Cynthia Nixon was once advised by her publicist to keep her relationship with Christine Marinoni private, and she has said the couple wondered whether they would ever be allowed to move past that. More than two decades later, the Gilded Age actress says the key to their marriage is a simple reminder to be kind to each other.
Nixon, 60, spoke exclusively to PEOPLE at the season four premiere of The Gilded Age in New York on 26 October, where she described their relationship as 'really unshakable'. The couple has been together since 2004 and has been married since 2012, making 22 years as a couple and 14 as wives.
Cynthia Nixon and Christine Marinoni Relationship Timeline
Nixon and Marinoni met in 2001, developing a close friendship that turned romantic three years later following Nixon's split from long-time partner Danny Mozes. Having never dated a woman before, Nixon's new relationship left Marinoni expecting to panic about her Hollywood career, a worry that evaporated once she met Nixon's mother.
The main obstacle came from Nixon's PR team, who insisted she stay silent with a rigid stance: 'It's your life, and it's private, and that's it'.
Frustrated by the secrecy, Nixon recalled pushing back: "We're at the playground with the kids, and pictures are taken of us, and we say, 'No, she's my friend?'" Nixon's manager introduced her to Kelly Bush, an openly gay celebrity publicist who advised her to confirm the rumors. Nixon remembered asking, 'Really, we can just confirm?' before doing so, later describing the outcome as 'so fantastic'.
The couple got engaged in 2009 and welcomed their son, Max Ellington Nixon-Marinoni, in 2011. They married in 2012, a year after same-sex marriage was legalised in New York state. Nixon also has two children, Seph and Charles, from her previous relationship with Mozes.
Inside Cynthia Nixon's 22-Year Relationship
Long before stepping into the spotlight alongside Cynthia Nixon, Christine Marinoni was deeply entrenched in community organizing. A dedicated education advocate and prominent LGBTQ+ rights activist, Marinoni spent years building grassroots coalitions in New York—once describing herself as someone who fully expected to remain a quiet 'little worker bee' for her entire life.
That low-profile world of community campaigning sits in stark contrast to the high-wattage red carpets and Hollywood press tours Nixon navigates. Yet despite their vastly different career paths, the couple's day-to-day dynamic rests on a surprisingly grounded foundation.
Nixon told PEOPLE they have never relied on formal marriage rules or grand gestures. When daily stresses pile up, 'trying to remember to be kind' remains their central anchor. 'I feel like we — sometimes when we get in little snits, little whatever — we say we've got to remember to be kind to each other,' Nixon explained of how they navigate relationship friction. For two people balancing public activism, high-stakes acting roles, and a busy household, choosing gentleness as everyday stress builds keeps their two-decade partnership grounded.
Cynthia Nixon on The Gilded Age Season 4
In the HBO period drama, Nixon plays Ada, a kindhearted widow. She attended the show's season four premiere in New York on 26 October. She is also known for her roles in Sex and the City and its sequel series, And Just Like That.
Season four premiered on Sunday, 1 November at 9 PM ET on HBO and is streaming on HBO Max, with Nixon back on screen as Ada.
