Matthew Rhys: How My Keri Russell Romance Came Out on 'The Americans' Set
How the secret came out. Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell kept their romance under wraps for quite some time while costarring on The Americans together, but eventually someone spilled — and Rhys thinks he knows what happened.
Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys' Relationship Timeline
The Perry Mason star, 48, said that he and the Cocaine Bear actress, 47, kept their relationship a secret for “about a solid year” before their coworkers found out what was going on. “It’s those sneaky PAs who get onto it,” the Welsh actor explained during a Thursday, March 23, appearance on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen.
“They have headsets,” he added, imitating a production assistant speaking into a microphone. “It was like, ‘They’re both in the trailer.’ I’m like, ‘Shut up!'”
The Emmy winner went on to explain that he and Russell fell in love while making the FX series, which aired from 2013 to 2018, but they actually met for the first time 25 years earlier. “I asked her for her number then,” Rhys recalled, explaining that they connected at a kickball party hosted by Jennifer Grey. “She gave it to me, and this is where this all falls apart. I have no memory of this because I was very inebriated, but I left a very inebriated message on her answering machine.”
Hottest Couples Who Fell in Love on Set
The Felicity alum, however, was “not in the slightest” impressed by what she heard, and she didn’t return the call.
Russell went on to wed Shane Deary in February 2007. The former couple share son River, 15, and daughter Willa, 11. The duo called it quits in early 2013 and finalized their divorce one year later.
In order to view the video, please allow Manage Cookies
After moving on with Rhys, Russell joked that she wasn’t sure the couple hid their romance as well they thought during The Americans — and one director caught on before they’d gone public. “We had to do a very explicit scene together that he had to direct, and he was talking to the script supervisor. And he was like, ‘Well, this might be kind of awkward,’” the Waitress star said during a 2018 episode of Off Camera With Sam Jones. “We kind of did it and just did it right away. And [the director] told the script supervisor, ‘These two have definitely f–ked.’ He’s like, ‘They’re way too comfortable together.’”
Perfect Pairs! 10 Celebrity Couples Who Never Got Married
Russell and Rhys welcomed son Sam, now 6, in May 2016. Earlier this year, they finally worked together again, although only for a short time. After the Antlers actress landed the lead part in Cocaine Bear, Rhys managed to talk his way into a cameo role.
“I unashamedly jumped on my partner’s coattails because I knew Keri was doing this movie with Elizabeth Banks, who we know, and I read the script and I simply said, ‘Who’s playing that? That little fun part, a few seconds in the beginning?’” Rhys told The A.V. Club earlier this month. “She goes, ‘I don’t know.’ I said, ‘Ask Banks.’ And then she said, ‘No, it’s been cast,’ and I said, ‘Tell Banks I’ll do it.’ And then I was like, ‘Well, actually, just ask her if I can do it.’”
