Katherine Ryan says traditional white weddings are ‘gross’ and believes men aren’t ready to get married ‘until they’re divorced.’
The Netflix star, 37, got hitched last December in a low-key ceremony in Denmark with childhood sweetheart Bobby Kootstra after the pair rekindled their romance.
And speaking exclusively to MailOnline, she told how a big star-studded wedding was never on the cards.
‘I don’t want to do those things’: Katherine Ryan says traditional white weddings are ‘gross’ and believes men aren’t ready to get married ‘until they’re divorced’
She said: ‘I don’t want a big occasion because of the history of it and the fact women used to belong to their fathers and then belong to their husbands and put on a white dress because they’re virgins, I mean I think it’s gross and I don’t want to do it.
‘I appreciate that other people like to have a party but again I get to put on beautiful dresses and not have to make an invite list and arrange seating and hire a DJ, I just don’t want to do those things at all.’
Katherine, who stars in her new sitcom The Duchess, reconnected with Bobby after 20-years when the pair agreed to have a one-night stand. Deep-down, the comedian always knew she would end up with her ex, even keeping love letters he sent her in their teens.
And she believes their relationship has only been made stronger by the fact Bobby was previously married.
‘I loved him so much’: The Netflix star, 37, got hitched last December in a low-key ceremony in Denmark with childhood sweetheart Bobby Kootstra after the pair rekindled their romance
Katherine explains: ‘I loved him so much – I still have all of our letters that we wrote to each other when we were 15/16 and I had them made into a blanket for our one-year anniversary because I’m such a nerd.
‘But then I was glad that we weren’t together for 20 years as well because I went off and I did all of these interesting things and he went off and did all these interesting things.
‘I don’t think most men are really ready to be married until they’ve been divorced. I never really wanted to get married, it’s when I became totally satisfied with the idea of being alone that he magically walked into my life.
‘I did everything I could not to marry him. I thought, this is not my plan but when it’s meant to be it’s just so easy and I wish I had known that all along.’
‘I thought, this is not my plan’: The comedian, who reconnected with Bobby after 20-years when the pair agreed to have a one-night stand, said: ‘I did everything I could not to marry him’
It’s not just weddings that don’t appeal to Katherine – she’s also not a fan of birthdays.
The actress, who’s a mum to Violet, 11, from her first marriage, said she hopes to achieve her dream of doing stand-up comedy for as long as possible, just like her idol, Joan Rivers – and she doesn’t plan on celebrating turning 40.
She said: ‘I think that growing older is a privilege – I’m 37 now and my mother would always say “it’s better than the alternative,” she was from that generation where women are not supposed to age.
‘I’m not a big birthday party person – the most ordinary thing you can do is be born so I don’t think I’ve ever had a birthday party beyond the age of 16.
Family: Katherine, who’s a mum to Violet, 11, from her first marriage, said she hopes to achieve her dream of doing stand-up comedy for as long as possible, just like her idol, Joan Rivers
‘I am weird, I don’t have birthdays because I think, well, everyone was born. I don’t like any attention that I’m not in control of and I get a lot of attention.
‘I’m an introverted extravert and I just hope I’m alive when I’m 40. I really want to live to be 100 and be like Joan Rivers just do stand-up for as long as I can and die under the knife. It’s my dream.’
In her new self-penned sitcom, the comic plays a glamorous single mother, also called Katherine, who spends the series trying to work out whether she should have the second baby she longs for via sperm donor.
At this stage, Katherine is unsure whether she will do a second series of The Duchess and is still waiting to see if the demand is there from Netflix and her fans.
In action: At this stage, Katherine is unsure whether she will do a second series of The Duchess and is still waiting to see if the demand is there from Netflix and her fans
She said: ‘With Netflix it exclusively depends on how many people watch it. It is an algorithm based decision, I think a lot of people in the UK are watching it – I’m starting to get a lot of Spanish language messages from Latin America and different places.
‘I feel like if it sits alone on that platform as a film then I love the way it has wrapped up but if we were to do more I would want to unpack exactly what happened with her, who is her mother? How did things come to be that way? Is the paternity of the baby what she thinks it is?
‘There’s lots more that she can do but I’m really easy with it, the people will have spoken, if they want me to make more than I will, if they don’t, I won’t and I’ll do something else. I’m touring again in September and I’m really peaceful always about whatever happens.’
The Canadian-born star, who now lives in North London, made a name for herself on British TV following appearances on panel shows such as Eight Out of Ten Cats and Have I Got News For You.
Red carpet: The Canadian-born star, who now lives in North London, made a name for herself on British TV following appearances on panel shows such as Eight Out of Ten Cats
‘Anything Gemma Collins does, I’m in’: Katherine has a soft spot for reality TV and in particular, TOWIE star Gemma Collins, who she defines as her perfect entertainer
She also has a soft spot for reality TV and in particular, TOWIE star Gemma Collins, who she defines as her perfect entertainer.
She said: ‘Of course, I am watching Gemma Collins’ Diva Forever & Ever. Anything Gemma Collins does, I’m in.
‘Gemma Collins is how I want my entertainers, I want them to be divas, I want them to be turning up late, I want them to be big personalities in a Louis Vuitton silk suit and that’s how I feel about Kim Kardashian as well.’
When Kim Kardashian announced her family’s long-running reality show will end in early 2021 after 14 years on air, super fan Katherine was knocked by the news.
She added: ‘Well that was tough for me. I really felt abandoned at a difficult time. You just have to get go sometimes, I’m working through it.’
‘My real joy in lockdown has been food’: Katherine has teamed up with recipe box company Gousto, who are working in partnership with Marmite, to discover more about her taste buds
‘I’m trying to be healthy and drink a lot less’: Katherine broadened her horizons by tasting Marmite for the first time and now says she is more open to trying new things
Katherine has teamed up with recipe box company Gousto, who are working in partnership with Marmite, to discover more about her taste buds and learn how to experiment with new flavours.
After new researched proved that half of the nation (49 per cent) admit to disliking food before even tasting it, Katherine broadened her horizons by tasting Marmite for the first time and now says she is more open to trying new things.
She explained: ‘My real joy in lockdown has been food. I swear I’ve become straight panda, I just sit around eating and I love food, I’m trying to be healthy and drink a lot less and somehow that is really making my taste buds come alive.
‘I want to like more food and what I found with the recipe box company Gousto is that like a lot of Brits, I shy away from foods that I don’t think I like, I experiment with them zero per cent of the time and I stay away from the same things.
‘I don’t want to be picky’: The actress said she wants to like more food and doesn’t want to be like a ‘toddler’ and picky with what she eats
’34 per cent of people in the survey did not like oysters, neither did I, 29 per cent did not like Marmite, I had not even tasted Marmite until this year, it just seemed like something I wouldn’t like and I’m not that adventurous.
‘Toddlers are picky and I don’t want to be picky and I learned by combining different flavours and adding things in the right way that I actually do like the things that I didn’t think I did. So now, my taste horizons are broadened thanks to Gousto.’
Gousto and Katherine Ryan prove taste can be taught ahead of the recipe box’s partnership with Marmite. Discover the new recipes on Gousto’s website and find out what happened when Katherine Ryan’s tastebuds were put to the test, in the video here: