Met Gala organizers create meticulous seating plan to keep famous exes apart
Fashion's biggest night is almost here and it's safe to say that a lot of time and effort goes into the Met Gala.
Each year, a fundraiser for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute in New York is held where some of the biggest names in fashion, film, and music come together for an extremely glitzy night.
The event is being hosted, as usual, by Anna Wintour, despite the fact she stepped down as Vogue's editor-in-chief in June 2025 after nearly 40 years in the position.
Beyoncé will be her co-chair this year alongside Nicole Kidman and tennis pro Venus Williams.
Advert
As you can expect, there will be a lot of other celebrities in attendance on May 4. Hundreds of people have gone in previous years, meaning the planning committee has quite the task on their hands when it comes to the Met Gala's seating chart.
One big thing on their minds will be ensuring that there's no awkward encounters between exes...
Eaddy Kiernan is the woman tasked with organizing Vogue’s Met Gala each year and has explained just how much work goes into the night's seating arrangments.
"We start with a seating document when the names come together in December," Kiernan previously told Vogue. "The actual seating chart doesn’t come together until about a month before the event, when we get a sense for the layout of the room, and the flow of the evening."
Going on to detail how they decide who to sit with who, Eaddy said that she and her team 'really try to think very carefully' about it.
"Our ideal pairing would maybe be two people who we think will just get on like a house on fire, but who may not even realize that they have a lot in common," she divulged. "So with each person, we really do take time to think, ‘What will they talk about?’"
Eaddy continued: "We try and think a lot about sight lines and where people have sat in the past. And we try to make sure someone isn’t staring into the eyes of a former flame."
I take it Cardi B and Steffon Diggs won't be sharing a glass on champagne next to one another then?
One person's ex who is unlikely to attend is Kidman's former husband, Keith Urban. They last attended the star-studded night together in 2024, but the Babygirl star went solo last year.
A few months after the Met it was revealed that she and Urban had split after 19 years of marriage. They finalized their divorce in January 2026.
You can watch the Met Gala's red carpet livestream on Vogue's digital platforms. The coverage will start at 6pm EDT / 3pm PST.
Strict rules all celebrities must follow at the Met Gala
No selfies allowed
Paps might go wild on the Met Gala red carpet, capturing all the celebs on fashion's biggest night out, but some guests will be pained by the fact that they can't take their own photos, because selfies are strictly banned.
Anna Wintour issued the selfie ban back in 2015 in the hopes of keeping the inner workings of the Met Gala behind lock and key.
However, some rebellious few have flouted the rule over the years, as there's always one who sneaks a phone to the toilet for a cheeky bathroom selfie, which later pops up on social media.
Certain foods are banned
There are certain foods that are banned from the event, and not for any real rhyme or reason other than the way they could pose a red carpet disaster.
Things like chives could be dangerous if they get stuck in anyone's teeth before photos. Onion and garlic are also banned in order to prevent bad breath, and other dishes which could easily spill onto dresses.
Wintour has addressed the rumors that the likes of onion, chives and garlic are banned from the event, telling Today host Jenna Bush Hager in 2024: “Well, those are three things I'm not particularly fond of, and so yes, that's true."
Strict seating plan
If you're stuck next to your arch-nemesis at the Met Gala, tough. Because you aren't allowed to move seats.
Seating arrangements are strictly maintained, with a lot of 'power-brokering' in the planning beforehand.
"A lot of thought goes into who sits next to who, if they sat together last year, if they've sat next to each other at other events, so much goes into it, it's shocking," Sylvana Ward Durrett, former director of special projects at Vogue, said in the 2016 documentary The First Monday in May.
Cheeky cigarette? Absolutely not
No smoking is allowed at the glitzy fashion event, a rule which was reportedly recirculated after the likes of Bella Hadid, Dakota Johnson, and Marc Jacobs were pictured smoking in the bathrooms in 2017.
Met Gala guests the following year were reminded that it's 'illegal to smoke in the museum'.
It should be noted that smoking indoors in New York City has been banned since 2003, and prior invitations to the event have reiterated this.
Strict age limit
If you're under 18, you can kiss your chance of getting into the Met Gala goodbye.
This rule was implemented in 2018, with that year's theme being 'Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination'.
A Met Gala spokesperson later confirmed the age restriction was introduced as 'it's not an appropriate event for people under 18'.
Topics: Fashion, Celebrity, Entertainment, News
Niamh Shackleton