Hollywood marriages are usually measured in dog years. If you make it past the five-year mark without a publicist-issued "we have decided to go our separate ways" statement, you're basically a legend. But Jennifer Love Hewitt and Brian Hallisay have somehow managed to navigate twelve years of marriage with zero drama, three kids, and a relationship that looks surprisingly... normal. Honestly, it’s kinda weird for a pair of TV stars.
You probably remember Jennifer from Party of Five or I Know What You Did Last Summer. She was the ultimate "It Girl" of the late 90s. Brian, on the other hand, was an investment banker before he decided to pivot to acting. That career change turned out to be the best move of his life, mostly because it landed him on the same set as his future wife.
How Jennifer Love Hewitt and Brian Hallisay Actually Met
People usually think they met on the set of The Client List. That’s not quite right. They actually first crossed paths in 2011 while filming an unaired pilot called Love Bites. Jennifer admits it was instant for her. She saw him and basically told her manager, "I’m going to marry that man and have his children." Her manager, being a realist, told her everyone probably felt that way about him. Brian is, after all, a very good-looking guy.
They didn't start dating right then, though. It took another year for the stars to align when they both got cast in the Lifetime series The Client List. In a bit of weird foreshadowing, Brian played Jennifer’s estranged husband on the show. While their characters were falling apart on screen, the actors were falling in love behind the scenes.
By June 2013, everything happened at once. They announced they were expecting their first baby and that they were engaged.
The "Secret" Wedding and the Bed Bath & Beyond Run
A lot of celebs do the massive, $2 million Italian villa wedding. Jennifer and Brian did the opposite. On November 20, 2013, they got married in a ceremony so private that nobody even knew it happened until months later.
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The timing was wild. They tied the knot just five days before Jennifer gave birth to their first daughter, Autumn James Hallisay.
"It was just the two of us, and then we went to Bed Bath & Beyond because that's what married people do," Jennifer told Ellen DeGeneres back in 2014.
That basically sums up their vibe. No red carpet spectacle. Just a quick legal "I do" and a trip for some new towels.
Raising Three Kids Without the "Hollywood" Help
Here is the part that actually shocks people: they don't have a fleet of nannies. In an industry where most stars have a 2-to-1 staff-to-child ratio, Jennifer and Brian decided to do the parenting thing themselves. No night nurse. No live-in help.
They’ve got three kids now:
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- Autumn James, born in November 2013.
- Atticus James, born in June 2015.
- Aidan James, born in September 2021.
Notice a trend? Every single one of them has the middle name "James." It’s a tribute to Brian’s grandfather. It’s a small detail, but it shows how much they value family legacy over trendy celebrity naming conventions.
Raising three kids while both are working actors is a grind. Jennifer has been a staple on 9-1-1 for years, and Brian has had a recurring role there too. Interestingly, Brian played her abusive ex-husband Doug on the show. Jennifer has joked that it was actually "lovely" to go to work together, even if the scenes were dark and twisted. It gave them a chance to spend time together without the kids, which any parent of three will tell you is a luxury.
Why Their Marriage Still Works in 2026
We are now well into 2026, and the couple just celebrated their 12th anniversary. Jennifer recently called Brian the "man of her dreams" on Instagram, noting that twelve years in Hollywood feels like 190 years anywhere else. She’s not wrong.
So, why has it lasted?
Honestly, it seems to be about the "choice." Jennifer has been vocal about the fact that they "struggle like most parents" to find time for each other between jobs and school schedules. But she says she wakes up and "chooses Brian every day."
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They also seem to have a shared philosophy on privacy. You won’t see their kids’ faces plastered across every tabloid. While Jennifer recently shared a family photo on the cover of her book Inheriting Magic, they generally keep the "Hallisay" part of their life very separate from the "Jennifer Love Hewitt" part.
Acting Together (Again)
Most couples would get sick of each other if they worked together, but these two keep doing it. Their most recent big project was the Lifetime movie The Holiday Junkie, which premiered in late 2024.
Jennifer directed it, starred in it, and cast Brian as her love interest. It was a deeply personal project for her, inspired by the loss of her mother, Pat, in 2012. Having Brian there—a man who only met her mother once but has spent a decade helping Jennifer honor her memory—made the project feel like a family affair. Even their kids had roles in the film.
Actionable Takeaways from the Hallisay-Hewitt Playbook
If you're looking for why this couple has succeeded where so many other celebrity pairings have failed, it comes down to a few very human habits:
- Prioritize the "Simple": If your idea of a post-wedding celebration is a home goods store run, you're probably focused on the right things.
- Keep the Work-Life Barrier High: They share the fun stuff, but they protect the kids' privacy and the "unfiltered" moments of their marriage.
- Collaborate on Passions: Whether it's a TV show like 9-1-1 or a Christmas movie, finding ways to integrate their professional lives actually gives them more time together, rather than pulling them apart.
- The "Daily Choice" Mindset: Acknowledging that marriage is a choice you make every morning, rather than just a one-time vow, keeps the relationship active rather than passive.
Jennifer Love Hewitt and Brian Hallisay might be famous, but their marriage succeeds because they treat it like it's the most normal thing in the world. In 2026, that’s the real Hollywood miracle.
Check Jennifer's official social media for rare glimpses into their family life or look for Brian’s guest appearances on her current projects to see their on-screen chemistry firsthand.