When Jennifer Love Hewitt reunited with Brian Hallisay while filming The Client List, it marked a turning point that neither could have fully predicted.
The two had previously appeared together on NBC’s Love Bites, but it was during their time portraying an estranged married couple on Lifetime’s drama in 2012 that their real-life relationship began to take shape.
Jennifer later told USA Today that she has “always been a hopeless romantic.” Soon after reconnecting professionally, they began dating in 2012, and their relationship quickly deepened.
By June 2013, they announced both their engagement and that they were expecting their first child, telling Us Weekly, “We’re so thrilled and happy to start a family.” On November 20 of that year, they married in a private ceremony. Six days later, their daughter Autumn James was born.
Jennifer later shared with E! News that she wore “the only thing in my closet that fit me!” describing it as a “really nice cotton maxi dress.”
A partnership built on family and shared work
Over the years, their family expanded with the birth of son Atticus James in 2015 and son Aidan James in 2021. Despite their public careers, the couple has made deliberate choices about how they raise their children.
Speaking to E! News in 2024, Jennifer reflected on how different the entertainment industry is today compared to when she started, especially with the rise of social media. When their daughter expressed interest in acting, she said their guidance was clear: “Stay in school, do that. Grow up. Wait until you’re a little bit older. Don’t take all of this on quite yet.”
Their professional paths have continued to cross as well. After Jennifer joined the cast of 9-1-1 in 2018, Brian later appeared alongside her in a recurring role. In 2019, she told Entertainment Tonight, “It was just lovely to be able to go to work together, for our kids to be able to see us go to work together. I was really proud of him.”
Brian reprised his role in 2024 and told Decider that their children and their friends have become devoted viewers. “They’ve literally been binging the show, so all these big Hulu numbers, I think my kids and their friends are at least partially responsible!” he said. “It’s been fun. They’re very invested. It’s very cute.”
In 2024, the couple also worked together on the Lifetime holiday film The Holiday Junkie. Jennifer celebrated the project on Instagram, writing, “I finally made a Christmas movie. I got to direct it. I got to fall in love on and off camera with my husband, who will also be the man of your dreams after you see this movie. But play it cool ladies. He is mine.”
“I wake up and choose Brian every day”
In 2020, during the height of COVID, the couple renewed their vows in their backyard with their children present. Reflecting on that moment, Jennifer told People in 2024, “It was very sweet, and it was so great for our kids to be there and have that as a memory. It was during [the height of] COVID, so we were just grasping for magic at that time. It really did become a magical time for us.”
As they celebrated 12 years of marriage on November 20, Jennifer shared anniversary photos on Instagram, captioning them, “12 years of being married to the man of my dreams. Happy Anniversary my love.”
She has also spoken candidly about the realities of balancing marriage, parenting three children, and full-time careers. In an interview with People, she described their long union as feeling “like 190 years in Hollywood.”
Most notably, she made clear what sustains their bond: “I really do wake up and choose Brian every day, and I would choose him every time.” She added, “I genuinely feel that way, even when he makes me crazy. And he continues to choose me, thank God.”
More than a decade after first reconnecting on set, their relationship remains defined by that daily decision — to choose each other, in public and in private.
