Riley Keough’s rise in Hollywood appeared complete when she took on the main role in the miniseries Daisy Jones & The Six. It was quite an achievement for the daughter of Lisa Marie Presley and granddaughter of the late Elvis Presley and now she’s nominated for a Golden Globe Award in the Best Actress in a Miniseries or Television Film category for her work. As she gets ready to celebrate at the live ceremony tonight, her husband, Ben Smith-Petersen, will most likely be by her side.
Riley and Ben’s marriage was kept pretty private after they exchanged vows in 2015 and they even secretly welcomed a daughter. Over the past few years, they’ve tried to continue to keep their union away from the spotlight despite all the family drama and heartache Riley has had to endure. While Riley was still mourning the loss of her brother Benjamin Keough, who passed away at 27 years old from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in July 2020, their mother, Lisa Marie, died at age 54 on Jan. 12, 2023 after suffering a sudden cardiac arrest which was later determined to be from a bowl obstruction. Following the tragic death, Riley was also rumored to be in a feud her grandmother Priscilla Presley over Lisa Marie’s will.
Meet Ben, who has helped Riley get through it all, and learn more about their love story as well as her past romances below.
Ben Smith-Petersen
Ben Smith-Petersen supported the American Honey actress and his wife at her mother Lisa Marie’s funeral service at Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee on January 22. He read a letter written by Riley as a tribute for her mother at a memorial and that’s when it was revealed the couple had secretly welcomed a daughter together. “Thank you for showing me that love is the most important things in this life. I hope I can love my daughter the way you loved me,” Ben read at the service.
Ben, both a stuntman and an actor, was born and raised in Australia, which is where he met Riley while she was filming the cinematic masterpiece Mad Max: Fury Road in 2013. They didn’t get involved till about a year later, when the star had to return Down Under for re-shoots. “Falling in love in Australia was amazing. He started taking me all around Sydney to these little places he loved,” Riley recalled in a 2022 essay for Vogue Australia.
Ben and Riley tied the knot in Napa, California on February 4, 2015. “Technically, our first wedding was in Nepal, because we were there building a school a couple of weeks before we got married,” Riley revealed via Vogue Australia. “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,” Riley also said. “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.”
One thing fans can tell for sure, Ben loves to post sweet snaps with Riley! Check out his Instagram to see the latest on the gorgeous married couple.
Previous partners
Riley stunned on her wedding day in a vintage-style long-sleeved gown by Delphine Manivet. Prior to tying the knot two times with Ben, she dated her Magic Mike co-star Alex Pettyfer. In 2012, Riley got engaged to him after six months of dating. However, they split up less than a year later in 2013. Riley was also linked to Robert Pattinson for a brief spell and was rumored to have had relationships with singer Ryan Cabrera and actor Jonah Hill.