9 Celebs Who Gave Their Partners An Ultimatum Regarding Their Relationships And How It's Going For Them

1. Cardi B and Offset

Before Cardi B and Offset actually had their first child, Cardi actually set an ultimatum for the Migos rapper. She explained that while they were still in the dating stage, Offset told her that he knew for sure that she would have his baby one day except that Cardi didn't want to do that until she had a ring on his finger.

"We were making out and he was like, ‘You’re going to have my baby one day,’ and I was like, ‘We ain’t having no baby. You have to marry me,’ and he was like, ‘Alright, let’s get married,’” Cardi told Essence.

While Cardi already laid out the conditions, the couple still didn't get married until she brought it up in the middle of an argument. She reminded him that he said he was going to marry her and guess what?

He did! The couple finally tied the know in September 2017 in the bedroom of Offset's Atlanta home and then welcomed their daughter Kulture the following year.

2. Nick and Vanessa Lachey

The couple had been together for five years when Vanessa decided they were ready to take the next step in their relationship as a couple. In an episode of The Ultimatum, she explained that they had already moved in together and she was ready to finally settle down.

"We dated for five years. So I finally said, 'What are we doing?' I had moved in with him, I had renovated his entire bachelor pad, there was a bar in the pool, I was like 'whatever you want,' and now I'm like, 'OK I want to put kids in the pool,'" Vanessa shared.

At that time though, they weren't on the same page yet so they decided to take a break. They each dated one other person but each of them realized that "if we got out of our own way, we could be amazing together."

"It took me seeing somebody else and me realizing I don't mind the things that bugged me or were holding me back. I don't mind all that, the bigger picture is how I feel about that person and their values of wanting to be with me and knowing everything about me," Vanessa concluded. 

3. Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner

Joe Jonas says that Sophie issued an ultimatum before they started dating and it was actually quite a fun one. It was all about Harry Potter.

Joe explained that she told him that if they were going to be together, he had to agree to watch all Harry Potter movies, and, of course, he obliged.

"Sophie, she said, 'Look, if we're going to get married' — and it was actually, 'If you're going to date me, you have to watch the Harry Potters.' Because every Christmas, for those of you that are watching that don't know, every Christmas in the UK they just stream and play Harry Potter, all of them. So I watched them all, I fell in love with it," Joe said The Late Late Show with James Corden.

4. Jenna Dewan and Channing Tatum

After meeting on the set of Step Up, Jenna decided that she had to be frank about what she wanted out of the relationship.

"I did the whole, 'Look if you want to date other people and be free, that's fine, but we're not going to 'hang out' and 'watch movies' and all this other stuff. You've got to figure out what you want, because I want to be in a relationship,'" she recalled on The Ellen Degeneres Show.

She didn't get an answer right away but after Channing had a wild night out with the rest of the crew, he realized that no matter how much freedom he had, he couldn't stop thinking about her so he ended up showing up at her hotel room in his underwear at 2 am in the morning to tell her he was ready to be in a relationship with her.

5. Matthew McConaughey and Camila Alves

Before they got married, the couple had a lot of serious thinking about their marriage. The couple had a lot of spiritual conversations and they talked to their pastor and people who had been married and divorced.

The actor also admitted that it took him a while to get to the point where he saw it as "more than just the thing to do." He said it got to the point where Camila had to issue an ultimatum.

"It took her going, 'C’mon, Big Boy, Mr. Easygoing-We’ll-Get-to-It-When-We-Get-to-It. Either shit or get off the pot,'" Matthew told GQ.

6. Diane Keaton and Al Pacino

After connecting on the set of The Godfather, the two ended up dating for five years before calling it quits. During the relationship, Diane said that she was madly in love with him but she couldn't convince him to settle.

When Al wouldn't commit to a marriage, she gave him an ultimatum and it sadly ended the relationship.

"I worked hard on that one. I went about it in not a perfect way," Diane told People.

7. Idris Elba and Sabrina Dhowre

Early in their relationship, Idris says that he had trouble controlling his emotions. Instead of working through their issues, the actor admits to always giving Sabrina an ultimatum to leave if she didn't like the way he acted.

"Sabrina and I, very early in our relationship I was very stressed so I had these massive anger tantrums that were like explosions. She was like, 'Who are you?' I was always the first to say, 'Hey, if you're not happy, leave. Move.' It was kind of like a male instinct," Idris said on their Audible podcast Coupledom. 

Thankfully, Idris realized his mistakes and that they should work together to resolve their problems instead of just calling it quits. He says that after that challenging year, they're now stronger than ever.

8. Rod Stewart and Penny Lancaster

When the two got together, Rod had just gotten out of a marriage and he was playing the field but Penny didn't want that. She didn't want to put up with his games and told him that if she was going to be his girlfriend, she had to be the only girlfriend.

“So when I became a girlfriend of his I didn't want to be a girlfriend, I wanted to be the girlfriend or else it wasn’t good enough for me. I didn’t want to play the games so I remember right from the very beginning I said ‘If you mess it up — look, I understand if you want to go out with other girlfriends tell me and I’ll find someone else — but please don’t do that to me.' I made the rules pretty clear and if you’re happy to live under the terms I want to have a relationship in, then great," Penny recalled on Loose Women. 

9. Chrissy Teigen and John Legend

Before they got married, Chrissy actually issued a public ultimatum to John but it was all done in good humor, of course. Back then, their wedding date kept getting pushed back more and more and in an interview at that time, Chrissy said that if it didn't happen by the end of the year, she's leaving.

"We keep pushing the date...If it's not this year, I'm out," Chrissy told The New York Daily News. 

Soon after though, Chrissy revealed the ultimatum was just a joke and she didn't even care about getting married.

Well, when you're in a relationship, clear answers and clear expectations are very important. It can help you and your partner determine if you are on the same page or if you're completely off tangent from each other.

While an ultimatum might not work for everyone, it might be worth a try in some cases but, of course, use it with caution. It's a pretty serious thing to give out so use sparingly.