Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys became a real couple after playing a fictional one on “The Americans.” The Cold War show ended in 2018, and the actors are still going strong.
They welcomed a boy named Sam in 2016. The “Felicity” star explained why she won’t marry Rhys in a new interview.
Keri Russell Thinks Marriage Is ‘Antiquated’
Some celebrities are fully committed to their partners without marriage, like Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell. The actors have been together since 1983 and haven’t gotten married. “The Diplomat” star made it clear she is making the same choice on the “Dear Chelsea” podcast.
“We have kids, so that’s forever,” she told Chelsea Handler. “To me, [marriage is] antiquated.” Handler called Rhys Russell’s “lover,” and the actress added “sometimes roommate.”
The actress said that she had a big party, referring to a wedding with her ex-husband. She said that she dresses up all the time. The actress loves not being married. “I don’t need my last name to go away,” she explained.
Russell mentioned that women needed marriage to open a credit card account. It’s not necessary now, and marriage can be “big time” patriarchal.
Rhys made Emmy history by winning two lead actor awards in the same year. One was a limited or anthology series or movie for “The Beast in Me,” and the other was in a comedy series for “Widow’s Bay.”
Russell said he was nervous about speaking before the 2026 ceremony. She told him not to worry about thanking her in his speeches.
“You don’t have to thank me,” the actress said she told him. “I know you love me. Take me off your plate. There are so many people you have to thank, and he won a few years ago for ‘The Americans,’ and people still give him a hard time because he didn’t say their names.”
Russell Was Previously Married to Shane Deary
Her feelings about marriage have changed over time. She was married to Shane Deary from 2007 to 2014. They have two children together.
A source broke the news to PEOPLE. “They have been separated since early summer,” an insider said. “The separation is amicable and their focus is on their children.” The announcement came before the premiere of season 2 of “The Americans.”
Russell loves that the FX show being the setting of their real love story. “I’m really able to enjoy it, you know? And it was such a lark that we got to do that together in that kind of… at that prime of our lives. And, you know, had we met when we were 20, we wouldn’t be together,” she said on the “Dinner’s on Me” podcast in 2024.
Russell’s new TV show is “The Diplomat,” where she plays an American Diplomat in London. The Netflix series is a thriller like her previous hit show and Rufus Sewell plays her on-screen husband.
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Why Keri Russell Won’t Marry Matthew Rhys