Tyler Perry has made it clear that marriage is not something he intends to pursue anytime soon, pointing to the financial toll of divorce rather than any distaste for commitment itself.

The Hollywood filmmaker addressed the subject during an appearance on The Jennifer Hudson Show on Monday, where the host asked him directly whether he would ever get married. His response was a single word: no.

Pressed further on his reasoning, Perry explained that his hesitation has nothing to do with marriage as an institution and everything to do with what tends to follow when it ends. “It’s not the marriage that bothers me, it’s the divorce,” he said. He went on to note that everyone he knows who built wealth eventually lost much of it once a marriage broke down, which has left him content to remain unattached.

The 57 year old entertainment mogul has never been married. He shares an 11 year old son named Aman with his former partner, Gelila Bekele, and has largely kept the rest of his romantic life private over the years.

His comments come as he promotes his new Netflix film, Why Did I Get Married Again?, the third instalment in a franchise he began nearly two decades ago that has repeatedly explored love, infidelity and the collapse of marriages on screen.

The timing has not gone unnoticed online, given that Perry has spent much of his career telling stories about the very institution he has chosen to avoid personally. Beyond the Madea franchise, films such as Diary of a Mad Black Woman and Acrimony have also leaned heavily on themes of betrayal and marital breakdown, work that stands in contrast to the guarded, relationship free life he has built for himself away from the camera.

Perry also used the appearance to reflect on other parts of his life, including plans to slow down professionally and spend more time with his son, with reports suggesting he intends to relocate to Puerto Rico early next year. Despite ruling out marriage for now, he maintained that his stance is not a rejection of love altogether, describing his current arrangement as one that leaves him feeling free rather than restricted.

Photo Credit: Getty Images