Honestly, in a world where celebrity marriages seem to evaporate before the ink on the prenup even dries, looking at Tina Fey and Jeff Richmond feels like watching a glitch in the Hollywood Matrix. They’ve been together for roughly thirty years. Thirty. In "showbiz years," that’s basically a century.
What’s even crazier is that they aren't just living together; they are constantly working together. Most people would lose their minds if they had to share an office and a kitchen with their spouse for three decades. But for Fey and Richmond, the boundary between "home life" and "writing a hit musical" is basically non-existent.
It all started in a basement in Chicago
They didn't meet at a glitzy premiere or through a high-end dating app. Nope. It was the mid-90s at The Second City in Chicago. Jeff was the guy at the piano—the musical director who had to make sense of the chaos on stage. Tina was the young, sharp-as-a-tack performer trying to keep up with the "boys' club" of improv.
Jeff has gone on record saying he knew she was special immediately. Not just because she was funny "for a woman"—his words—but because she was objectively the funniest person in the room. They spent seven years dating before finally getting married in a Greek Orthodox ceremony in 2001. That was the same year they packed up and moved to New York City to see if they could actually make it.
The silent architect of the "Fey Sound"
Everyone knows Tina. She’s Liz Lemon. She’s Sarah Palin. She’s the woman who made us all realize that "fetch" was never going to happen. But if you listen closely to anything she’s made, you’re actually hearing Jeff Richmond.
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Think about the 30 Rock theme song. That jaunty, slightly frantic jazz? That’s Jeff. The music in Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt? Jeff. The entire score for the Mean Girls musical on Broadway and the 2024 film? Also Jeff.
He’s the secret weapon. While Tina is busy dissecting the social hierarchy of high school or the absurdity of corporate television, Jeff is in the corner figuring out how to make a joke land better using a trumpet.
Parenting in the spotlight (or lack thereof)
They have two daughters, Alice and Penelope. You might remember Alice from the iconic 30 Rock flashback where she played a young Liz Lemon, or for being the kid who coined the phrase "I want to go to there."
As of 2026, those kids are basically adults now. Alice is 20, and Penelope is 14.
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Tina’s been pretty open about the fact that her kids don't think she's cool. At all. It doesn't matter if you have a dozen Emmys; if you’re trying to tell your teenager that you "know that person" on TV, they’re going to roll their eyes.
Interestingly, the kids have started to exert their own influence on the family business. During the development of the recent Mean Girls movie musical, Tina actually used them as a focus group. She asked them if the "Burn Book" should be a physical book or a private Instagram account. The kids told her to keep it a book. They were right.
Why they are still the "Gold Standard" in 2026
Why do we still care about Tina Fey and Jeff Richmond?
It’s because they represent a type of stability that feels rare. They’ve survived the transition from network TV dominance to the streaming wars without losing their voice. Even now, with their new project The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins hitting NBC this week (January 18, 2026, to be exact), they are still doing the same thing they did at Second City: making stuff together.
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The show, which reunites them with Tracy Morgan, is a classic Fey-Richmond-Carlock production. It’s fast. It’s dense with jokes. And yes, Jeff is handling the music.
There’s a lot of talk about "power couples," but that usually implies two people competing for the same spotlight. With Tina and Jeff, it feels more like a relay race where they’re both holding the baton at the same time.
What we can actually learn from them
If you’re looking for the "secret sauce" to their longevity, it’s probably not that complicated. They respect each other's lanes. Jeff doesn't try to out-write Tina, and Tina trusts Jeff implicitly with the "vibes" of her shows.
If you want to apply a bit of that Fey-Richmond energy to your own life or creative partnerships, here are a few takeaways:
- Trust is a productivity hack. Tina has said she works with Jeff because she doesn't have to explain herself. When you find someone who speaks your shorthand, you get ten times more done.
- Keep the "Burn Book" offline. Sometimes the old-school way is better. Their insistence on keeping some things private—like their home life in New York—is likely why they haven't burnt out.
- Collaborate, don't compete. In their relationship, there is no "lead." One might be the face of the brand, but the other is the backbone.
The next time you hear a snappy jazz transition on a sitcom, remember the guy at the piano and the woman with the pen. They’ve been at it for thirty years, and honestly, they’re just getting started.
If you're curious about their latest work, you can catch the premiere of The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins on NBC or stream it on Peacock. It's a great reminder that even in 2026, some things—like a well-timed joke and a solid marriage—never go out of style.