Strange Things About Chris Pratt And Katherine Schwarzenegger's Relationship

Actor Chris Pratt announced on Instagram that he and Katherine Schwarzenegger (daughter of action star Arnold Schwarzenegger and journalist Maria Shriver) are engaged on Jan. 14, 2018. "Sweet Katherine, so happy you said yes! I'm thrilled to be marrying you," he captioned a sweet snap of him kissing Schwarzenegger's cheek as she gazed at her massive diamond ring. "Proud to live boldly in faith with you. Here we go!" (If you view Pratt's edit history on his Facebook post about the engagement, he added, then deleted, "Ideally we'd have kept this secret for as long as possible. But considering there's paparazzi camped out in the alley behind our house and they document everything whether we like it or not, we'll take the lead here and release this statement.")

A few hours later, Schwarzenegger posted the same photo with the caption: "My sweet love. Wouldn't want to live this life with anyone but you," and soon after, TMZ reported that the future Mrs. Pratt was flashing her bling while out for breakfast with her sister.

As sweet as this is, it's also a bit odd. Here are some pretty strange things about Chris Pratt and Katherine Schwarzenegger's relationship.

To be clear, there's nothing strange about being religious, but it's not everyday that a Hollywood A-lister openly wears their faith on their sleeve. Some industry insiders have even claimed that sharing one's faith too loudly may impact a showbiz career. Chris Pratt and Katherine Schwarzenegger are clearly not concerned. A source told People the couple has a special bond "on a spiritual level" and that Pratt is "really impressed that she's vocal and unashamed about her beliefs in God, because that's how he is." The insider claimed Pratt is "constantly around other people who have no faith or are apologetic about it, but not her. She is willing to talk about it to anyone who will listen."

Many have analyzed Pratt's faith and occasionally criticized him for being so open about his Christianity — not that it bugs him. "It's authentic for me to be pro-Christian, pro-Jesus. That's my thing," he told the Associated Press. "I like it. And I've never had anyone try to shame me, to my face. Maybe they go say it behind my back. But if that's the case, go ahead. You can say whatever you want about me — to my face or behind my back. I'm not going to change." Page Six also reported that Pratt's devotion to his religion was one of the factors in his divorce from actress Anna Faris, so it's likely even more important to him than ever that his wife be as into Jesus as she is into him.

If you're thinking, "Gee, that was quick, it seems like Chris Pratt and Anna Faris just finalized their divorce," well, you're right. Faris and Pratt finalized their divorce in October 2018, but Pratt and Schwarzenegger were first spotted out and about together in June 2018 (though sources told E! News they'd been low-key dating for about two months prior). By September 2018 People, was already predicting a ring. "They're such a great fit together. It's only been a few months but Chris and Katherine are both very serious about the relationship and their friends wouldn't be surprised if they got engaged sooner rather than later," a source said. "Katherine has spent time with Chris' family and they all love her too. She fits in really well with them and vice versa."

Somewhat amazingly, a source told E! News that Pratt actually started out "taking this slow with Katherine at first." That didn't last long! But this wasn't the first time Pratt fell head over heels at warp speed. Listen to the way he talked about Faris in 2009: "I knew I wanted to marry her pretty soon [after I met her]," he told People. "It took a while for me to admit it, because it would be crazy to be like, 'I want to marry you' the first day I met her. But I could have!"

An insider told Radar Online that Chris Pratt and Katherine Schwarzenegger took a vow of abstinence until marriage, so maybe that has something to do with their rush to the altar. A source close to the actor dished that Pratt "is sticking to his rule book," which apparently includes no nookie before nuptials. "He cares a lot for Katherine and doesn't want to mess things up." The source added, "They're both deeply religious and believe sex should be saved for marriage, but they have nothing against showing affection."

"Katherine wants something sincere with a man who's in this for the long-term, and Chris checks all of her boxes," the insider added. "If things work out, they both think that sex will be all the more special and worth waiting for."

This whole thing sounds quite different from Pratt's prior relationship with ex-wife Anna Faris, who admitted to leaving her first husband, Ben Indra, for him. On her Unqualified podcast (via BuzzFeed), Faris said she knocked on Pratt's door and announced that she was "ready to get boned." She claims they got "hot and heavy in a way that [she'd] never experienced before."

E! News reported that Katherine Schwarzenegger's mom, Maria Shriver, reportedly set her daughter up with Chris Pratt. Shriver knew the actor through mutual friends and has supposedly been very involved in the relationship. A source told E! News in July 2018, "Maria is very excited for Katherine. Everyone has their fingers crossed that this is going to work out long term. They think Chris is an amazing guy and a great catch." 

According to Us Weekly, Pratt asked Shriver and Arnold Schwarzenegger for permission before popping the question. An insider said, "Maria helped him with the proposal." Entertainment Tonight reported that Shriver also commented on the engagement announcement and simultaneously indicated that she planned to remain involved in their affairs. "Congratulations to two loving, kind, caring, thoughtful, spiritual people. We are so happy for you," she said. "You are blessed, as is everyone who knows you. Yes, let's go."

Just days before Chris Pratt announced his engagement to Katherine Schwarzenegger, his ex-wife, Anna Faris, admitted on her Unqualified podcast that co-parenting with Pratt is relatively easy because they're both in loving relationships with other people. That doesn't mean life is all sunshine and rainbows post-divorce. "I f**king acknowledge, we all do, everyone acknowledges, that there's bitterness and pain with all breakups and that hopefully makes us more human," she said. "...it's just the worst being the bigger person. It just is. It f**king sucks! Until then, what [matters most] is that everyone's happy."

Faris was nothing but sweet to Pratt after the engagement news broke, congratulating the couple on Instagram. She even discussed their engagement in her podcast, which may have forced Pratt and Schwarzenegger to be more public about it than they otherwise would have been. "Chris texted me this morning and he was like, 'I proposed to Katherine last night,'" Faris told her listeners. "And I was like, 'Ahh, that's amazing!' I texted him back like, 'I just wanted to remind you I'm an ordained minister.'" Faris added, "I'm so happy for them. I knew that it was gonna happen and I love her, and I love him and I'm just so happy that they found each other."

You can't put a price on love, but you can put a price on a symbol for it — and Chris Pratt really loves Katherine Schwarzenegger if her engagement ring is any indication. Diamond expert Kathryn Money (no, really) told Page Six that depending on the specifics of Schwarzenegger's rock, Pratt easily spent between $150,000 and $250,000 on her ring. Money estimates that Pratt picked out a six or seven carat diamond.

The diamond's trendy oval cut may also potentially increase the price point. "Fancy cut [non-round] gemstones are becoming increasingly popular, and many celebrities including Karlie Kloss and Lea Michele have opted for this particular trend," Money said. "Elongated cushion cut and oval shaped diamonds create a flattering look as their shape lengthens the wearer's finger."

Hopefully Pratt and Schwarzenegger have better luck with their oval diamond than Ariana Grande and Pete Davidson did. We wish these two all the best.

Katherine Schwarzenegger was born in the lap of luxury. Her dad, Arnold, is the former governor of California and a blockbuster action star, boasting an estimated net worth of $400 million, according to Men's Health. Her mom, Maria Shriver, is a member of the wealthy and well-connected Kennedy family (late President John F. Kennedy was her uncle). Shriver, an author and former journalist, has an estimated net worth of $100 million. That said, it's likely that Katherine wanted for nothing her entire life. Her personal estimated net worth, thanks to a slew of sponsored content and book deals, is about $3 million.

Chris Pratt, on the other hand, hails from hardscrabble beginnings. According to Vanity Fair, his dad was a miner and his mom worked at Safeway. "The Pratts lost their house while Chris was in high school," and Chris eventually decided to move to Hawaii with a friend and live in a van, the magazine reported. According to Entertainment Weekly, Pratt was discovered waiting tables at a Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. restaurant and cast him in 2000's Cursed Part 3. Television work followed, including a notable gig as Bright Abbott in Everwood. The rest is history, and Pratt now has an estimated net worth of $40 million.

One source of potential lovers' quarrels between Chris Pratt and Katherine Schwarzenegger may be his avid hunting conflicting versus her adoration for animals. Us Weekly reports that Schwarzenegger is an ambassador for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) and supports the Best Friends Animal Society. An entire section of her lifestyle blog (because of course she has one) is dedicated to animals. In 2017, Schwarzenegger released a book about the benefits of adoption titled Maverick and Me.

Pratt, meanwhile, may not have the best track record with critters. In 2011, he tweeted to rehome his senior cat, explaining (via Gawker), "My wife and I want to start a family we absolutely cannot have an animal that s**ts all over the house." In December 2016, the Daily Mail reported that Pratt's then-wife, Anna Faris, was slapped with a $5,000 fine after her rescue dog was found emaciated and homeless.

Then, of course, there's Pratt's hunting hobby, about which he's been very open. "My passion for hunting is not simply the result of a need to feed myself. There's grocery stores for that! I'm not eating groundhog or coyote!" he told Outdoor Life. "Sometimes people don't understand and I don't waste my breath trying to explain it. Either you get it or you don't. But for the most part people aren't judgmental about it. We just disagree and move on."