15 pairs of on-screen siblings who dated in real life
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- In Hollywood, dating your costars is pretty common.
- However, there's something strange about seeing on-screen siblings date in the real world.
- Michael C. Hall and Jennifer Carpenter got married and divorced while playing siblings on "Dexter."
Love can be found anywhere, including your place of work — especially in Hollywood. Plenty of costars have blurred the lines between fact and fiction by falling in love in real life.
That doesn't mean it's not a little weird to find out that two actors who play siblings on-screen have taken their relationship from fake family to real romance.
In honor of Valentine's Day, here are 15 couples who played siblings in TV and movies, but dated in real life.
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Peter Krause and Lauren Graham played Adam and Sarah Braverman on NBC's "Parenthood" from 2010 to 2015, and during that time, they began dating.
"We couldn't stop talking," Graham told Good Housekeeping in 2016. "Not about ourselves, but about the world and books and family. Once we got together, there was no game play. It was like, 'You like me, and I like you.' It gave me an understanding of life: This is how things happen, and it's completely random."
In June 2022, People reported they'd "quietly" broken up the year prior after more than 10 years together.
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Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson had been married for five years when Wilson made, essentially, an extended cameo as Hanks' character Sam's sister, Suzy, in "Sleepless in Seattle." The two are still married today, and are one of Hollywood's longest-lasting couples.
We actually have Wilson to thank for Hanks' appearances in rom-com staples "Sleepless in Seattle" and "You've Got Mail" — Wilson introduced Hanks to writer/director Nora Ephron, according to a memorial he wrote for Ephron in Time.
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In "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," Matthew Broderick and Jennifer Grey played antagonistic siblings, but in real life, they were in love.
Broderick played Ferris, the epitome of a cool kid, while Grey played his sour older sister Jeanie, who only wanted to catch Ferris in his lies in the 1986 classic.
"I was as surprised as anyone when our relationship morphed from on-screen sibling rivalry to off-screen illicit romance," she wrote in her 2022 memoir, "Out of the Corner."
Their relationship was revealed to the world in August 1987 when, while driving together on vacation in Ireland, the two were involved in a serious car crash that left two people dead, People reported.
The pair were briefly engaged in 1988 but split up soon after, per E! News.
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Bill Hader and Anna Kendrick spent time together while filming the Disney+ holiday film "Noelle" in 2017. In the movie, Kendrick and Hader play Noelle and Nick, also known as Santa Claus' two adult kids. The film was eventually released in December 2019.
In January 2022, People reported the two on-screen Kringles had been dating for over a year.
"Anna has been dating Bill quietly for over a year," a source told People. "They're both hysterical so they must keep each other laughing all of the time. She's really, really happy."
During a March 2022 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Hader said he keeps his romantic life private out of respect for his kids — he has three daughters with his ex-wife, Maggie Carey.
People reported their breakup in June 2022.
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Michael C. Hall played the titular character in "Dexter," a serial killer with a code, while Jennifer Carpenter played Deb, his foul-mouthed adopted sister. The two went through many stages in their relationship, but their bond was the heart of the show.
In real life, Hall and Carpenter started dating in 2007, tied the knot in 2008, and announced their divorce in December 2010, per Entertainment Weekly. However, they kept working together for another three years, until "Dexter" aired its finale in 2013.
They even reunited in 2021 to once again play the Morgan siblings (albeit with Carpenter playing a ghost) for "Dexter: New Blood."
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Chris Pratt and Emily VanCamp both got their start on "Everwood," a teen drama that aired on the WB from 2002 to 2006. In it, VanCamp played Amy Abbott, while Pratt played her older brother Bright.
Pratt spoke about their relationship to TV Guide after the show ended. "We've pretty much gotten used to the response of, 'Eww, that's weird. That's creepy.' The people who know us are happy, and probably expected it to happen eventually. But yeah, every once in a while we get that one person that's like, 'That's really creepy. You just kissed your sister,'" Pratt joked.
"It never really weirded us out that we played brother and sister, because, you know, it's all fiction."
The pair ended up dating for a couple of years before breaking up in 2007.
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In "Brothers and Sisters," VanCamp played Rebecca Harper, a young woman who comes into the lives of the Walkers (the main focus of the series), and reveals that she is their half-sibling — their father had an affair with her mother, producing Rebecca. She then tries to build relationships with her new family.
The only issue? VanCamp and her on-screen half-brother, Annable (who played Justin), had palpable chemistry and were dating off-screen. The show then made the choice to have Rebecca actually not be their half-sibling, freeing up Rebecca and Justin to date on the show.
VanCamp and Annable began dating in 2007, according to E! News, but they broke up before VanCamp's character left the show in season four — Annable met his future wife, Odette, during season five.
"I looked like an idiot," Greg Berlanti, an executive producer, told EW in 2008. "Here were two young people who didn't grow up with each other, didn't know each other, but they had this electricity. There was nothing I could do."
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Maureen McCormick and Barry Williams played step-siblings on "The Brady Bunch," but "couldn't keep their hands off each other" off-screen.
McCormick and Williams played Marcia and Greg Brady for all five seasons of "The Brady Bunch," from 1969 to 1974. Toward the end of the show's run, McCormick and Williams developed feelings for each other.
McCormick wrote in her book, "Here's the Story: Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding My True Voice," that even she was creeped out sometimes to be kissing her brother, writing, "Oh my God! I'm kissing my brother. What am I doing?'
She wrote that their first kiss took place during the cast's trip to Hawaii in season four. But, she said, their relationship was an "on-and-off-again game," and they never officially became boyfriend and girlfriend.
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From 1999 to 2002, Shane West and Evan Rachel Wood played Eli and Jessie Sammler on ABC's "Once and Again." The show focused on their dad, Rick, and his attempts to move on after his divorce with a new woman, Lily.
A decade later, in 2009, the two were spotted together celebrating West's 31st birthday. "I think you can put two and two together," Wood said of their relationship status. "I won't confirm or deny it but I don't think I have to." She also added that West was her celebrity crush, per Just Jared.
But it didn't last long: The following year, Wood was engaged to Marilyn Manson.
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In "Roswell," Katherine Heigl and Jason Behr played siblings from a different planet. In real life, they dated for most of the show's run.
"Roswell" aired for three seasons from 1999 to 2002, and according to E! News, Heigl and Behr dated for almost all of the show's run, before breaking up in 2002.
On the show, they played Max and Isabel Evans, alien siblings who crash-landed in Roswell, New Mexico, and try their best to fit in with humanity, to varied levels of success.
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Doherty played the rebellious Brenda Walsh for the first four seasons of ""Beverly Hills, 90210" before being written off, while Priestley played her twin, the more popular Brandon, during seasons one through nine (he was shown in archival footage for the 10th and final season in 2000).
In his book, "Jason Priestley: A Memoir," Priestley wrote, "Various combinations of people slept with each other over the years. Nobody ever got attached. We never let it get in the way of what we were doing. I will let you know that nobody ever got — work always superseded everything."
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The two played step-siblings Boone and Shannon during "Lost's" first two seasons, with Boone's death at the end of season one being one of the most shocking moments of the show. Throughout the course of the season, it gradually was revealed that Boone was into his step-sister, and she took advantage of those feelings rather frequently.
In real life, the two dated from 2006 to 2007, a year after Somerhalder's character was killed off.
"Ian and I are still very good friends," Grace told New You in 2015.
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Amy Poehler and Will Arnett were already married when they played incestuous siblings in "Blades of Glory."
Poehler and Arnett, who were married from 2003 to 2016, costarred as the ice-skating Van Waldenberg siblings, the villains of the film. The two clearly have a vibe throughout the film, but it all comes to a head at the end of the film when they kiss.
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Selena Gomez and David Henrie dated while costarring in "The Wizards of Waverly Place."
Gomez and Henrie never publicly confirmed their romance, but there was much speculation about the two on-screen Russo siblings, who reportedly went on a few dates in 2010, and were spotted together in 2014.
No matter what, the two have remained good friends. Gomez attended Henrie's wedding in 2017, and the two teamed up for 2020's "This Is the Year," which Henrie directed and Gomez produced.
They also reunited in 2024 for the sequel series, "Wizards Beyond Waverly Place."
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Alley and Stevenson were married from 1983 to 1997, but the two had been together for even longer before tying the knot.
While they were married, Alley began starring in the historical miniseries "North and South," which released its first installment in 1985. She played Virgilia Hazard, the sister of the main character, George Hazard (James Read). There was another Hazard sibling, Billy, who was played by John Stockwell in the first season.
When season two returned in 1986, Billy had been recast and was played by Alley's husband, Stevenson.
According to Alley, at the time, she was also falling in love with her other "North and South" costar, Patrick Swayze.
"We did not have an affair," she told "Entertainment Tonight" in 2012. "But again, I think what I did was worse. Because I think when you fall in love with someone when you're married, you jeopardize your own marriage and their marriage. It's doubly bad."
There were no hard feelings on Stevenson's part, though. After Alley's death in 2022, her ex-husband shared his feelings on her passing on Instagram.
"Dear Kirstie, I am so grateful for our years together, and for the two incredibly beautiful children and now grandchildren that we have. You will be missed," he wrote.