Life imitating art. Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys played a married couple on The Americans — and then they fell in love in real life.
The Felicity alum and the Welsh actor played undercover Russian spies Elizabeth and Philip Jennings on the FX drama, which aired from 2013 to 2018. When Russell landed the role, she was married to Shane Deary, a contractor whom she wed in February 2007. The former couple, who share son River (born in June 2007) and daughter Willa (born in December 2011), called it quits in early 2013.
After her split from Deary, the Antlers actress began quietly dating Rhys, but the duo initially tried to keep their budding romance under wraps. While the twosome managed to hide their relationship for a while, one of their Americans directors eventually caught on to their chemistry.
“We had to do a very explicit scene together that he had to direct, and he was talking to the script supervisor. And he was like, ‘Well, this might be kind of awkward,'” Russell said during a 2018 episode of Off Camera With Sam Jones. “We kind of did it and just did it right away. And [the director] told the script supervisor, ‘These two have definitely f–ked.’ He’s like, ‘They’re way too comfortable together.'”
In May 2016, the pair welcomed Sam, their first son together. “What’s frightening is sometimes they repeat exactly what you’ve just said or done. You go, ‘Ahh! Don’t copy me!’” Rhys exclusively told Us Weekly in May 2018, referring to the then-toddler’s habit of mimicking his dad. “I heard this kind of echoing parrot in the corner. I was like, ‘Ah! I said ‘duck,’ you little turd.’”
That same month, the Post star joked that he and his longtime partner were spending much of their time focused on the hours between 4:30 p.m. and bedtime. “You evaluate the success of the entire day on those hours,” he told Esquire in May 2018. “And if you get all three fed, vegetables eaten, someone’s asked me a question at dinner, bath, Harry Potter’s read, they’re in bed, and all three haven’t cried, it’s an enormous success.”
Russell and Rhys haven’t had the chance to work together again since The Americans‘ series finale aired in 2018, but the Perry Mason star said he “loved” working with his girlfriend on the show. “For many, many different reasons,” he gushed to Us in May 2018. “So, that lot I’ll miss enormously.”
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Keep scrolling for a look back at Russell and Rhys’ complete relationship timeline:
A decade before The Americans began shooting, Rhys tried to ask Russell out at a party. “I very drunkenly asked her for her number when she was a young, single slip of a thing," the Girls alum recalled during a 2017 appearance on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen. Russell, for her part, didn't remember the encounter until they reconnected on set years later. "We did all the readings together, and after a heavy dose of fight training, all sweaty at a lunch, you said, ‘You know, we’ve met before,'” the Emmy nominee told her beau. “I said, ‘No, we haven’t.’ You said, ‘Yeah, 10 years ago at a kickball party.’ As soon as you said that, I went, 'Of course I remember that!'" Peter Brooker/Shutterstock
The Americans, created by a former CIA officer, began filming in May. "I was intrigued by the spy element, but I was more intrigued by the relationship; the idea of these two teenagers who were placed together," Russell told Deadline in August 2016, explaining what drew her to the role of Elizabeth. "What would that be like, and what would it be like to watch that unravel. Living together, and having babies with somebody, missing out on your whole childhood, and then spending all these years with someone." Guillaume Horcajuelo/EPA/Shutterstock
A rep for Russell confirmed in December that the actress split from Deary earlier in the year. Alex Berliner/BEI/Shutterstock
The TV spouses appeared in a racy photo shoot for GQ magazine. In one photo, Russell straddled Rhys, and in another, she pinned him up against a wall using her leg. Broadimage/Shutterstock
The pair confirmed they were dating after they were spotted cuddling up while attending a play in New York City. Jim Smeal/BEI/Shutterstock
The couple's first son, Sam, arrived. “Sam is growing up trilingual because he’s got Welsh, English and there’s Spanish in the house,” Rhys told Us in September 2017. “He’s walking, he’s talking, shouting. Not talking — shouting.” Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP/Shutterstock
Ahead of The Americans' series finale, Rhys joked that he didn't always do his best acting in the early days of the show when his romance with Russell was still new. “My acting was worse,” he told Esquire. “I was trying to impress her so much I wasn’t doing anything.” Evan Agostini/Invision/AP/Shutterstock
While accepting his Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, Rhys gave a shout-out to Russell in his speech. “And finally, to the woman who truly got me this award, who just stands in front of me every day and just puts up with me. She said, ‘If you propose to me, I’ll punch you clean in the mouth,’” he quipped, referring to a director who had proposed to his girlfriend from the stage earlier in the evening. “I don’t have the words, or the time, neither which would do you justice, Keri Lynn, except thank you." After the ceremony, Russell told Us that she thought her beau's speech was "hilarious." Alex Berliner/Invision/AP/Shutterstock
The couple attended the Emmys, where Rhys was nominated for his performance in season 1 of Perry Mason. He lost to Josh O'Connor, who won for his portrayal of Prince Charles in season 4 of The Crown. John Salangsang/Invision/AP/Shutterstock
The duo worked together in the thriller Cocaine Bear, though Rhys only had a brief cameo in the first few minutes of the film. “I unashamedly jumped on my partner’s coattails because I knew Keri was doing this movie with Elizabeth Banks, who we know, and I read the script and I simply said, ‘Who’s playing that? That little fun part, a few seconds in the beginning?’" Rhys told The A.V. Club in March 2023. "She goes, ‘I don’t know.’ I said, ‘Ask Banks.’ And then she said, ‘No, it’s been cast,’ and I said, ‘Tell Banks I’ll do it.’ And then I was like, ‘Well, actually, just ask her if I can do it.’” Danny Moloshok/Invision/AP/Shutterstock
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