TV Cameos That Happened Because Of A Real-Life Romance

In 2009, Megan Mullally joined her real-life husband Nick Offerman on Parks and Recreation. Starting in the Season 2 episode titled "Ron and Tammy," Mullally appears as Tammy Swanson II - Ron's (Offerman) shady second ex-wife who manipulates him into getting what she wants. Tammy II shows up on the sitcom sporadically, usually enthralling Ron and tempting him back into a relationship which makes him miserable.

Offerman and Mullally have been married since 2003 and continue to be a couple to this day. Offerman also appeared on Will & Grace, which stars Mullally as Karen Walker, as two different characters: Nick the Plumber and Jackson Boudreaux.

Mary Steenburgen is an incredibly accomplished actress in her own right, so she likely would have never made such a small appearance in The Good Place if not for her equally-accomplished husband, Ted Danson, being one of the stars.

Steenburgen shows up in the series finale, "Whenever You're Ready," as the unnamed music teacher who teaches the newly-human Michael (Danson) how to play guitar. It isn't a major role, but it's a nice nod to those who know the two are a couple in real life, since it implies Michael has found happiness and his own “good place.”

Steenburgen and Danson have been married since 1995, and Steenburgen also made guest appearances on some of Danson's other sitcoms - Becker in 2004, and Mr. Mayor in 2022. 

In 2018, Dax Shepard joined his wife Kristen Bell in The Good Place, where she had the leading role of Eleanor Shellstrop. In his one and only appearance, Shepard portrays the total bro demon named Chet in the Season 2 episode titled "Chapter 24: Rhonda, Diana, Jake, and Trent." It's a minor role, but it's an opportunity for Shepard to showcase his brand of comedy. He excellently embodies the repulsive Bad Place style. 

Shepard and Bell started dating in 2007 before tying the knot in 2013. The couple are still together as of 2023.

Brad Pitt appears in the Friends Season 8 Thanksgiving episode titled "The One With the Rumor" in 2001. He portrays Will Colbert - a high school friend of Monica (Courteney Cox) and Ross (David Schwimmer). However, Will despises Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) because she made fun of him throughout high school for being overweight. Even though she tries to make amends when they meet up again, Will still hates every fiber of her being.

At the time of Pitt's appearance on Friends, he and Aniston had been married for a year. This is likely the only reason he appeared on the sitcom, as he was already an incredibly famous movie star at the time and not taking many TV roles. However, the romance didn't last as the couple went on to get divorced in 2005.

In 2005, Steve Carell's real-life wife, Nancy, debuted in The Office's Season 2 episode "Office Olympics." Nancy portrays the role of real estate agent Carol Stills, who sells a condo to Michael Scott (Steve). She then has a short-lived romance with Michael, which ends when she takes issue with his overbearing behavior. 

Steve and Nancy had already been married for 10 years when she appeared on the show. Nancy also appeared in her husband's 2005 movie The 40-Year-Old Virgin. They have two children together.

Even though Supernatural had been around since 2005 and Jensen Ackles had long been established as one of the stars of the show, his wife, Danneel, took her time in appearing on the supernatural drama. In 2018, she made her debut in the Season 13 episode titled "Devil's Bargain." Danneel appears as the angel Anael, who has taken control of Sister Jo's body and uses her as a vessel. As a character, Anael shows up sporadically until the show's fifteenth and final season.

The pair are still going strong as a couple after marrying in 2010, and Danneel even served as a producer of The Winchesters spin-off along with her husband.

In 2003, Ben Falcone makes a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo in the Gilmore Girls' Season 3 episode "Say Goodnight, Gracie." His role is small, as he stars as Fran's unnamed lawyer who shows up at his client's funeral. Both Lorelai (Lauren Graham) and Sookie (Melissa McCarthy) attempt to question him about the possibility of purchasing the old inn that Fran owned, with humor deriving from their lack of tact to conduct business at the funeral of the beloved town baker. 

Reportedly, Falcone and McCarthy began dating in 1998 before marrying in 2005. The couple are still together and frequently collaborate, with McCarthy often starring in films that Falcone writes, directs, or produces, such as 2021's Thunder Force. 

David Arquette and Courteney Cox met on the set of Scream and a relationship developed between them. It didn't take too long for Arquette to cameo on Friends either, as he appeared in the 1996 episode of Season 3 titled "The One With the Jam." Arquette portrays Malcolm, the ex-boyfriend of Phoebe's (Lisa Kudrow) twin sister, Ursula. Malcolm mixes up the two and mistakenly stalks Phoebe afterward.

Arquette and Cox dated for a few more years before getting married in 1999, prompting Friends to acknowledge this union in the Season 6 premiere, “The One After Vegas,” by adding "Arquette" to each of the main actors' names in the opening credits. However, in 2013, Arquette and Cox divorced.

Mila Kunis made a one-time appearance on Two and a Half Men in 2014 alongside her then-fiancée Ashton Kutcher. In the Season 11 episode titled "Lan Mao Shi Zai Wuding Shang," she plays Vivian, a hiker and traveler who ends up at Walden Schmidt's (Kutcher) Malibu home. Walden invites her in and lets her stay the night because of the storm outside. While Walden displays strong romantic feelings toward Vivian, she doesn't return them.

Kunis and Kutcher had starred together in That '70s Show and started dating in 2012, becoming engaged by the time in which Kunis appeared in Two and a Half Men. The couple wed in 2015, and, as of 2023, they have two children.

Without a shadow of a doubt, George Oscar Bluth, Jr. AKA Gob (Will Arnett), is one of the most eccentric and beloved characters from Arrested Development. In one Season 1 episode, Gob meets a woman and enters into a series of dares with her that culminates in their marriage - except that Gob doesn't care for her very much, and can't remember her name. 

Arnett's then-wife Amy Poehler played Gob's wife in a number of appearances. Arnett returned the favor by showing up in Season 2 of Poehler's sitcom Parks and Recreation as an MRI technician who goes on a terrible date with Leslie (Poehler). However, the two actors divorced in 2016. 

Fans of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia are likely familiar with the fact that regular cast members Rob McElhenny (Mac) and Kaitlin Olson (Dee) are married, as well as Charlie Day (Charlie) and Mary Elizabeth Ellis (who appears in a recurring role as the Waitress). However, it's easy to miss that Glenn Howerton (Dennis) also brought his spouse on the show for one episode.

In the Season 5 episode “The D.E.N.N.I.S. System,” Howerton's wife, Jill Latiano, appears as a pharmacist named Caylee, whom Dennis sets his eyes on. He fools her into bed with manipulative tactics, then makes a bet with his friends that his system will ensure he can win her back whenever he wants.

Howerton and Latiano married in 2009, the same year in which she appeared on the show.

In the Season 1 episode of How I Met Your Mother, titled “Best Prom Ever,”  fans are introduced to the character Scooter, who is shown in a flashback to be Lily's (Alyson Hannigan) high school boyfriend. Scooter continues to appear throughout the series, revealing his name to be either Bill or Jeff (in two different episodes).

Scooter is played by David Burtka, Neil Patrick Harris's real-life husband. Scooter did share on-screen moments with Harris as Barney Stinson, but not as a couple. At the time of Burtka's first appearance, Harris hadn't disclosed his sexuality, but once rumors arose that Burtka received the role because he was Harris's partner, Harris came out as a gay man publicly.

In 2014, Burtka and Harris wed, and the two are still together. Burtka later had a guest role in another TV show that Harris starred in, the Netflix adaptation of A Series of Unfortunate Events. 

In 2017, Chris Pratt appeared on one episode of the sitcom Mom. It was a big deal since Pratt had rescently ascended to mega-stardom thanks to blockbusters like Jurassic World and the Guardians of the Galaxy films. 

In the Season 4 episode "Good Karma and the Big Weird," Pratt plays a handsome stranger named Nick, whom Christy (Anna Faris) falls for. Christy discovers Nick is Marjorie's (Mimi Kennedy) nephew, while also unraveling his peculiar behavior, and she ends the relationship with Nick by the end of the episode.

Pratt married Faris in 2009. However, their marriage ended a year after his appearance on Mom, as they divorced in 2018.

After dominating the early '90s as a child actor, Macaulay Culkin largely stepped away from the entertainment industry - only appearing on-screen occasionally over the next few decades. In 2019, he found the time to show up for his significant other Brenda Strong's comedy show: Dollface.

Culkin appears in the Season 1 episode titled "History Buff." He plays a character named Dan Hackett, who is Stella's (Shay Mitchell) date. However, Madison (Song) believes him to be the Bread Bowl Killer (spoiler alert: he isn't). 

Culkin and Strong have been an item since 2017 and have two children. 

In 2004, Lindsay Lohan made a surprise cameo on That '70s Show. In the Season 7 episode titled "Mother's Little Helper," Lohan appears as Danielle, a client of Fez's (Wilmer Valderrama) hair salon. After being impressed by his services, she abandons her planned date with Kelso (Ashton Kutcher) and heads out with Fez instead. A love triangle develops, but Danielle eventually chooses Fez.

At the time of Lohan's appearance, she was in a real-life relationship with Valderrama. However, they only dated for a few months in 2004 before moving on.