On-screen chemistry does not always lead to off-screen romance, and for these actors it did not. From Jim and Pam to Randall and Beth, some of television's most beloved couples were played by actors who went home to entirely different people once the cameras stopped rolling. Here is a look at seven fan-favorite TV couples and the real-life partners they ended up with.
John Krasinski and Jenna Fischer - 'The Office'
The natural chemistry between Jim and Pam made it genuinely difficult for fans to accept that Krasinski and Fischer were ever more than colleagues. Fischer told Brian Baumgartner's 'An Oral History of The Office' podcast in 2020 that explaining it felt a little bit like telling kids there is no Santa Claus. Off screen, Krasinski met Emily Blunt in 2008 after becoming somewhat obsessed with her performance in 'The Devil Wears Prada,' later telling Glamour in 2016 that he was lucky she stayed with him once she realized she had married her stalker after he admitted to watching the film over seventy times. The two married in 2010 and share two daughters, Hazel and Violet. Fischer married screenwriter Lee Kirk in the same year and shares daughter Harper and son Weston with him.
Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore - 'The Dick Van Dyke Show'
Rob and Laura Petrie were such a convincing couple that hotel staff would question Van Dyke's real wife when he checked in. Van Dyke told People that employees would ask who his actual wife was when he arrived with her. Van Dyke was married to Margie Willett during the show's run, a partnership that lasted thirty-six years and produced four children: sons Christian and Barry and daughters Carrie and Stacy. It ended in 1984. He later was with actress Michelle Triola for more than three decades until her passing in 2009, before finding love again with makeup artist Arlene Silver, whom he married in 2012. Moore was married to CBS executive Grant Tinker while the show was airing and later to cardiologist Dr. Robert Levine in 1983, who remained her partner until her passing in 2017.
Adam Brody and Rachel Bilson - 'The O.C.'
Seth Cohen and Summer Roberts were one of television's great love stories, and real life briefly imitated art when Brody and Bilson dated for three of the four years they spent filming the series together. Bilson told Nylon in 2021 that going through such a significant experience with someone who understood it completely was genuinely invaluable. After their split in 2006, Brody found love with 'Gossip Girl' star Leighton Meester. The two grew close while filming 'The Oranges' in 2011, and People confirmed in 2014 that they had married in an intimate ceremony. They later welcomed daughter Arlo and a son born in 2020. Bilson shared daughter Briar Rose with actor Hayden Christensen before their split in 2017. As of her September 2022 appearance on Alex Cooper's 'Call Her Daddy' podcast, she confirmed she was no longer single, though she kept the details entirely to herself.
Max Greenfield and Hannah Simone - 'New Girl'
Schmidt and Cece became one of 'New Girl's most beloved couples. Greenfield told People in 2016 that audiences immediately began rooting for them once they understood how deeply Schmidt loved Cece beneath all his bluster, describing it as a blessing that the show lasted long enough to reach their wedding day. Off screen, Simone married former entertainment personality Jesse Giddings in 2016, and the two welcomed a son in August 2017. Greenfield was already married when the show began, having wed casting director Tess Sanchez in 2008, and the two share daughter Lilly and son Ozzie.
Sterling K. Brown and Susan Kelechi Watson - 'This Is Us'
Randall and Beth Pearson were one of the most quietly beautiful love stories on television, and the warmth between Brown and Watson on screen was entirely genuine. Brown told E! News in December 2021 that he had told his wife early on that he loved Watson's spirit and soul in a way she had nothing to worry about. Brown met his actual wife, Ryan Michelle Bathé, at Stanford University, and the two have been married since 2006 with sons Andrew, born in 2011, and Amaré, born in 2015. Watson has been open about navigating dating life as a single woman following the end of her engagement to Jaime Lincoln Smith in 2020. She told The Ellen DeGeneres Show in April 2021 that she finds meeting people in person far more natural than online dating.
Dan Levy and Noah Reid - 'Schitt's Creek'
David's and Patrick's love story was one of the most celebrated romances on television in recent years. While Levy and Reid are genuinely close friends in real life, their personal paths diverged considerably once the show ended. Reid followed a similar path to his character Patrick, marrying actress-turned-nurse Clare Stone in 2020 and welcoming their first child in 2022. Levy spoke to OUT magazine in March 2015 about choosing to prioritize the show over his personal life, saying he hoped to find someone when things were a little more settled and that his eye had been entirely on making the show as good as it could possibly be.
Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton - 'Friday Night Lights'
Coach Eric and Tami Taylor showed audiences what a genuinely solid and loving marriage looks like under pressure. Britton reassured fans in a 2021 interview with ET that the bond between those characters remains completely airtight. Chandler and his real-life wife Kathryn have been married since 1995 and share two daughters, Sawyer and Sydney, making him one of the more quietly devoted figures in an industry not always known for lasting marriages. Britton told Andy Cohen on SiriusXM's Radio Andy in January 2023 that she has been in a relationship with writer David Windsor since November 2019, a connection that came about when a mutual friend spotted him across the room at his own fiftieth birthday party and told her she absolutely had to meet him.
