10 Best TV Couples Who Were Married IRL (Or Fell In Love ...

10 Best TV Couples Who Were Married IRL (Or Fell In Love On Set) Kit Harington and Rose Leslie at a Game of Thrones premiere

Photo: Game Of Thrones Final Season Premiere via Instar Images.

By Arielle Port Published 11 minutes ago Arielle Port started as a TV producer, developing content for Netflix (Firefly Lane, Brazen) and Hallmark (The Santa Stakeout, A Christmas Treasure) before transitioning into entertainment journalism. Her love of story went from interest to lifelong passion while at The University of Pennsylvania, where she fell in with a student-run web series, Classless TV, and it was a gateway drug. Arielle Port has been a Writer for Screen Rant since August 2024. She lives in Los Angeles with her boyfriend and more importantly, her cat, Boseman. Sign in to your ScreenRant account Summary Generate a summary of this story follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap

Sometimes the chemistry between two actors can be off, but never with these 10 TV couples, as they were either cast because they were already married or they fell in love in real life just like their characters do in the script. These TV relationships sparkle on screen, but they're even more meaningful to fans who know the backstory.

Striking the right balance between not overplaying a will-they/won’t-they TV romance or boring audiences with a stable, happy relationship is a difficult task. These shows circumvented that problem by capitalizing on the natural chemistry between two actors who are married in real life, from supernatural romance to one of the best sitcom couples of all time.

Angie D’Amato & Derek (Single Parents)

Played By Spouses Leighton Meester & Adam Brody

Angie and Derek sitting on a couch with a young boy in Single Parents

Leighton Meester and Adam Brody brought a gentle, unexpectedly tender spark to the underrated, short-lived sitcom Single Parents. Brody recurred as Derek, the long-absent father of Angie’s son, Graham. Though Derek is a minor character who only appears in season 2, their scenes have an unforced ease, the kind that can’t quite be manufactured.

Angie is nudged toward Taran Killam’s character for Single Parents’ central romantic arc, but whenever she and Derek share the screen, there’s a noticeable shift. The chemistry feels lived-in, a reminder of the real-life happiness Meester and Brody bring to their on-screen dynamic. This is a must-watch for anyone who wanted to see more of Meester in the cast of Nobody Wants This season 2.

Meester and Brody married in 2014, after filming The Oranges together in 2010. They have two children, daughter Arlo, born in 2015 and a son whose name has not been shared publicly, born in 2020.

Sookie Stackhouse & Bill Compton (True Blood)

Played By Future Spouses Anna Paquin & Stephen Moyer

Sookie Stackhouse and Bill Compton talking in True Blood.

When Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer first met on the set of True Blood, they reportedly felt an instant spark. Their first screen test revealed a chemistry so natural it practically defined the tone for Sookie Stackhouse and Bill Compton’s turbulent yet passionate romance in True Blood — a relationship that became the emotional backbone of the show.

As their characters navigated danger, longing, and supernatural drama, the real-life bond between Paquin and Moyer added an extra layer of authenticity. They eventually married in 2010 and went on to have two children in 2012, fraternal twins Charlie and Poppy, making their on- and off-screen partnership a true example of co-stars turned family.

Elizabeth & Philip Jennings (The Americans)

Played By Future Partners Keri Russell & Matthew Rhys

Matthew Rhys as Philip Jennings and Keri Russell as Elizabeth Jennings contemplating their future in The Americans' finale.

Philip and Elizabeth in The Americans

FX's excellent period spy drama The Americans may have centered on a fake marriage built on secrets, but it sparked a real and lasting partnership between Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys. The pair, who played undercover Soviet spies Elizabeth and Philip Jennings, developed their off-screen connection while filming the series and have been together since 2014.

Though they casually refer to each other as husband and wife, they’ve admitted they haven’t actually gotten around to legally marrying — a detail that feels fittingly low-stress for a couple whose on-screen lives were anything but. They have a son, who was born in 2016, and their real relationship is free of the turmoil that defined their characters’ complex “marriage of convenience.”

Michael Kelso & Jackie Burkhart ('70s Show)

Played By Future Spouses Ashton Kutcher & Mila Kunis

Kelso and Jackie looking at each other in That 70s Show

That 70s Show Kelso and Jackie looking at each other

Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis first met as teens on the set of That '70s Show, where they played the volatile, mismatched couple Michael Kelso and Jackie Burkhart. Kelso and Jackie were a comedic tornado — dramatic, shallow, and constantly breaking up — yet always drawn back to each other, a sharp contrast to Donna and Eric’s steadier, more grounded romance.

Off-screen, Kutcher and Kunis didn’t date at the time, but years after the show ended, they reconnected and eventually married in 2015. Now parents to a daughter and a son, born in 2014 and 2016 respectively, they seem to share a unified rhythm in real life — something their fictional counterparts never managed, making the actors' love story a sweeter, more grounded echo of their sitcom beginnings.

However rocky their relationship was as teens, Kelso and Jackie appear as a married couple in the spin-off series That '90s Show, a fun wink to fans who know the history of the actors.

Ron Swanson & Tammy II (Parks & Recreation)

Played By Spouses Nick Offerman & Megan Mullally

Tammy II and Ron in jail with Leslie on the other side of the bars in Parks & Rec

Ron Swanson and Tammy II in Parks and Recreation are one of the sitcom's most chaotic delights — a toxic, explosive pairing whose sexual chemistry is pushed to gleeful, unhinged extremes. Every time they’re on-screen together, destruction follows, which makes it even funnier that they’re played by real-life spouses Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally.

Offerman and Mullally, married since 2003, couldn’t be further from their characters’ combustible dynamic; their real life is famously calm and cozy, filled with jigsaw puzzles. Mullally once hosted Offerman as a guest on Will & Grace, and he returned the favor years later when she joined Parks & Rec as Ron’s terrifying ex-wife.

Their gentle, funny dynamic shines on their podcast In Bed with Nick and Megan, where they share insights into their life together and interview guests.

Charles Nieuwendyk & Mona Margadoff (A Man On The Inside)

Played By Spouses Ted Danson & Mary Steenburgen

Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen sitting on a bench in A Man on the Inside

Mary Steenburgen’s appearance in the cast of A Man on the Inside season 2 is incredibly charming, as it pairs her once again with her real-life husband, Ted Danson. Steenburgen, long considered the sunnier, more free-spirited half of their partnership, brings that same warmth to Mona Margadoff, a music professor who instantly captivates Danson’s tightly wound architecture professor, Charles Nieuwendyk.

Their on-screen dynamic mirrors the balance they’ve shared for decades: his earnest precision softened by her effortless ease. Danson and Steenburgen have been married since 1995, a year after playing a married couple in Pontiac Moon. They also portrayed fictionalized versions of themselves in Curb Your Enthusiasm, with their characters hilariously getting divorced.

Watching Danson express Charles’s attraction to Mona feels like a gentle echo of their real bond. It’s a delightful reminder of how much joy they still take in each other after so many decades. Though they have no children together, Danson and Steenburgen each have two children from previous marriages.

Jon Snow & Ygritte (Game Of Thrones)

Played By Future Spouses Kit Harington & Rose Leslie

Ygritte and Jon Snow in Game of Thrones leaning in to kiss

Kit Harington and Rose Leslie met on the set of Game of Thrones, where they played the star-crossed lovers Jon Snow and Ygritte. Being cast in one of the biggest shows in the world might have seemed improbable enough, but finding real-life love on top of that was an even rarer twist of fate.

On screen, Jon and Ygritte’s romance was intense, fraught with danger, and ultimately tragic. Their chemistry was especially electric in the famous cave sequence, one of Game of Thrones’ most rewatchable and perfect scenes.

Harington and Leslie’s connection blossomed into a lasting partnership. The two married in 2018 and have since welcomed a son and a daughter, turning a fictional doomed love story into a real-life family happily navigating life beyond Westeros.

Ri Jeong-hyeok & Yoon Se-ri (Crash Landing On You)

Played By Future Spouses Hyun Bin & Son Ye-jin

Son Ye-jin and Hyun Bin stand in front of one another smiling with a bouquet of flowers in between them.

Son Ye-jin and Hyun Bin stand in front of each other on Crash Landing On You.

In Crash Landing On You, one of the best K-dramas of recent years, audiences couldn’t get enough of the unlikely romance between South Korean heiress Yoon Se-ri and North Korean captain Ri Jeong-hyeok. Behind the scenes, actors Hyun Bin and Son Ye-jin were developing a real-life connection that mirrored their characters’ intense chemistry.

Their on-screen partnership was magnetic, blending humor, tension, and heartfelt emotion, and it wasn’t long before the spark extended off camera. The timing was perfect, as the two also starred together in the film The Negotiation around the same period, deepening their bond.

Fans were thrilled when Hyun Bin and Son Ye-jin officially married in 2022, cementing their status as one of Korea’s most beloved couples. They also welcomed a son in 2022, completing their picture-perfect real-life romance.

Snow White & Prince Charming (Once Upon A Time)

Played By Future Spouses Ginnifer Goodwin & Josh Dallas

Snow and Prince Charming getting married in Once Upon a Time

The only love story more magical than Snow White and Prince Charming might be the real-life romance between Ginnifer Goodwin and Josh Dallas, who played the iconic couple on Once Upon a Time. On screen, Snow White and Prince Charming’s relationship set the foundation for the entire series, combining fairy-tale devotion with a playful, electric bond.

Off-screen, Goodwin and Dallas found that same chemistry growing between them, turning a storybook romance into reality. The couple married in 2014, making them one of the best TV couples who got together in real life. Since then, they’ve welcomed two sons, born in 2014 and 2016, proving that sometimes life really does imitate art in the most magical ways.

Lucy & Ricky Ricardo (I Love Lucy)

Played By Spouses Lucille Ball & Desi Arnaz

Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz as Lucy and Ricky in I Love Lucy

I Love Lucy wouldn’t exist without the genius partnership of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Ball fought fiercely to secure Arnaz’s casting, pushing back against network doubts that audiences would accept a marriage between an All-American white woman and a Cuban man.

Together, they merged their worlds — Ball’s Hollywood experience and Arnaz’s bandstand career — by performing a successful vaudeville act that proved their chemistry could captivate audiences. I Love Lucy became groundbreaking, shaping television with its timing, physical comedy, and innovative use of a multi-camera setup in front of a live audience.

Together, Ball and Arnaz had two children, and while their real-life marriage eventually ended, the stars remained lifelong friends, and the magic of their television partnership endures. Decades later, their love — both professional and personal — remains one of the most iconic in TV history.

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