Looking back on the hardships his family faced in 2025, Scott Wolf says it was a “gift” to work on the first season of FOX’s hit drama, “Doc,” while he navigated his own drama at home.
The Hallmark Channel fan favorite spent much of the last year swept up in a very public family crisis, but told People on March 10, 2026, that he felt like his role as Dr. Richard Miller on “Doc” was perfectly timed to provide him with the strength and insights he needed to get through.
“I was going through a lot when we made the first season,” the “A Merry Scottish Christmas” star admitted, “and just showing up every day was a building process for me.”
Scott Wolf Says His Family Has ‘Gone Through A Lot’
GettyScott began filming “Doc” months before the public was aware things were amiss between him and his wife of 21 years, former “Real World: New Orleans” star Kelley Wolf. She announced on June 10 that they had split, and Scott confirmed the news the following day as he filed for divorce, per People.
Days later, Kelley was detained by police in Utah, where the Wolfs have lived for years, and was put under a psychiatric hold. Over the next several months, Scott was granted a restraining order and physical custody of their three kids as Kelley struggled to follow court orders and posted many concerning videos and messages on social media. She was eventually ordered to check into a long-term mental health facility.
“I don’t want to speak too much, but what I can say is it became public that our family has gone through a lot over this past couple of years,” Scott told People. “I feel like I’m just so deeply grateful for having had this show land in my life when it did.”
Noting that the show has often felt like “art imitating life” and vice versa, Scott explained, “When you’re playing a character, you’re always finding a way to access parts of yourself and connect to the character’s experience, but sometimes you land dead on in the middle and you and the character are sort of sharing a lot of experience.”
“I’m able to look at a lot of the things I’ve been lucky enough to be a part of — none more than ‘Doc’ — where things I needed to go through, things I needed to learn, things I needed to better understand about myself, things I needed to work through, somehow were related or connected with or mirrored in the character. It’s uncanny sometimes, but I’m grateful for that part of the process.”
Scott Wolf Admits It Was Sometimes ‘Uncomfortable’ Filming Scenes That Mirrored His Own Life
FOXDuring the show’s tumultuous first season of “Doc,” Scott’s character was fired from Westside Hospital after he tried to hide that his own mistake caused the death of a patient, placing the blame on his co-worker, who was suffering from amnesia due to an accident.
But viewers also had empathy for Dr. Richards, who was quietly facing major challenges at home, including a son living with bipolar and schizotypal disorders. Though the Wolfs have not commented on what caused Kelley’s downward spiral, Scott told People that filming scenes that mirrored some elements of his personal life “was uncomfortable at times, but worthwhile.”
“I was able to use things from my own life experience, and in a way, I think you get to maybe take these experiences or emotions or challenges as things that would be hard to metabolize otherwise,” he said.
“Doc” is now in its second season, and though Dr. Richards didn’t appear in the early episodes, he is now back, slowly building trust with his colleagues after the scandal. FOX announced on March 9 that the show has been renewed for a third season.
Meanwhile, Kelley appears to be doing much better, joining her family for a day at Universal Studios in February.
I think that Scott wolf handled the entire problem very well. He did not go on interviews or social media and bad mouth his estranged wife nor did make it a story to get him star news. He played it low key, professional, and really good for the children.
I never knew of this actor as I don’t watch a lot of TV but I would watch him now as he is that rare performer who stayed out of the spotlight and stayed focused on his children.