E! IllustrationNobody loves like Kate Hudson. And nobody loves love as much as Kate Hudson.
To some naysayers her laundry list of former romances and tendency to jump from one relationship to another might be a character flaw, but her love life also provides a learning opportunity for anybody who's unable to be quite as carefree as she is. Perhaps no one else in Hollywood is as synonymous with coupledom as Kate Hudson and that means that there's a lot of material to study. But before any analytical session one must always take a refresher course.
The actress is currently in the throes of her first serious (and openly public) relationship since ending her engagement with former fiancé Matt Bellamy. The rumor mill started spinning about Hudson and boyfriend Danny Fujikawa after they were spotted kissing in New York City this spring, and it was confirmed after he attended her birthday celebration in Beverly Hills. Since then the two have traveled to the likes of Colorado and Cambodia and spent tons of time with each other's friends and families. A source recently told E! that they're "basically living together at her house" and that even though they aren't engaged yet, "it could happen."
But before that, it all started way back at the beginning of the century—Y2K, to be exact. A young Hudson, who was at the very beginning of her career, met Chris Robinson, lead singer of The Black Crowes and father to her oldest son, at a party. They moved in together a few days later and were married on New Year's Eve 2000, just a few months after they met. Then came Owen Wilson, who Hudson started dating during her separation from Robinson. They broke up before the divorce became final, but briefly reconciled in 2008.
Dax Shepard was next, and she also dated Lance Armstrong—before the doping scandal, of course. Hudson began her relationship with Muse frontman Bellamy in 2010 and welcomed her second son in July, 2011. They became engaged shortly before the birth but the marriage never came to fruition. They dated for four years before finally calling it quits. In between Bellamy and Fujikawa there were a few rumored couplings here and there, like a relationship with Nick Jonas that seemed more likely than not thanks to more than a few public sightings of the two and some cheeky interviews given by the "Jealous" singer, but nothing was ever confirmed.
It's a mouthful, sure. Which makes the first lesson from the Kate Hudson Love Guidebook: Be Your Goddamn Self. If the rest of us can learn anything from her many romantic endeavors, it's that she's never given a crap what people think about her or her love life. She puts it all on the line and opens herself up, often with the result being harsh critiques of something that really isn't anyone else's business. She's never let public opinion sway who she falls in love with or changed the way she operates in a relationship because of her fame.
There are plenty of celebrities who follow an entirely different set of guidelines in that regard. Couples who never set foot on a red carpet together. Who refuse to speak about their relationship to reporters, or even utter their significant other's name in public. (Cough...Ryan Gosling...cough.) And that's totally fine: For many celebrities, it makes sense to keep their private life private and to protect it as much as possible. But it also prevents them from the experience of getting to shout it from the rooftops, or even getting to go to the freaking movies without initiating DEFCON 5.
Which is to say: PDA isn't necessarily a bad thing. In fact, to Kate Hudson, PDA is pretty awesome. When looking back at her relationship history it's easy to see a pattern that most of her boyfriends were discovered after they were photographed canoodling in a restaurant or on the beach in Hawaii or even in the produce aisle at the grocery store. In fact, just do yourself a favor and Google Image search "Kate Hudson PDA." The results have the power to make pretty much anybody feel like a nun in comparison. The next time any of us find ourselves wondering why people don't fall in love with us as quickly as they do Kate Hudson, let's all remember those pictures.
Next, Don't have a type. The many men that Kate Hudson has loved are as vast and wide-ranging as, well, any group of men. She might lean a little bit towards the musically-included, sure, what with her marriage to the frontman of The Black Crowes and engagement to the frontman of Muse (and current flame Fujikawa also has roots in rock music), but that's where the similarities end. Robinson was the classical definition of an old-school rocker; together they looked like they were plucked right from the set of Almost Famous.
Bellamy is far more buttoned-up, almost to a nerdy degree. Where Robinson preferred ripped T-Shirts, scraggly beards, suede jackets and just generally appearing like the members of Stillwater exploded on him, Bellamy is clean cut and opts for pointy boots, leather jackets and even the occasional suit. Owen Wilson is, of course, the perpetual Bro. Lance Armstrong and Alex Rodriguez are classically sporty. Nick Jonas provides the token young guy vibe and Dax Shepard is just a straight-up aesthetic anomaly.
Alone time is overrated. All sorts of people will wax poetic about the importance of taking time for oneself after a breakup, of backing off of dating to decompress and reflect on what went wrong. Those are usually people who aren't in relationships. Being alone is a lot harder than it seems in a self-help book and Kate Hudson isn't afraid to go for the rebound. In fact, it's safe to say that she's singlehandedly destroyed the concept of a rebound; a relationship can't be considered a rebound if it's just another moment in a continuous loop of love.
Sure, it's important not to fall back into old habits and it's dangerous to not recognize a pattern of less-than-ideal partner choices, but that's why she doesn't have a type. The chances of repeating a mistake that you made with Chris Robinson while you're dating Owen Wilson is next to impossible because the two men couldn't be more opposite. So go ahead, live your truth and jump on that rebound train.
And if all else fails: Go big or go home. One of the biggest hallmarks of Kate's relationships is that she falls headfirst very quickly. She moved in with Robinson after a few days and was married after a few months. She dated Bellamy for just over a year before they got engaged. And she got serious with Fujikawa almost immediately.
But it's something she is well aware of and she makes no qualms in admitting so. As a source told E! earlier this month, "She loves being in a committed relationship and having a partner." And when she debuted Fujikawa on the red carpet of mom Goldie Hawn's movie Snatched this May she made a point of telling E! News that he was a "keeper." Nobody is more aware of Kate Hudson's Guide to Love than Kate Hudson and it seems like she's doing something right.