The Real-Life Partners Of Hallmark's Leading Christmas Stars

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Hallmark's leading Christmas stars have won over legions of fans with their incredible on-screen chemistry, but for many of the channel's biggest names, their off-screen love stories are just as picture-perfect. While it's true that most Hallmark stars live normal lives and like to keep their love lives out of the spotlight, they still offer fans plenty of heartwarming glimpses into their own romances. Even the Queen of Christmas herself, Lacey Chabert, who's made every effort to separate personal from professional -– "I'm a very private person," she told BUILD Series in 2019 –- can't help gushing about her partner from time to time. And she's certainly not the only one.

From swoon-worthy meet cutes that sound like they're straight out of a Hallmark movie to awe-inspiring stories of devotion and support, many of your favorite names have shown they have incredible relationships. Here's everything we know about the real life partners of Hallmark's top Christmas stars, from Lacey Chabert to Brennan Elliott, Jen Lilley, and many more.

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If common passions create a strong bond, "Snowed-Inn Christmas" actor Andrew Walker and his wife, Cassandra Troy, have nature to thank for their union. Sharing a glimpse into their love story on Instagram in 2021, Troy told fans it was the great outdoors that brought them together in 2004. "It started with a hiking trip in @monttremblant followed by countless small wilderness adventures, and some big, big trips which are always centered around being in nature," she recalled.

Another shared passion they have is healthy eating. So much so that rather than splurging on a big wedding, they tied the knot at city hall in 2012 and used the money from their wedding budget to open a 200-square-foot cold pressed juice bar called Clover Juice in California in 2013. The business took off and rebranded as Little West in 2018, selling their signature juices online. The duo then welcomed son West Byron in 2015, followed by Wolf Reinhard in 2019, and these days, they're as strong as ever.

It isn't always easy, but they consciously work on keeping their romance alive. "When your wife is also your business partner you sometimes forget to check in with each other about the other stuff," Walker admitted on Instagram in 2021 (via Us Weekly), adding that a family trip to Mexico was just what they needed. "Getting away was not only restoring, it gave us perspective and overall gratitude," he concluded.

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Ashley Williams' meet cute with husband Neal Dodson could very well have been scripted. She arrived at acting coach Warner Loughlin's office in 2003, and Dodson was there, teaching actors about accents. "That day, he was wearing a big red @Carnegiemellon hoodie and I just wanted to hug him," Williams recalled on Instagram. "He talked a lot... but everything he said was interesting, funny, and somehow rang true or resonated in me the way only the sound of a cello ever had before."

The pair soon began dating, and Dodson — who has since become an Academy Award-nominated producer – proposed on Thanksgiving Day in 2009. The pair said "I do" in May 2011 at the Nashville home of Williams' sister, Kimberly, and brother-in-law, singer-songwriter Brad Paisley. The intimate affair had a small guest list of about 50, and the reception was actually held in a sandpit used for Paisley's horses. Speaking with People, Williams said their union works because Dodson is always there to keep her grounded. "He allows me to laugh at myself and calms me down," she mused. "He puts things in perspective."

Williams and Dodson are raising two children -– Gus Williams born in 2014 and Odie Sal born in 2017 -– and, two decades later, they're as smitten as ever. "He's dreamy," Williams gushed on Instagram in 2020. "He's also a rockstar dad and we don't know what we'd do without him."

He's one of Hallmark's biggest stars, but Luke Macfarlane has managed to keep his own love life under wraps. What we do know is that he's been dating sports agent Hig Roberts for several years. Similarly to Macfarlane — who made waves as one of Hallmark's first openly gay actors — Roberts, a champion Alpine skier, landed in the news in 2020 when he came out as gay in a New York Times profile. He was the first Alpine skier of his caliber to do so, saying, "I love this sport more than anything — I'm so lucky and privileged to be doing this — but I can't go on another day not trying to achieve the person that I am meant to be."

While the couple doesn't share many updates online, Macfarlane took to Instagram in June 2023 to reveal they had become parents to a daughter named Tess Eleanor Macfarlane. "On Father's Day, we got to take her home," the actor wrote. "Her Dads can't wait to introduce her to all the remarkable people and the beautiful world we live in."

We also know that they're incredibly supportive of each other –- if a bit competitive. In 2023, they ran the New York City Marathon together to raise awareness and funds for diabetes, a disease that led to the death of Murphy's younger brother at age 22. Speaking with People, Macfarlane quipped, "I think we're going to definitely push each other to achieve the highest possible race time, let's be honest."

Lacey Chabert has been in the spotlight since she started acting at age 8, but there are some things she prefers to keep to herself. "My private life is the most precious thing in my life," she told BUILD Series in 2019. "I'm very protective over my family." Indeed, despite the fact that she's been married to David Nehdar since December 2013, very little is known about Chabert's husband.

In fact, Chabert didn't even tell the public she was getting married until after the ceremony. The "Mean Girls" star tweeted the news in January 2014, writing, "Over the holidays, my best friend & love of my life...we became husband & wife!" Speaking with People six months later, she explained they decided on secrecy because "I didn't want it to feel like an event; I wanted it to be personal." As for the ceremony itself, it played out like a comedy of errors worthy of the Hallmark treatment. "The caterer quit two days before, my sisters' dresses didn't arrive and one of my shoes broke," Chabert recalled. "It was just nuts, but it was perfect at the same time."

Jump to September 2016 and the pair grew their family with the arrival of daughter Julia Mimi Bella Nehdar. Chabert embraced motherhood wholeheartedly, telling Access Live in 2018, "We are attached at the hip -– she's my little koala."

She may be a star of the small screen, but Nikki DeLoach's partner also knows what it means to be famous. That's because DeLoach's husband, Ryan Goodell, is a former '90s boy-bander. The pair actually met and fell in love in 1999 while Goodell was enjoying mainstream fame as a member of the boy-band, Take 5.

However, as DeLoach told Parade in 2019, it wasn't exactly love at first sight. Rather, their romance took time to develop. "I believe that love is something that grows," she said, explaining that she never embraced traditional dating. "Let's hang out a little bit, let's talk about each other's lives, let me hear about you and then when I feel comfortable, then maybe you and I can go to a movie or something like that," she shared.

Clearly, Goodell didn't mind such an unconventional approach. While his career changed (he became an entertainment lawyer after Take 5 split up in 2001), his devotion to DeLoach didn't. The pair married in September 2009 and had two sons: William Hudson in 2013 and Bennett Christopher in 2017. While it hasn't always been smooth sailing, they've always been able to rely on each other. "We've had years where we didn't know how we would make rent, but together, we always figured it out," the actor wrote on Instagram in 2024, celebrating their 15-year anniversary. "We've always been rich in love, family, friends and community."

When Taylor Cole first encountered Cameron Larson, she wasn't thinking of romance. The future couple met on the set of a Hallmark movie and started out as co-workers. Although they haven't revealed which film brought them together, only two Hallmark films, 2016's "My Summer Prince" and "Appetite for Love," have both parties credited (Cole as the star, and Larson as the executive in charge of production).

A friendship blossomed over the next few years, and, as Cole told People, "I even tried playing matchmaker with Cam, attempting to set him up with a few friends of mine." Lucky for them, Larson didn't find a connection. "None of the matches worked and we both realized we were perfect for each other," the actor shared.

Cole and Larson eventually decided to tie the knot in June 2020, and not even the COVID-19 pandemic could stop them. While their initial plan for a 100-person ceremony had to change drastically due to restrictions, they still said "I do" on the shoreline of Lake Tahoe. "We couldn't wait — we were too excited to profess our love and commit to each other," the lovebirds explained People. "We wanted our forever to start as soon as possible." And so, with just an officiant, a witness, a musician, a photographer, and a videographer present, they did just that.

Actor Brennan Elliott married psychologist Camilla Row back in 2011, and the couple had son Liam in 2012, followed by daughter Luna in 2014. Speaking with My Devotional Thoughts in 2017, Elliott admitted that he doesn't like to talk about his family, instead keeping his home life private, but he made an exception to praise his wife. "Without her, I wouldn't be able to do what I do," he enthused. "I'm so blessed that God gave me somebody that just works for me and I work for her. It's special."

In 2018, Row received some devastating news: She was diagnosed with an aggressive form of stomach cancer that had progressed to Stage 4 by January 2022. Elliott was by her side every step of the way, telling People that year that his wife was "a warrior," as she had undergone 16 rounds of chemo in three years and never gave up.

In 2024, when Row underwent major surgery to remove a mass from her stomach, Elliott set up shop in her hospital room so he could be present while continuing to work. He also celebrated their 13-year wedding anniversary that year by dubbing his wife "my rockstar warrior queen" and telling Instagram he would never stop supporting her. "As our fight continues, I am truly blessed to be given the responsibilities of being by your side through it all," he wrote.

When Jodie Sweetin began dating Mescal Wasilewski in 2017, she kept his identity a secret before confirming their romance on Instagram on Valentine's Day 2018. Their situation wasn't ideal at first, as she was living in Los Angeles while he was in Brooklyn, New York, but they made long-distance dating work for the first three and a half years of their relationship. They took things slow, and, over time, she realized they were a perfect fit.

"We intertwine so well," Sweetin told People in 2022, the same year she and Wasilewski tied the knot. "He's funny and smart, and he's my biggest supporter." It's a sentiment she also shared with ET, noting her partner has never been interested in fame and is more than happy to let her have the spotlight. "He is like, 'I just want to support you,'" she shared. "You do your dream, and I will just be back here being your biggest fan."

Wasilewski is also devoted to his own passion: helping those dealing with addiction and various mental health issues. It's a career he's had for over two decades, and, as of 2024, he was working as a therapist and clinical director for Alyst Recovery. He has a myriad of experience, including working as an interventionist, sober coach, and case manager.

Actor Jen Lilley and her husband, Jason Wayne, like to share the love. They first met in 2004 and married three years later before expanding their family in a big way. The couple welcomed a biological daughter, Julie Evangeline, in July 2019, just weeks after adopting their son, Kayden, that June. Kayden had spent 984 days in foster care, and, as Lilley told People, becoming his legal parents meant the world to her and Wayne.

"We've loved him from the moment he entered our home and we've treated him as our own son since day one, but to have it be official is overwhelmingly wonderful," she gushed. Kayden was 3 years old at the time, and the couple was also already fostering his 14-month-old half-brother, Jeffrey, whom they got to officially adopt in 2020 after he spent 846 days in foster care. Finally, the duo welcomed daughter Jacqueline Grace in 2022.

Over the years, Lilley has praised Wayne for being a devoted dad, as well as an unwavering supporter of her career. As she told Parade in 2018, he's never been jealous of her on-screen romances. "My husband Jason is the sweetest, kindest, most secure man I know," she said. Further praising her hubby, the actor celebrated their 13-year wedding anniversary in 2020 with a sweet Facebook tribute, telling fans, "[He] gives me wind beneath my wings to take on my massive dreams and goals and who anchors my soul when my sassy and constantly fired up self takes on too much at once."

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Jonathan Bennett's 2016 meet cute with Jaymes Vaughan was pulled straight from a rom-com. The Hallmark star was promoting "Halloween Wars," and his press tour included a stop on "Celebrity Page," hosted by none other than Vaughan. Bennett was instantly smitten, telling The Knot in 2021, "I thought he was the most beautiful man I'd ever seen." Vaughan had a similar reaction when the pair took a selfie before filming their interview. "The minute he leans into me, it's like electricity," Vaughan recalled.

Once they were done shooting, Bennett wasted no time asking for his crush's number and called him as soon as he got back home. "I said, 'Would it be weird if I came back to The Grove so we could kiss and see if this is the real deal?'" Bennett told the mag. Thankfully, Vaughan thought that was a great idea and they decided to meet right back up. "We just kissed in the parking lot and immediately it became 'The Notebook,'" Bennett added.

In addition to "Celebrity Page," Vaughan was also a Chippendales host in Las Vegas. Since then, he's appeared in a couple of movies, including "The Plus One" with his husband, and the duo has also launched their own podcast called "Pridecast," as well as an LGBTQ+ travel company dubbed OUTbound.

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When actor Holly Robinson Peete was first set up on a blind date with NFL star Rodney Peete in the early 1990s, she wasn't convinced they'd be a match. They met up at a Los Angeles club and, as she admitted on "For Peete's Sake," "It was definitely not love at first sight by any stretch of the imagination." Holly initially thought it would be a one-time meet, but that's not how it played out. "I stalked her friends, basically [asking], 'You think she likes me?'" Rodney shared. She obviously did, and the pair married in 1995, going on to have four kids: twins Ryan and R.J., Robinson, and Roman.

Decades later, they're still going strong, but as the actor told Essence in 2023, they've had to work for their union. "The glue, the secret sauce, has been trying to stay on the same page," she revealed. "Continuing to communicate with each other and then Rodney Peete's willingness to talk to a therapist or marriage counselor has been key, key, key."

Their communication was most tested just five years into their marriage when their eldest son, R.J., was diagnosed with autism at age 3. While Holly began reading and learning all she could, her husband struggled to accept the news. "We were not on the same page; we weren't even in the same state or country," Holly told Kelly Ripa's "Let's Talk Off Camera" podcast. Noting she felt completely alone, she revealed, "I was ready to leave him." It was only after a productive therapy session with their son that Rodney came to acceptance and learned how to connect with R.J.