I was surprised to read that Tyler Perry’s movie opened at #1 – his SIXTH #1 movie opening. Yet we almost never hear about him. What’s his deal?

  10. Kiki says:

    Gerard Butler will be fine. I was really rooting for him and his previous girlfriend. I actually like them together but something’s just didn’t work. Though he will be fine.

    As for his movie Geostorm, it flopped but the biggest flopped as Michael Fassbender’s the Snowman.

  11. Electric Tuba says:

    We’ve all banged hotter, dude. You’re no prize and you had a fling with Lohan so you can keep your deep fried pickle to yourself ok crabby scabby. Nasty

  12. Bally says:

    Jesus he looks
    Like rusty shit

    Like ten years ago he was so damn hot

    • notasugarhere says:

      Mrs Brown, Dear Frankie, he was great. It was when he hit the “big time” soon after that he lost control of himself and careened downhill.

    • kibbles says:

      Hi career has nosedived since then. I thought he was incredibly handsome and charming in Dear Frankie and P.S. I Love You. He has not aged well because of his partying ways.

  13. Ally says:

    Recently on Graham Norton, renowned hit-on-everything-that-moves* womanizer Jeff Goldblum telling creepy tales of marrying his contortionist wife. Gerard Butler, also on the couch, looked very interested.

    (* I remember video of him literally accosting passerby at The Grove within the last ten years.)

    • SJ says:

      Awww, I don’t want to hear bad stuff about Jeff Goldblum. But, I do believe it, tho. Dammit.
      Btw, didn’t Goldblum have kids with his first wife? Before he married Gena Davis? Why do I remember some People mag story about his kids from a long time ago? His new (30+ years younger wife) he now has 2 kids under 5 y/o with.

  14. Curiosity says:

    Despite being out for only 3 days Geostorm has already covered nearly half its costs. Not bad.

    http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=geostorm.htm

    I think it might break even and even turn a small profit.

    If Butler wants to start a family in about 5 years then he should be either filthy rich or willing to try for children with a woman about his age 😉 Or willing to marry a brainless 20-something unsucessful model twat whose best option is to marry him. Not that many well-educated women are willing to marry a 50+ year old man to start a family. He won’t have well-educated woman with a career and lots of interests lining up to marry him.

    I think he will regret dumping Morgan Brown.

    • kibbles says:

      Haha. He is filthy rich by normal people standards. He’s gross but given his wealth, I think he won’t have that difficult of a time finding women between the ages of 20 and 40 willing to marry him. I do agree with you that an intelligent and well-educated woman might think twice about getting serious with him because of his track record with women. He still has a good chance of getting lucky with a woman who is well rounded and beautiful because of his money and access to such women in certain social circles. That being said, I’m willing to bet that his marriage will be a hot mess. He’ll get a child out of it but will probably end up divorced before he’s 60.

    • Max&cheese says:

      It’s a good thing it’s all made up for promo purposes, because he never even spends/spent time with his dog.

  15. Wolfie88 says:

    It’s funny how Gerard wants 1 or 2 kids, but Keanu, sadly, thinks he’s time has passed.

    • SJ says:

      IMO, the world needs more Keanu Reeves. And, much, much less of Butler. But, since Butler has $$ he most likely will find some younger by 15-20 years female to marry and reproduce with. Butler looks really rough in these pics, add 5 years….start saving your $$ fella.
      Not many more years of lead roles coming his way.

  16. FalconsBabe says:

    Fingers crossed for North Carolina *initiates divorce proceedings*

    Kidding, ladies. But I do have a teency weency crush on Gerard. I blame my Scottish ancestry.

  17. Clairej says:

    God he was so hot back in the day. I saw ‘Letters to Frankie’ and I swear he was my dream man. He has been a bit disappointing though.