Soap Opera Stars Who Met On Set & Got Married In Real Life
Actors dating actors is nothing new. It's not uncommon for two celebs to have a fling while filming a movie or working on a television show. But since gossip about actors who might be dating draws attention to a film or a series, people can be skeptical of its validity. Often, you may find yourself wondering if these celebrity dalliances are fabricated. While some of them might be a publicity stunt, many are real. And there is even a scientific reason that explains why actors fall for each other so often. In psychology, it is called the propinquity effect.
In simple terms, the propinquity effect is the tendency to bond with the people you encounter most often. In other words, the more time you spend with someone, the greater the likelihood that you will form a close friendship or venture into a romantic relationship with them. This is why your best friends tend to be classmates, your neighbors, your children's friend's parents, your co-workers, your teammates, and other people you see often.
When you work on a soap opera, this effect can be intense. Not only do you see someone every day, but pretending to be in love can heighten the attraction. While many of these affairs only last as long as the job, some plant the seed that ultimately blossoms into true, lasting love, and the two individuals become lifelong partners. These are some of the greatest soap opera love stories to occur off-camera.
Rebecca Herbst and Michael Saucedo
In 1997, when Rebecca Herbst was 20 years old, she auditioned for a role on "General Hospital." Unfortunately, she didn't get the part. However, Herbst must have made an impression because shortly after that audition, she was asked back to try out for the role of Elizabeth Webber. Coincidentally, that character didn't exist until after Herbst's first audition.
Two years later, Michael Saucedo landed the role of Juan Santiago, the son of Miguel Morez and Lily Rivera, on "General Hospital." Although Juan fell for Emily Quartermaine after arriving in Port Charles, Saucedo fell for Herbst.
The two worked together for a year before they started dating. In 2001, the couple married. And within a decade, they welcomed three children. Herbst continued her role on "General Hospital" while Saucedo stayed home to care for their kids and pursued a law degree, as the couple told Soap Talk.
Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos
In September 2023, Kelly Ripa confirmed on Instagram that her life was still "so good." Though the post was just a brief stream of captured moments from the Consuelos' summer vacation, at its core, it was so much more. It was an affirmation that good things can happen in the often volatile world of celebrity romances. It was also proof that those good things can last.
Ripa began her decade-plus run as Hayley Vaughan on "All My Children" at the end of 1990. While Ripa's character starts off as a rebellious punk, the audience eventually learns what the character had endured. It didn't take long for Hayley to become a fan favorite. Fellow soaps actor Mark Consuelos did a screen test with Ripa in 1995 and although he didn't think he stood a chance with Ripa, the two began discreetly dating soon after.
In 1996, Consuelos proposed, and the two stars eloped in Las Vegas. A year later, the couple became a trio with their first son, Michael. A few years later, they added two more children, Lola and Joaquin, to make their family complete. After over a quarter-century together, this Hollywood duo has served as both an inspiration and a role model for couples everywhere.
Bill and Susan Hayes
When Doug Williams arrived in Salem, he had an affair with Julie Banning. It wasn't because he loved her — it was because he was being paid to break up her marriage. As often happens on soap operas, the plan backfired. Doug actually fell in love with Julie. On July 23, 1970, the "Days of our Lives" couple shared their first kiss. Four years later, Bill Hayes and Susan Seaforth, the actors who played those characters, got married in real life. And two years later, in 1976, their characters, Doug and Julie, also married.
Susan's career began in the '50s when she appeared on iconic programs, such as "You Are There," "Cavalcade of America," "Lassie," "The Danny Thomas Show," and many others. Fairly early in Bill's career, the actor had a No. 1 Billboard hit with "The Ballad of Davy Crockett" — Fess Parker and Tennessee Ernie Ford also released their own version of the song, but only Bill's topped the charts. And according to Susan, Bill was the first performer to sing on daytime television.
Over a half-century has passed since that first kiss, and Bill and Susan Hayes continue to act and remain happily married. Congratulations to a beautiful and inspiring couple!
Michael Sabatino and Crystal Chappell
If you haven't been around since the beginning of "Days of Our Lives", just know that there have been so many twists and turns in the story of Dr. Carly Manning and Lawrence Alamain . The two characters have been involved in or affected by identity theft, fortune, a lethal virus, amnesia, drugs, rehab, betrayal, murder, and even a ghost. Suffice it to say, Manning and Alamain had an intense ride on the soap.
The actors, however, found something of value in those tumultuous plotlines. Even though Crystal Chappell and Michael Sabatino left "Days of Our Lives" back in 1993, they took part of their experience with them when they exited — their relationship. The couple dated for a few more years before deciding to have get hitched.
After getting married, Chappell and Sabatino continued to work in TV. In fact, both actors have returned, at times, to "Days of Our Lives."
Doug Davidson and Cindy Fisher
One of actor Cindy Fisher's first roles was in the unsettling made-for-TV horror/thriller "Bad Ronald." She was also in "The Waltons," "Police Story," "Days of Our Lives," and more before getting a job on "The Young and the Restless." Doug Davidson, on the other hand, got his big break as Paul Williams on "The Young and the Restless." While Davidson's character might not have had the most successful on-screen romantic life, he met and fell in love with Fisher off-camera. The two married in 1984 and eventually started a family.
At a red carpet event back in 2013, Davidson was asked if he'd come to embrace his character off-screen, to which he responded, "Well, sure. ... You can't separate one from the other after 35 years." Fisher chimed in with a laugh, "And our son's still alive." Davidson quipped, "And not a psychopath!" Fans of the show will know that Paul's onscreen son was, indeed, a psychopath who, as Davidson put it, "met a very untimely death."
Thankfully for Fisher and Davidson, they lead a much less dramatic life. And come 2024, the couple will have been married for 40 years.
Melissa Fumero and David Fumero
Back when she was a teen, Melissa Gallo developed a crush on the hunky guy, David Fumero, featured in Mariah Carey's "Honey" music video, the star told Steve Harvey on his eponymous talk show. The two would later meet on the set of "One Life to Live." Melissa didn't realize who he was at first, but it eventually came out. And, as fate would have it, he developed a crush on her too.
In 2006, the couple got engaged and married a year later. After the wedding, Melissa started moving away from work in soaps and eventually landed the role of Amy Santiago on "Brooklyn Nine-Nine," which made her an even bigger star than she was on "One Life to Live." Fumero remained on the soap for several more years before taking roles on "Power," "L.A.'s Finest," and other dramas.
These days, Gallo and Fumero are still going strong and have two sons together, Enzel and Axel.
Maura West and Scott DeFreitas
"As the World Turns" was groundbreaking in a couple of important ways. The show expanded the soap opera format, moving from 15-minute episodes to 30 minutes, and it focused on a story with several leads. While this might not sound like a big deal to today's viewers who are used to getting more out of a soap series than a blockbuster film, back in the early days of television, it gave people a chance to develop a deeper connection with characters and to really care about what happened to them.
Andy Dixon was one of those characters that viewers just could never seem to get enough of. His saga on the soap has been told by five actors. The longest and most memorable stint was when Scott DeFreitas took on the role. Similarly, Carly Tenney's life was just one bad choice or one selfish manipulation after another. She was not necessarily a role model. But, when portrayed so eloquently by Maura West, she became a fan favorite who appeared up until the show's 2010 cancellation.
While the romantic entanglement of the two characters was not something written into the show, West and DeFreitas fell hard for each other. behind the scenes. They married on January 22, 2000 and now have five children.
Vincent Van Patten and Eileen Davidson
Sometimes, all it takes is a tiny spark to get the fires of romance burning. In 2000, Vincent Van Patten only had a stint on "The Young and the Restless" when he played a character named Christian, who dated Eileen Davidson's longtime character, for about a dozen episodes. That was all it took for the two to start dating in real life. And in 2003, the couple said, "I do."
Davidson's long and accomplished career in entertainment goes back to when the actor originated the role of Ashley Abbott on "The Young and the Restless." That was over 40 years ago. And not only did Davidson play the character in two different soaps, but she also played multiple characters on "Days of Our Lives." As for Van Patten, he also crossed over to another soap, starring in the second chapter of the "Days of Our Lives: Beyond Salem" miniseries.
The two actors remain married and have three sons together, Duke, Vince, and Jesse.
Linden Ashby and Susan Walters
The list of shows that Linden Ashby and Susan Walters have appeared on is impressive. Between the two, they have amassed nearly 200 acting credits. With so much screen time, you might think they'd have to work on the same series occasionally. And this is true. While they don't always work on the same episodes, they do share similar credits. Both were on "Army Wives," "Drop Dead Diva," "Melrose Place," "Teen Wolf," "The Young and the Restless," and more.
However, to find where these two met, you must travel all the way back to 1983 to a soap called "Loving." Ashby and Walters didn't wait long after Cupid's first arrow struck. The pair married in 1986 and went on to welcome two children.
In 2023, both actors starred in "The Young and the Restless," where their despicable characters, Cameron and Diane — who couldn't be more different from the actors who portray them — wreaked havoc on the fine residents of Genoa City once more.
James Kiberd and Susan Keith
Although ABC canceled "Loving" in the '90s, the series had a solid 12-year run. Even better, there were some things that started in those early years of the soap that have endured. And we're not just talking about the diehard fans who still love discussing the show's romantic power struggles, but the real-life romance that has long outlived the soap.
Actors James Kiberd and Susan Keith met on the set of "Loving" back in the '80s. Kiberd's character only appeared on the series a little over a dozen times in the first three years of the series; however, that was enough to cross paths with Keith, who played a long-running character named Shana Sloane. In 1986, only a couple of years after meeting on set, the two married.
Throughout his career, Kiberd also appeared in other soaps, like "Another World," "All My Children," and "As the World Turns." Additionally, he found work in shorts, films, and other TV shows. While both Kiberd and Keith have moved away from acting, they remain married.
Natalie Zea and Travis Schuldt
Admittedly, "Passions" was a strange soap. Whereas "Dark Shadows" managed to pull off the supernatural with an enduring gothic appeal, this series, which lasted less than a decade, was just over-the-top odd. But not everything that came out of "Passions" was absurd or something worthy of forgetting — like that orangutan nurse storyline. Some things, such as the slow-burn relationship of Natalie Zea and Travis Schuldt, held lasting value. This was a silver lining in the otherwise dark, horror-themed, paranormal world of Harmony.
Characters Gwen and Ethan met when they were preteens; in real life, the actors were adults when they crossed paths auditioning for roles on "Passions." A real-life relationship eventually began, which led to the actors getting engaged in 2013. A year later, Zea and Schuldt said "I do" in Hawaii. The following year, the couple added a new member to their family.
Since "Passions," both Zea and Schuldt have gone on to have robust careers in film and television. Most recently, Zea can be seen in "The Unicorn," "Justified: City Primeval," and "La Brea," while Schuldt can be seen in "Into the Dark," "Young Sheldon," and "How I Met Your Father."