Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys were perfectly content to keep their blossoming romance a secret while playing married spies on The Americans.
But their cover was blown prematurely when a burglar broke into Russell's Brooklyn home one night and shoved some of her stuff into his backpack. Police caught the thief, after which the District Attorney's office wanted to make a big show of returning the couple's personal items.
"They were like, 'Oh, we'd love to bring you your things back and present them to you on set and do a photograph for the D.A.," Rhys—who nabbed Emmys Sept. 14 for both his tonally divergent performances in the spooky Apple TV+ comedy Widow's Bay and the Netflix limited series The Beast in Me—recalled during an April appearance on Late Night With Seth Meyers. Russell, ever the diplomat, "was like, 'No, no, that's all right! I'll just come to a precinct to pick them up.'"
She really insisted they not come, but they did anyway—"God bless them," Rhys added, "and thank you for their service"—and crew members were quick to notice that what the police assumed was Russell's bag actually belonged to the Welsh actor.
"Lo, it came to pass that we were together," Rhys quipped. "Everyone [found out], one clean sweep. Didn't have to hire a publicist, it was great."
Incidentally, this was in 2014, a while before they welcomed their now-10-year-old son Sam. Russell also shares son River, 19, and daughter Willa, 13, with ex-husband Shane Deary.
Russell's rep confirmed in early December 2013 that she and Deary, a carpenter and contractor, had separated over the summer after six years of marriage. Weeks later, she and Rhys sparked dating rumors when they were photographed looking sweet on each other while out and about in Brooklyn, where they're still based to this day.
"Oh, we just sort of started having sex,” Russell cracked to the New Yorker last year when asked how she and Rhys first got together. “No, I’m kidding. I don’t know.”
In reality, it happened "slowly," the 50-year-old continued. "With a lot of, kind of, ‘Oh, we shouldn’t. Oh, this is terrible, we shouldn’t!’...Inevitably, a bottle of red wine would be opened.”
A previous on-set romance "ended disastrously" for Rhys in his mid-20s, causing him to swear off ever repeating that mistake, he recalled on an August episode of The New York Times' podcast The Interview. So, when it happened again in his mid-30s, "I was like, Oh, no, this is happening again."
Of course, he added, "It wasn’t something I was going to enter into lightly. But sometimes you can’t fight it. It’s ordained."
It also turned out, however, that Rhys and Russell already knew each other, having met after a kickball-and-beer-fueled party in L.A. more than a decade prior.
"I very drunkenly asked her for her number when she was a young, single, slip of a thing," Rhys shared during a 2017 appearance on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, "so I sort of knew then when I was 26."
Years later, according to Russell, "We did all the readings together and all the things, and after a heavy dose of fight training, all sweaty, at lunch, you said, 'Oh, you know we've met before. I said, 'No we haven't,' and you said, 'Yeah, we've met before, like 10 years ago at kickball.' As soon as he said that, I knew exactly what [he meant] and I opened my eyes, like, 'Oh! Of course I remember that.'"
The Diplomat star cracked, "You were that buffoon that wouldn't stop calling."
Luckily, they both picked up the phone when they had the chance to play Soviet KGB agents so committed to the cause they've had two children together and present as the all-American nuclear family.
He and Russell "had to do a chemistry test for this," Rhys told E! News in January 2013 when the intense FX drama premiered. "The show kind of relies on our chemistry—or our lack of it—in the beginning. And that in itself is a very specific kind of chemistry."
And he wasn't kidding when he promised "more twists and turns than a roller coaster."
The now-51-year-old was, of course, talking about the show's plot twists, as his and Russell's felicitous off-screen love affair didn't take away from the increasingly complicated dynamic playing out on screen, including in the form of revealing sex scenes. (Her pregnancy, meanwhile, was camouflaged rather than written into the series.)
"I get a little protective," Rhys admitted to The Hollywood Reporter in 2016. "I’m like, “Can someone get her a f--kin’ robe, please?! She’s standing there naked, we’ve cut for five seconds, Jesus Christ.' And they’re like, 'Dude, this is the fourth season.'"
And the couple delivered no matter what was demanded of them, both scoring Emmy nominations in 2016, 2017 and 2018.
When Rhys won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for the show's final season, he concluded his acceptance speech with, "To the woman who truly got me this award, who just stands in front of me every day and puts up with me, she said 'If you propose to me I will punch you clean in the mouth'—I don't have the word, I don't have the time, none of which do you justice."
(Russell may have meant she'd punch him if he proposed from the stage, but the couple do remain unwed, Rhys telling The Times in 2025 that they "literally haven't got round to marriage yet.")
They've walked countless red carpets together since, with Russell notching her first Actor Award win for The Diplomat in March, but Rhys is not content being the only Emmy winner in his household.
"I just feel bad," he said on a May episode of Obsessed: The Podcast, recalling how only he went home with a trophy in 2018. "Not to take away anything from Claire Foy from The Crown because she was incredible in that. I just wish Keri got it because she was so incredible."
No doubt Rhys will have more chances to root for Russell who scored her third lead actress in a drama nod for The Diplomat at the 2026 Emmys and was also nominated for Outstanding Drama Series as a producer.
In addition to his two individual trophies, Rhys also emerged a winner as an executive producer when Widow's Bay nabbed the trophy for Outstanding Comedy Series, the story of the cursed New England town becoming the most-nominated new series of the year with 19 nods.
Being nominated at the same time "keeps our relationship together," Rhys quipped to E! on the 2019 Golden Globes red carpet. Added Russell, "Thank God we don't have to break up."
Though award season is not without its perils.
Earlier in the evening, Rhys—now the first male actor to have won in all three acting categories—joked of Russell, "She goes, 'If you win both, I'm not coming home with you.' OK, fair enough."
So, asked backstage in an exclusive interview with E! News if that meant he was free for the evening, he noted, "I don't know if I'm free. Lonely, maybe."
Fortunately he and the rest of the night's winners have much to celebrate.
Outstanding Drama Series
The Diplomat
The Gilded Age
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
Paradise
WINNER: The Pitt
Pluribus
Slow Horses
Your Friends and Neighbors
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Carrie Coon, The Gilded Age
Keri Russell, The Diplomat
WINNER: Rhea Seehorn, Pluribus
Zendaya, Euphoria
Chase Infiniti, The Testaments
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Sterling K. Brown, Paradise
Gary Oldman, Slow Horses
Mark Ruffalo, Task
WINNER: Noah Wyle, The Pitt
Rufus Sewell, The Diplomat
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Fiona Dourif, The Pitt
Taylor Dearden, The Pitt
WINNER: Allison Janney, The Diplomat
Katherine LaNasa, The Pitt
Sepideh Moafi, The Pitt
Julianne Nicholson, Paradise
Karolina Wydra, Pluribus
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Patrick Ball, The Pitt
Billy Crudup, The Morning Show
Shawn Hatosy, The Pitt
Jack Lowden, Slow Horses
WINNER: Tom Pelphrey, Task
Carlos Manuel-Vesga, Pluribus
Gerran Howell, The Pitt
Outstanding Comedy Series
Abbott Elementary
The Bear
Nobody Wants This
Hacks
Margo’s Got Money Troubles
Only Murders in the Building
Shrinking
WINNER: Widow’s Bay
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary
Ayo Edebiri, The Bear
Elle Fanning, Margo’s Got Money Troubles
Lisa Kudrow, The Comeback
WINNER: Jean Smart, Hacks
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Steve Carell, Rooster
WINNER: Matthew Rhys, Widow’s Bay
Jason Segel, Shrinking
Martin Short, Only Murders in the Building
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Wonder Man
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Dale Dickey, Widow’s Bay
Hannah Einbinder, Hacks
Janelle James, Abbott Elementary
WINNER: Kate O’Flynn, Widow’s Bay
Megan Stalter, Hacks
Michelle Pfeiffer, Margo’s Got Money Troubles
Jessica Williams, Shrinking
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Colman Domingo, The Four Seasons
Paul W. Downs, Hacks
Nick Offerman, Margo’s Got Money Troubles
WINNER: Stephen Root, Widow’s Bay
Michael Urie, Shrinking
Tyler James Williams, Abbott Elementary
Harrison Ford, Shrinking
Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series
Leslie Bibb, Hacks
Jamie Lee Curtis, The Bear
WINNER: Betty Gilpin, Widow's Bay
Cherry Jones, Hacks
Laurie Metcalf, Hacks
Kaitlin Olson, Hacks
Lauren Weedman, Hacks
Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series
Christopher McDonald, Hacks
Michael J. Fox, Shrinking
Brett Goldstein, Shrinking
Hamish Linklater, Widow's Bay
WINNER: Rob Reiner, The Bear
Connor Storrie, Saturday Night Live
Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series
Tal Anderson, The Pitt
Brittany Allen, The Pitt
Tina Ivlev, The Pitt
Miriam Shor, Pluribus
Merritt Wever, The Gilded Age
WINNER: Shailene Woodley, Paradise
Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series
Colman Domingo, Euphoria
WINNER: Ernest Harden Jr., The Pitt
Jeff Hiller, Pluribus
Jeff Kober, The Pitt
Jonathan Pryce, Slow Horses
Bradley Whitford, The Diplomat
Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series
The Beast in Me
Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette
WINNER: DTF St. Louis
Beef
All Her Fault
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
Claire Danes, The Beast in Me
Sarah Pidgeon, Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette
WINNER: Sally Field, Remarkably Bright Creatures
Carey Mulligan, Beef
Sarah Snook, All Her Fault
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
WINNER: Matthew Rhys, The Beast in Me
Riz Ahmed, Bait
Jason Bateman, Black Rabbit
Charlie Hunnam, Monster: The Ed Gein Story
Oscar Isaac, Beef
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
WINNER: Linda Cardellini, DTF St. Louis
Constance Zimmer, Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette
Dakota Fanning, All Her Fault
Joy Sunday, DTF St. Louis
Youn Yuh-jung, Beef
Laurie Metcalf, Monster: The Ed Gein Story
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
Jason Bateman, DTF St. Louis
Richard Gadd, Half Man
Richard Jenkins, DTF St. Louis
WINNER: David Harbour, DTF St. Louis
Charles Melton, Beef
Nick Offerman, Death by Lightning
Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program
America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders
WINNER: Love on the Spectrum
RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked
Summer House
Welcome to Wrexham
Outstanding Structured Reality Program
WINNER: Antiques Roadshow
Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives
Love is Blind
Queer Eye
Shark Tank
Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality Competition Program
RuPaul Charles, RuPaul's Drag Race
WINNER: Alan Cumming, The Traitors
Kristen Kish, Top Chef
Ariana Madix, Love Island USA
Jeff Probst, Survivor
Outstanding Variety Series
The Daily Show
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver
WINNER: The Late Show With Stephen Colbert
Saturday Night Live
Outstanding Reality Competition Program
Dancing With the Stars
RuPaul’s Drag Race
Survivor
Top Chef
WINNER: The Traitors
Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded)
Dave Chappelle: The Unstoppable
WINNER: The Muppet Show
Nikki Glaser: Good Girl
Taylor Swift, The Eras Tour, The Final Show
Wicked: One Wonderful Night
Outstanding Host for a Game Show
Steve Harvey, Celebrity Family Feud
Ken Jennings, Jeopardy!
Colin Jost, Pop Culture Jeopardy!
WINNER: Jimmy Kimmel, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
Martin Short, Match Game
(Originally published June 23, 2026, at 1:57 p.m. PT)