- Charlie Day starred on TV
- He starred with his wife on television
- Learn and Charlie Day's wife here
On It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, one of the best running gags is the obsession "Charlie" has with the unnamed coffeeshop "Waitress."
Most fans of the long-running sitcom are aware that the actors behind this screen combo—Charlie Day and Mary Elizabeth Ellis—are also married in real life. But it might come as a surprise to know that this romance was sparked long before Always Sunny and that the couple had acted together prior to the series.
How Charlie Day actually met wife Mary Elizabeth Ellis
Always Sunny premiered on FX in 2005 and, off-screen, Day and Ellis would tie the knot one year later in 2006. But their connection actually goes back to 2001, when they met one another while working on separate shows at a New York theatre, Ellis explained in 2018.
Reflecting on the origins of their relationship, Ellis said: "The professional answer is we met each other and thought each other were great, and had a very above the board, classy relationship. The true story is it's a one night stand that's still happening this many years later. So you know, just go for it, it might work out."
Close followers of their work will know that Day and Ellis also appeared together in a 2004 episode of Reno 911!, which predates their time on Always Sunny. In the episode, they played incestuous siblings. "We were dating at the time and asked if we could go in together," Ellis told Monster Fresh.
"We got to choose to either play a victim or perp, so we decided to be brother/sister lovers," she added. Of their roles in the edgy satire, Day joked: "Nothing says, 'This is the girl I want to marry,' like pretending she's your sister and making out with her to get a job."
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Always Sunny: Charlie Day & Mary Elizabeth Ellis are married
On Always Sunny, the dysfunctional "Charlie" and the "Waitress" even got together in season 12, but they broke it off not long after. But, in real life, Day and Ellis did marry in 2006, welcomed son Russell Wallace Day in 2011, and are still going strong today.
Ellis, also a TV writer and producer, hasn't appeared on Always Sunny since 2019. The couple celebrates their 18th wedding anniversary on March 4, 2024.
