The Scary Incident That Outed Keri Russell And Matthew Rhys' Hush-Hush Relationship

Keri Russell is currently dating Welsh actor Matthew Rhys, and they've been an item for quite some time, but you may not have realized since they're a pretty low profile Hollywood couple, comparatively speaking. Russell and Rhys originally met on "The Americans," in 2013, in which they played a couple / a couple of spies, and gradually fell in love. They'd been keeping their real life relationship a secret on set and, shockingly, it was a frightening home invasion that ended up letting the cat out of the bag.

Rhys recounted the story in a 2025 interview with The Times. Not long after the co-stars started dating, while filming Season 2 of "The Americans," they were hanging out at Russell's apartment in New York when they heard people breaking in at 3 a.m. As Rhys recalled, "I remember thinking stupidly, 'My next course of action will define how Keri sees me for the rest of my life.' So if I say, 'Let's lock ourselves in the bathroom and call the police,' she'll think I'm a coward. The bedroom had a fireplace so I grabbed a poker and I made my way out, as dumb as you like. What was I thinking?"

Thankfully no one was hurt and the "Brothers & Sisters" star didn't have to use the poker, but the thieves did make off with some stuff that they'd shoved into his backpack. When the police returned the stolen items to Russell, on the set of "The Americans," people were able to recognize that not all them were hers. As Rhys shared, "One of the PAs was like, 'That's not Keri's backpack, it's Matthew's! And isn't that his watch?' I said, 'No, definitely not,' but everyone started piecing it together."

Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell did get to break the news their own way, at least to some of the crew on "The Americans." Apparently, once she got pregnant, the couple knew they wouldn't be able to hide it for long, and so they spilled the beans. As for just why Rhys and Russell wanted to keep their relationship quiet, TV producers don't exactly love it when co-stars date because if they break up, it's going to make working together incredibly difficult. And, as Rhys acknowledged to The Times, "These things often end quickly and then the set isn't a pleasant place to be." Of course, lots of celebrity couples broke up and continued working together, but what the Welsh actor said makes sense — even if they still get along, there are bound to be at least a few awkward moments.

Fortunately, for Rhys and Russell, they went the distance, especially by Hollywood standards. They're not married, at the time of writing, but they have been together since 2013 and share a son, alongside her two children from a previous relationship. It's worth noting, too, that the romance that blossomed between them on "The Americans" was actually a long time coming. During a 2018 appearance on "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen," Rhys confirmed that he'd asked for Russell's number years before, after a kickball party, of all things. He left her a "drunken message," but it doesn't sound like she followed up. Until they met again on set, and the rest is history.