Mad Men's Jon Hamm: I'm Not Ready for Marriage
Credit: courtesy of Parade
Credit: courtesy of Parade
Unlike his Mad Men character Don Draper, Jon Hamm is a one-woman kind of guy -- even if he isn't ready to tie the knot with his girlfriend of 13 years, Jennifer Westfeldt.
"I don't have the marriage chip, and neither of us have the greatest examples of marriages in our families," Hamm, 39, tells the new issue of Parade. "But Jen is the love of my life, and we've already been together four times longer than my parents were married."
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Hamm -- whose parents divorced when he was 2 years old -- also admits that losing his mother at 10 and his father at 20 makes it difficult to see himself starting a family.
"Losing both parents at a young age gave me a sense that you can't really control life, so you'd better live it while it's here," he says. "I stopped believing in a storybook existence a long time ago. All you can do is push in a direction and see what comes of it."
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But that doesn't mean he's opposed to having children with Westfeldt -- one day.
"I like kids," the actor says, "but I also like the option to close the door. Becoming a parent is a whole other life, and it doesn't stop."
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For now, the actor is busy promoting the fourth season of Mad Men and his upcoming thriller The Town, opposite Ben Affleck and Blake Lively -- too busy, in fact, to acknowledge his sex symbol status.
"That kind of stuff is only present if you give it attention," Hamm says. "If it's not reflected back, it goes away. It's not like I'm Justin Bieber or anything."
Tell Us What You Think
13Marriage is OVERRATED! Why would he marry her if the divorce rate is over 50%. C'mon people. Leave them alone.
wow, y'all are very small minded and sexist. Not every woman wants to be married. Maybe she does, maybe she doesn't but don't just assume that and jump all over him saying he doesn't love her. he's been with her 13 years, that's longer than a lot of marriages these days.
If marriage is "just a piece of paper" then why not "just" go through with it? Same excuse from douchy celebs who don't want to commit.
I think Jon Hamm is sooo sexy! I say if he is happy and she is happy, then its ok. Im not in a rush to get married either. If it works for them then it works :)
13 yrs! If by now he doesn't love her enough to give her his last name -He's just not that into you.
He should marry his pretty girlfriend now while he's stll a hot brand. She loved him when...
See? He's not quite perfect!
What do you mean Jon when you say that you are not Justin Bieber.. You are the reason people tune in to Mad Men..How your new character is sooo different from last season.. Now that he is playing the single man...!! And now to see that he will probably be going to the Toronto Film Festival gala premiere the women are going to go wild..!!
I am NOT sure that this is the real "Jon Hamm" as it's usually the OPPOSITE...when a person comes from either broken homes and/or losing their parents at a young age they usually want what they did not have - meaning - they want to be married and have successful marriages AND they want to be parents. I would tend to think that in Jon Hamm's case he has been struggling in show business until the break out of "Mad Men" (which is a great show, so far) and he wants to have his options OPEN...if a man does not marry a woman after being with them for so many years...they will NEVER marry her!...all the best to Jennifer Westfeldt!!
I can relate to him. I've lost both my parents at a young age too and I've been free falling ever since. It's been very lonely but I try to delude myself that I'm happy. Like him, I was driven by fear but now I can laugh at it.
Great article; I wish there were more people that were as honest with themselves! Honestly, great looks and smart is such a good combination!
Becauseã?? he is a gay, or looking for a younger woman to marry.
My God, do you know what I would DO to him if we had one night together?