She played a Soviet spy for six seasons, but Keri Russell's most daring double life during the filming of The Americans was entirely her own. In a delightfully candid appearance on Chelsea Handler's Dear Chelsea podcast, the actress has revealed the full, unfiltered story of how she and co-star Matthew Rhys fell head over heels — and into every available trailer — while secretly falling in love on set.
Pearls, Wigs and 'Insanity'
Russell and Rhys met when they were cast as married Soviet spies Elizabeth and Philip Jennings on the FX Cold War drama, which ran for six seasons from 2013 to 2018. What viewers didn't know at the time was that the chemistry onscreen was very much carrying over behind the scenes — costumes and all.
"We were falling in love and staying up all night and having sex all the time and just wearing disguises — I'm in crazy wigs and wearing pearls. It was insanity. It was so fun and sneaky, and sexy, and so good."
The pair had actually first crossed paths years earlier, at a kickball party in Los Angeles in the early 2000s, when a slightly worse-for-wear Rhys left what he later described as a "very drunken message" on Russell's answering machine after asking for her number. She had apparently forgotten the whole incident entirely by the time they were cast together — it wasn't until stunt training on The Americans that Rhys reminded her of their first meeting. They went public with their romance in 2014, two years into filming, and welcomed their son Sam in 2016.
'The House Is Mine. The Bed Is Mine.'
More than a decade on, Russell was equally candid about how the relationship works in practice — including the stretches of time they spend apart due to their respective acting commitments. With Rhys preparing for a five-month work period in the UK, Russell seemed remarkably unbothered, describing their time apart as something of a gift.
"We have this gift of being apart a lot. And that is the way to do it. The house is mine. The bed is mine. The rules are mine."
She also raised a laugh with her blunt take on the idea of romance in later life. "Even having sex with someone new sounds like a lot of work," she admitted, which is perhaps the most relatable thing any 50-year-old has ever said on a podcast.
Why She's Never Walking Down the Aisle Again
Russell was previously married to carpenter Shane Deary, with whom she shares two children, son River and daughter Willa Lou. But when Handler pressed her on whether she and Rhys might ever make things official, Russell was characteristically breezy about it.
"I've had a big party. I get to dress up all the time," she joked. "People used to have to be married to have a credit card. We can have credit cards now. I don't need my last name to go away. I'm cool. If you want to be here, be here. If you don't, that's cool too."
She was quick to point out that marriage feels beside the point given what they already share. "P.S., we have kids, so that's forever," she said. "To me, it's antiquated." Handler, for her part, admitted she finds long-term relationships without marriage "sexier" because both parties must keep actively choosing each other — a sentiment Russell fully endorsed. "That's right, you've got to show up," she agreed.
Rhys, it seems, has always respected that position. During his 2018 Primetime Emmy acceptance speech, he quipped that Russell had warned him: "If you propose to me, I will punch you clean in the mouth."
The Emmy Snub That Wasn't
Russell also addressed something that had raised a few eyebrows — Rhys failing to thank her during his acceptance speeches at the 2026 Emmy Awards, where he won best actor in both a comedy series and a limited series for his roles in Widow's Bay and The Beast in Me. Rather than any sign of trouble, it turns out the omission was entirely her idea.
"We're both nervous people. We're not in that world that much. We visit that world," she explained. When Rhys admitted his biggest fear was having to speak publicly, Russell told him simply: "Take me off your plate. You don't have to thank me — I know you love me."
It is, in its own way, a rather lovely snapshot of a couple who have been quietly doing things on their own terms for over a decade — no marriage certificate required.
