“Never in my life will I announce something like that on a major awards show again,” the “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” star said recently.

Rose Byrne defends Bobby Cannavale missing her Golden Globe win to attend reptile expo

"Never in my life will I announce something like that on a major awards show again," the "If I Had Legs I'd Kick You" star said recently.

By Shania Russell

Shania Russell

Shania Russell is a news writer at *, *with five years of experience. Her work has previously appeared in SlashFilm and Paste Magazine.

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February 22, 2026 4:05 p.m. ET

Rose Byrne and Bobby Cannavale photographed Jan. 6. Credit:

Cindy Ord/Getty

Rose Byrne would like to clear up something about her bearded dragon situation.

Last month, the Australian actress won her first-ever Golden Globe for *If I Had Legs I'd Kick You *and while teary-eyed at the podium, revealed that her longtime partner Bobby Cannavale was not in the audience that night... because he was busy buying a bearded dragon at a reptile expo in New Jersey.

Now, Byrne just wants to make one thing clear: She did not mean to paint Cannavale as a crazed lizard enthusiast.

"Never in my life will I announce something like that on a major awards show again," Byrne told the *New York Times* in an interview published Feb. 22.

Rose Byrne at the 83rd Annual Golden Globes on January 11.

Rich Polk/2026GG/Penske Media via Getty

She added that after the ceremony, everyone seemed to assume that Cannavale was at the reptile expo just for kicks, when he was, in fact, retrieving a much-desired pet for the couple's two kids.

"Everyone was thinking it’s for Bobby. It’s not! It’s for our children," Byrne insisted. "The *children*."

Prior to her win, Byrne appeared on an episode of *The Tonight Show*, where she mentioned how unfortunate it was for the couple that the 2026 Golden Globes happened to fall on the same day as the expo. She noted that it would be "such a parent fail" if they missed their chance to get the lizard for their sons.

"So we're doing it," she said, "and I'm on board for the dragon. It's gonna be great."

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The fateful Globes win saw Byrne looking shocked as she made her way to the podium, "Of course, I didn’t prepare anything," she began, before thanking writer-director, Mary Bronstein, and quipping of the A24 project, "We shot this movie in 25 days for like $8.50."

The shock and brevity of the speech meant that Byrne inevitably forgot to mention a few names while delivering her thank-yous — something she would later feel guilty about.

"[I was] totally out of my depth and inarticulate," Byrne told the *Times* of her speech. "I was texting so many people later, saying, ‘I’m sorry, I forgot to say thank you to this person and that person.'"

Rose Byrne and Bobby Cannavale attend the 2026 EE BAFTA Film Awards in London on February 22.

Neil Mockford/FilmMagic

Luckily, her *If I Had Legs* costar Conan O'Brien — an awards show veteran who is weeks away from his second stint as host of the Academy Awards — reassured Byrne that her list of names was better off on the short side.

"Conan was like, 'Shut up, it was great. No one wants to hear someone bang on for hours,'" Byrne shared. "He’s become an unofficial life coach. He’s lovely."

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As for the bearded dragon, Byrne later told Extra that Cannavale's absence was worth the new addition to their family.

"It’s going well," she said in January. "We’ve got the guy. He’s really cute, and he’s in the house, and it’s going well."

Cannavale and Byrne have been together since 2012 and share two children. The actors, who have shared the screen in movies like *Spy* and TV shows like *Platonic*, have said that they call each other "husband and wife" despite never officially tying the knot.

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