Julia Roberts' Love Triangle With Kiefer Sutherland And Jason Patric Explained

Back in the early 90s, the biggest scandal of them all (up until then, at least) happened when, on the day Julia Roberts was supposed to marry Kiefer Sutherland, she was instead spotted on a date with Jason Patric while Sutherland was moving out of the home he shared with Roberts in the Hollywood Hills (per E!). This was back in 1991 and Roberts, 23, and Sutherland, 24, had gotten involved with each other after starring in 1990's "Flatliners" together.

Roberts and Sutherland were planning to marry in front of 150 guests. As it turned out, however, they had broken up and canceled it, per E! This was the days before the internet and social media, though, so no one knew about it — and that's what made Roberts' lunch date (and later trip to Ireland) with Patric such a scandal. She was America's Sweetheart and "Pretty Woman." She was not yet a "Runaway Bride" (pun intended).

Sutherland and Patric, now both 54, appeared on a recent episode of the "Inside of You" podcast hosted by "Smallville" alum Michael Rosenbaum. They jointly commented on the love triangle with Roberts (via YouTube).

Rosenbaum said to Patric, "Supposedly you had a thing with Julia Roberts. You took off to somewhere. Where'd you go?" Patric said, "Well, I mean, that was all, that was all the press, I mean, the fact was —" Sutherland cut him off and whispered, "Ireland." Patric continued, "Yeah, I went to Ireland." Keep scrolling to learn more about what Roberts' former flames had to say.

It was a bit awkward, even though it all happened 30 years ago. In 2006, Kiefer Sutherland was asked during a Rolling Stone interview if he had forgiven Jason Patric. He said, "It's not a matter of that. We were friends, and I'm surprised that I never got a call from him saying I've fallen in love with da-da-da. Instead, I found out from a stranger."

Julia Roberts has weighed in on the scandal, too. Back in 1994, she told Rolling Stone that the wedding was not canceled at the last second, Sutherland was not left jilted at the altar, and he didn't find out from a stranger or on TV. She was asked about comments Patric reportedly made about bringing attention to herself, and Roberts said, "... it really hurt my feelings."

On "Inside of You," Sutherland said his breakup with Roberts was a "difficult time" for him. However, in a 2016 People interview, he admitted that it took courage for Roberts to cancel the wedding. "We were both young, and we were both very much in love, we had decided that we wanted to get married." 

"She was arguably the most famous woman in the world ... in the middle of that, I think she had courage," he added. "It wasn't what she wanted to do, in the end. And I think it took a lot of courage, in amongst all of that other stuff, to be able to say, 'I can't do this.'"

After Julia Roberts and Jason Patric were seen together on the day she and Kiefer Sutherland had previously planned to marry, Patric and Sutherland didn't spend time together for decades. The two chatted on the "Inside of You" podcast in 2021 and explained how they were able to reconnect years after this love triangle scenario took place. Patric explained that he and Sutherland resumed their friendship following 20 plus years of not being around one another. "We hadn't seen each other for over 20 years ... I think we hooked up again in 2009 or 2010," Patric said before adding, "The large stuff about the press and being invited to the wedding and then taking off with the bride, that's all bulls***."

During the same interview, Sutherland stated that he had long since let go of the negative memories surrounding this ordeal. "[Roberts is] an extraordinary person and [Patric] is too," Sutherland said. "Timing is what it is, and everybody moves on from that." In a 2011 interview with Vulture, Patric confirmed he and Roberts dated following her relationship with Sutherland, then said the two had since moved forward in their individual love lives. "They've both been subsequently married several times and I think they're fine. But we never had any issue, even back then,"' Patric said. Sutherland and Roberts have ended up with romantic partners who seem to be their perfect fit.

The end of Julia Roberts and Kiefer Sutherland's romance came with some tabloid drama, but the pair each went on to find happiness with new significant others. After the ex-couple's wedding was called off and Roberts dated Jason Patric, Roberts later dated and married musician Lyle Lovett, per Marie Claire. The two separated in 1995, and she dated Benjamin Bratt for nearly four years before their eventual split. The "Pretty Woman" star then encountered cinematographer Danny Moder on set, and the pair married in 2002. Roberts dedicated a June 2022 Instagram post to her and Moder's wedding anniversary, writing "TWENTY#can'tstopsmiling #can'tstopkissing" alongside a sweet photo of the two sharing a kiss.

As reported by People, Sutherland was married to his second wife, Kelly Winn, for almost eight years when he filed for divorce in 2004. He's now in a relationship with actor Cindy Vela, whom he became engaged to in 2017, as the Daily Mail wrote. In a 2022 interview on the "Life's a Beach" podcast, per Express, Sutherland said he and Vela had been spending a lot of time at home together during the pandemic, which made him realize, "I really like my girlfriend.'" Since Patric and Sutherland have become friends again and both Sutherland and Roberts have found new love interests, it's safe to say this is a love triangle that had a smooth ending.