Why Diane Keaton welcomed children in her 50s despite never marrying

Diane Keaton welcomed two children in her 50s and raised them as a single mother before her death — but never chose to marry.

“Motherhood was not an urge I couldn’t resist,” she once explained to Ladies Home Journal, per People. “It was more like a thought I’d been thinking for a very long time. So I plunged in.”

Of her decision to raise her two now grown children as a single mom, the actress told Ladies Home Journal she was “never going to be prepared to be a mother.”

As far as her relationships go, she told People in 2019 that her decision to forego marriage — despite welcoming daughter Dexter, 29, and son Duke, 25, via adoption in 1996 and 2001 — was predetermined.

“I think I’m the only one in my generation, and maybe before, who has been a single woman all her life,” she told the outlet.

The Oscar-winning actress — who dated Al Pacino, Warren Beatty, and her “Annie Hall” director Woody Allen, among others — explained that it wouldn’t “have been a good idea for me to have married.”

The “Father of the Bride” actress — who People confirmed on Saturday died in California at the age of 79 — also divulged that she’d simply never wanted to be a wife.

“I remember one day in high school, this guy came up to me and said, ‘One day you’re going to make a good wife,’” she told the outlet.

“And I thought, ‘I don’t want to be a wife. No.’”

“I’m really glad I didn’t, and I’m sure they’re happy about it, too,” she said, referring to her high-profile ex partners.

Despite never marrying, some of the style icon and actress’s most memorable roles were centered around motherhood and marriage — including 1996’s “The First Wives Club” opposite Bette Midler and Goldie Hawn, and 1991’s “Father of the Bride” opposite Steve Martin.

Keaton was also an avid lover of animals — her final social media post in April celebrated her dog, Reggie, for National Pet Day.

As recently as 2023, Keaton opened up to AARP Magazine about her stance on relationships.

“I don’t date,” she told the outlet at the time. “I don’t remember anyone calling me, going, ‘This is So-and-So, I’d like to take you out.’”

“They don’t happen,” she added. “Of course not.”