Ryan Seacrest’s status as a long-term bachelor has led to plenty of headlines over the years as he’s navigated dating, family life and pressure to settle down.
The American Idol host has had a series of high-profile romances, even while trying to keep much of his personal life private. He dated model Shana Wall from 2003 to 2005 and spent three years with Julianne Hough. Seacrest has also been romantically linked to Shayna Taylor, Renée Hall, Aubrey Paige and more over the years.
While he’s never actually been married, he’s had some close calls over the years — and contemplated his own future along the way.
Keep scrolling to learn what Seacrest has said about marriage, having a family and everything in between.
Being Single
Seacrest cracked a joke about being single during season 23 of American Idol, reacting to a performance by contestant Thunderstorm Artis.
“Well done,” he said on the May 2025 episode. “It is a beautiful song with beautiful lyrics. I just printed them out backstage. ‘Your green eyes are soft like the summer and your touch can put out the embers of my burning heart from that gray December.’ I’ve never been more depressed to be single than right now in this moment.”
Artis performed the song “Out of the Blue” as a Mother’s Day tribute to his wife, Faith.
Having Kids
Seacrest explained in a 2021 interview with the Wall Street Journal that he eventually wants kids — but for now, he is focused on living in the present.
“I haven’t even gone down that path, which is nuts at my age,” he said. “I think in the last year, it’s become clear to me that yes, I do want to do that. … I want to be available and present.”
Meanwhile, Seacrest remains close with his family, which includes his sister, Meredith, and mother, Constance Marie Zullinger. He said in 2022 that the relationships he already has are enough.
“I’m happy. I’m happy in the present moment,” he told Lisa Rinna during an episode of Live With Kelly and Ryan. “I don’t think about anything else. Why push it? I think having kids at the right time would be great. I have a fantastic family, a very small family. I have a niece, [my sister] Meredith has a daughter. My parents have been married 52 and a half years, so that’s a high bar. So that’s in my head.”
He added that his mom has “given up” on wanting grandchildren from him.
Still Time to Get Married
Seacrest discussed the inevitable proposals that he would see in the crowd in Times Square on New Year’s Eve during a December 2024 appearance on Good Morning America.
“There’s still time for me,” he joked of an eventual trip down the wedding aisle.
ABC correspondent Will Reeve replied, “You’ve got this, Ryan. We won’t rush you, though.”
‘How Do I Do That?’
Seacrest told listeners to his radio show, On Air With Ryan Seacrest, in October 2020 that watching his friends’ kids get excited for Halloween helped him decide that he wants to be a dad one day.
“It was weird because Halloween changed me,” he said. “I said a few weeks ago, ‘I’m not so into it,’ and then I saw some of my friends’ kids get excited about it. Then I see my niece, and she’s so beautiful. Then I see you [Sisanie] with twins, and I see how happy you are, and I would never in a million years — actually if you asked me when I was 40 a few years ago ‘Do you want kids?’ [I’d say], ‘I don’t know’ — and now, all of a sudden, all I can think about is, ‘Wow, how do I do that? I’m getting older. What are the options?’”
Almost Getting Engaged
Cohost Kelly Ripa asked Seacrest on a May 2017 episode of Live With Kelly and Ryan whether he has ever been engaged. While the Wheel of Fortune host said he had not, he revealed he once came close.
“I did get close and I didn’t do it and it was the right move,” he explained. “But I love the idea — and I know you’re going to ask me — of marriage because my parents have been married for 47 years, and so I have this thing — and you’ve been married 21.”
Following His Parents’ Example
If Seacrest does decide to settle down, he has already set some pretty high standards for himself in the romance department. He explained that he views his own parents and their marriage as an example to follow, and the years he has spent looking up to them has set “a high bar.”
“My parents [have] been married for 47 years, and so I have this thing …” He explained to Ripa in May 2017. “The truth is, I have this thing that I don’t want to screw it up and a lot of times, they get screwed up and so I figure, the longer I wait, the older I’ll be, the closer to death I am, so I can get it in, and not screw it up.”
Online Dating
During a March 2026 “Love Is in the Air”–themed episode of Wheel of Fortune, Seacrest hinted that he was looking for love via the dating app Tinder.
“I love ‘Love Is in the Air.’ I am so excited to watch all of these shows. And I’ll be on Tinder tonight so I can find it,” he told cohost Vanna White, joking that he was “so lonely up here” as a single man among the couples participating on the episode.
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