The girl on the train! While Alexis Bledel and Vincent Kartheiser’s characters had a dramatic affair on Mad Men, the duo founded a sweet — but also highly secretive — relationship IRL.
After they met on the set of Mad Men in 2011 (Bledel played Beth Dawes, who got involved with Kartheiser’s Pete Campbell), Us Weekly exclusively confirmed the pair’s low-key romance in June 2012.
“They have been dating for a few months,” an insider shared at the time, noting that the “smart and charming” actor was “nothing like” his scheming TV character.
Less than a year later, Us broke the news in March 2013 that Kartheiser had subtly proposed to the Gilmore Girls actress.
“I’m a very lucky man. I keep saying ‘girlfriend.’ And then I’m like, ‘I mean, my fiancée!’” Kartheiser told Us at the Mad Men season 6 Hollywood premiere that same month.
While the duo continued to keep many details of their engagement — including notes about their early romance — under wraps, their costars confirmed that they’d always been rooting for them.
“I did know he liked her from a very early point. I was a supporter of that union,” the Minnesota native’s Mad Men costar Jon Hamm told Vulture in April 2014. Show creator Matthew Weiner chimed in: “They’re both very down to earth, with a sense of responsibility and strong family ties.”
Soon after, the couple quietly tied the knot in June 2014. “It was a small and intimate family affair,” a second source told Us of the Ojai, California, nuptials. “They wanted something relaxed and beautiful. Ojai was the perfect place.”
And the secrets didn’t stop there! In fall 2015, Bledel gave birth to a baby boy — a huge announcement that the pair kept private throughout the entire pregnancy. The word finally got out when Bledel’s Gilmore Girls costar Scott Patterson spilled the beans during a May 2016 Glamour interview.
“She’s really blossomed as a woman and now she’s a proud new mother and married and happy,” he told the magazine. “We’re comparing notes because my son [Nick, born July 2014] is about a year and a half older than her young son. I’m showing her photos and videos and what to expect. We’re just really enjoying each other’s company.”
Us broke the news in August 2022 that the actor filed for divorce from Bledel after eight years of marriage.
From Mad Men to baby, scroll to see a timeline of Bledel and Kartheiser’s relationship: