All the Details on Riley Keough’s Husband Ben Smith-Petersen and Their Cute ‘Ship
‘Kay, so obviously Riley Keough and Sam Claflin had amazing chemistry in Daisy Jones and the Six, which led to some middling speculation among fans that there were ~vibes~ off screen…but nope! What you’re picking up on is simply great acting and natural chemistry. And also, like, Riley happens to be fully married to the love of her life, Ben Smith-Petersen.
As she wrote in an essay for Vogue Australia back in 2022, “My husband is such a good person. He’s calm and loyal and strong and sensitive. He’s my best friend. It’s our ninth year together and we don’t stop talking.”
So, what’s the deal with Riley’s husband Ben? Deep dive incoming.
Ben Is a Professional Stunt Man
And he has a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, too. Riley revealed he made the accomplishment in 2021, writing, “Ben got his black belt today in BJJ. He always wanted to get his black belt before he turned 30 and he did it!!! I’m so proud of you @isitmeurlooking4 ❤️❤️.”
Ben and Riley Met on the Set of Mad Max: Fury Road
Riley wrote about meeting Ben in her aforementioned Vogue essay, saying, “We shot Mad Max: Fury Road in Namibia, which is where I met Ben. He was on the stunt crew. I knew who he was, but I was in a relationship, so I wasn’t looking at anyone in that way. And then a year later we had to do reshoots in Sydney.”
“I was just out of a relationship that I needed to recover from, so definitely wasn’t looking for anything,” she wrote. “Ben was on set and I saw him. It had been a year, and he just felt more grown up and there was something about him. I was like, ‘Oh wow.’ He felt so much more mature. We were in Fox Studios in Sydney. He came up to me and said, ‘Can I send you my music to listen to?’ and I said, ‘Sure.’ I told him, ‘I’m here for a month, I don’t have much to do… maybe you could teach me to surf?’ which is hilarious, because I’m so terrified of sharks and I would never surf now.”
They Have Matching Tattoos
Riley also confirmed this nugget of info in her Vogue essay, saying, “We got matching tattoos the third day we hung out, just for fun, never thinking the relationship would go anywhere. We did all these adventures and it was this magical week. He was living in an apartment in an old church with stained- glass windows. I stayed over with him and the sun came in through this beautiful stained glass. I woke up that morning and was like, ‘I can’t leave him. I feel like this is something really special.’ And it had only been a week.”
Oh, and Ben also appears to have Riley’s name in Old English right above his crotch, in case you were wondering.
They Got Married in 2015
In multiple ceremonies, no less!
“We moved in together after two months and six months in he asked me to marry him and then we were married a year later,” Riley wrote in Vogue. “Technically, our first wedding was in Nepal, because we were there building a school a couple of weeks before we got married. The families knew we were getting married and they said, ‘Let us throw you a Hindu wedding.’ It was so beautiful and, in some ways, that wedding was a little more intimate and really special. That wedding, I cried. At my bigger wedding I was a little nervous, I wasn’t as present. But it was still equally as amazing.”
Riley Leaned on Ben Amid Her Estate Drama With Priscilla Presley
In March 2023, Riley’s grandmother Priscilla Presley filed a petition to challenge Lisa Marie Presley’s will—questioning a 2016 amendment that replaced her as a co-trustee with Riley and her late brother, Benjamin. This seemed like a lot for Riley to process on top of the sudden loss of her mother, and at the time, ET sources said she was leaning on Ben.
“She is focused on her family and work right now,” a source told Entertainment Tonight. “It has been a very hard year for Riley with her mother’s death and raising a baby girl while working. Her husband has been the biggest support system and Riley owes the world to him.”
Their Red Carpet Appearances Are Few and Far Between
These two keep things pretty low-key when it comes to carpets, but they did show up at the 2024 Golden Globes looking divine:
And let’s not forget their Mad Max debut:
Ben Has a Sex Scene Cameo in Daisy Jones
“I think that they were thinking it would be less awkward, then we got there and like this is really uncomfortable,” Riley said on Late Night With Seth Meyers. “Because, I mean, like, for one, I’ve never had pretend sex with my husband.”
She also joked, “I feel like I really kept feeling inclined to be like, ‘In real life, it’s not like this. And then I was like, ‘I’ll just, you know, keep that to myself.'”
They Have a Daughter Together
Ben spoke on behalf of Riley at Lisa Marie Presley’s memorial in January 2023, reading a note written by Riley that mentioned the birth of their daughter:
“I hope I can love my daughter the way you loved me, the way you loved my brother and my sisters. Thank you for giving me strength, my heart, my empathy, my courage, my sense of humor, my manners, my temper, my wildness, my tenacity. I’m a product of your heart, my sisters are a product of your heart, my brother is a product of your heart.”
So far these two haven’t shared any pics of their baby girl, but wishing their family all the good vibes. ❤️
