How Sibi Blažić Changed Christian Bale's Views About Marriage

The couple is notoriously private.

There's not a whole lot of information out there about Oscar winner Christian Bale, and that's probably on purpose—he's notoriously private about his personal life, preferring to keep all of the focus on his acting career rather than what goes on behind the scenes.

But while everyone applauds Bale for his onscreen acting performances, he also deserves a round of applause for absolutely killing it in the relationship sense. He's been married to former model Sandra "Sibi" Blažić (that's pronounced "blah-zhicz") since 2000, and the couple have two children: Emmaline, age 13, and Joseph, age 4. So who is Blažić, and what clues have the couple dropped about their relationship? Let's find out a little bit more, shall we?

Blažić and Bale reportedly met when she was working as a personal assistant to Bale's friend and Little Women co-star Winona Ryder. They fell for each other quickly, eventually eloping in Las Vegas in January 2000. That means they've been together for 19 years, an eternity in Hollywood. But it wasn't as though marriage was on Bale's mind at the time.

She's a daredevil.

The 24th Annual Critics' Choice Awards - Show

(Image credit: Kevin Winter)

"Everyone was divorced in my family so I didn't have very healthy ideas about marriage," he told the Sydney Morning Herald in July 2012. "Then I met Sibi and suddenly it seemed a fantastic idea."

Blažić is a former model (she was featured in the late makeup artist Kevyn Aucoin's book Face Forward), an actress, a makeup artist, an assistant, and...a stunt woman?! True story, straight from Bale's mouth. Apparently, Blažić served worked as a stunt driver on The Dark Knight Rises.

Bale told the Wall Street Journal, "My wife was a stunt driver, she was chasing me through the city in Batman. She was driving one of the cop cars. She can do 180s and stunts and all that. She terrifies me. My wife terrifies me." Can you imagine?!

She and Bale, like...really love each other.

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(Image credit: VALERIE MACON)

Bale may keep his private life on the DL, but that doesn't stop him from absolutely gushing about his wife. At the premiere of Hostiles, he got choked up while talking to Us Weekly about her.

“[My wife] likes to be very private. And of course, I want to maintain that…but we have a great private life,” He shared. “She’s probably the most strong woman I’ve ever come across in my life,” he gushed while his wife stood beside him. “And I—You’re making me all tearful! I’m too much of a softie! I don’t think I am, but then you got me with that!”

And it's not the first time he's done it, either: When Bale won the Critics Choice Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in The Fighter, he got on stage and set some real #relationshipgoals with his ode to his wife:

I truly believe you can't celebrate something like this without having your partner with you. She's had to be married to so many different characters over our marriage. I know that it would be impossible to do it without her. She's such a good, strong woman. I owe everything to her.

Can't wait to see what he says about her if he wins the Oscar for Vice. I'm already swooning.

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Amanda Mitchell

Amanda Mitchell is a writer and podcaster with bylines at Marie Claire, OprahMag, Allure, Byrdie, Stylecaster, Bon Appetit, and more. Her work exists at the apex of beauty, pop culture, and absurdity. A human Funfetti cake, she watches too much television, and her favorite season is awards season. You can read more of her work at amandaelizabethmitchell.com or follow her on Instagram and Twitter @lochnessmanda.