Kimberly Williams-Paisley takes her relationship with her “late husband” very seriously.
In a recent interview, the Hallmark actress said that the detailed backstory she came up with for the character of her “perfect” late husband Mark on “9-1-1: Nashville” caused a spat with her actual husband, country music superstar Brad Paisley. Kimberly, who plays 911 dispatcher Cammie Raleigh on the hit procedural drama, also went into detail on how creating these backstories helps her get into character.
How Kimberly’s Late Husband on ‘9-1-1’ Carried Into Real Life Marriage
Getty“I have some very emotional scenes in ‘9-1-1: Nashville’ about my late husband,” Kimberly said in an interview with USA Today from Mar. 25.
The “Sister Swap” actress continued, “Brad was like, ‘So what are you thinking about?’ And I said, ‘I’m thinking about Mark.’ He goes, ‘Who’s Mark?’ And I said, ‘Well, he’s perfect.’ And suddenly we’re having this argument about a fake person I invented for a backstory.”
She detailed how she prepares for a role by creating a lived-in backstory for each character. “I had to explain it, but that’s how deeply I build characters,” Kimberly said. “I make a whole world, a whole history, a whole emotional life. Mark was real, at least to me.”
“I love doing the prep,” Kimberly said. “I create memories for the characters. I build everything before I even show up on set. A good night sleep, packing my lunch, being ready for anything. It’s a lot of imagination and a lot of fun.”
How ‘Father of the Bride’ Played a Part in Kimberly & Brad’s Relationship
GettyAlthough Kimberly and Brad didn’t meet until 2001, their love story began in 1991 after the “Whiskey Lullaby” singer saw Kimberly play Annie Banks in “Father of the Bride” and became smitten with her, according to PEOPLE.
Kimberly recalled how Brad saw the film “a bunch of times” with the girl he was dating at the time back in 1991. “It was, like, their movie,” she said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly from May 2025. “And then he moved to Nashville, and she broke his heart.”
Brad later asked Kimberly to star in the music video for his 2002 hit single, “I’m Gonna Miss Her (The Fishin’ Song).”
“He [Brad] woke up with this idea, like, ‘Oh, I should call that girl who was in ‘Father of the Bride,’ and that’s the story he goes with, but I’m like, maybe he was stalking me somehow?” Kimberly recalled in her Entertainment Weekly interview.
Coincidentally, she had just told her agents that she was interested in doing a music video. “I wasn’t expecting a country music video, but he [Brad] literally called a few days later and I was like, ‘Yeah, that sounds fun,'” Kimberly said.
The pair started dating soon after.
They got engaged in 2002 and tied the knot in March 2003. Kimberly and Brad have two sons together: William “Huck” Huckleberry Paisley, who was born in 2007, and Jasper Warren Paisley, who was born in 2009.
Kimberly and Brad have been married for 23 years now.
