Supernatural may be a show about hunting demons and tackling the paranormal, but it also sparked real-life love stories for many of its stars.
The fan-favorite CW drama, which ran for 15 seasons from 2005 to 2020, followed brothers Sam and Dean Winchester, played by Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles, respectively, as they travel across the country hunting demons, ghosts, and other paranormal creatures while uncovering dark family secrets.
But while the Winchesters were saving the world on screen, some cast members found lasting connections off screen as well.
Jared met his future wife Genevieve Padalecki on set while filming scenes for the role of the demon Ruby, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, the father of the Winchesters, met his wife Hilarie Burton through a castmate.
When the series finale aired on November 19, 2020, it marked an emotional goodbye between the actors and their beloved characters, but also a moment of gratitude for what the show brought to their lives.
Genevieve celebrated this chapter with a heartfelt tribute to her husband and their journey on Instagram.
“Jared, what you have given to Sam Winchester, the cast, the crew, the friends you have met, the family you have raised is immeasurable. You gave birth to a child as young as 23 years old, married the devil, walked away, and gave birth to three children,” she wrote.
From on-set encounters to behind-the-scenes romances, here are real-life love stories that began in the world of Supernatural.
Jared Padalecki and Genevieve Padalecki
Jared Padalecki/Instagram
Jared met his future wife, Genevieve, when she appeared as the demon Ruby on the set of Supernatural.
“I was a single guy and she was a pretty girl in her underwear on the first day of filming,” Jared told fans during a 2012 Supernatural panel. “I was so excited to meet her…I interrupted her while she was reading, and I think she was a little fussy about it.”
According to Sun Valley Magazine, Jared proposed in 2009 in front of Genevieve’s favorite painting, “Joan of Arc” by Jules Bastien-Lepage, at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. The two were married the following year in her hometown of Sun Valley, Idaho.
In 2010, Jared and Genevieve moved to Austin, Texas, where they raise their three children and a flock of chickens. Their first son, Thomas “Tom” Colton, was born on March 19, 2012, and their second son, Austin “Shep” Shepherd, was born at home on December 22, 2013. Jared and Genevieve welcomed their daughter Odette Elliott on March 17, 2017.
The two said goodbye to the show that brought them together in 2020. “Thanks to this show, we have been married for nearly 11 years, have three wonderful children, traveled the world together, and made amazing friends who have shaped us into the people we are today,” Genevieve wrote in X after the Supernatural finale.
In 2021, Jared and Genevieve reunited on screen in Walker, where they once again played a married couple.
“It was awesome to be able to present her to the cast and crew,” Jared tells PEOPLE. “She sacrificed so much while I was in Vancouver[while filming Supernatural]… She was often at home with the kids, changing diapers, making lunches. So it was really great to be able to bring her back with people with similar passions and interests. It’s good to flex those muscles again!”
jensen ackles and daniel ackles
Craig Barritt/Getty
Jensen married One Tree Hill actress Danneel Ackles in 2010.
The two shared the screen together before they started dating in the 2007 film Ten Inch Hero. However, unlike co-stars Jared and Genevieve, the two were married before Danielle appeared on Supernatural in 2018.
The couple married in Dallas in 2010, and on their eighth wedding anniversary, Daniil shared a series of photos from the occasion on Facebook, calling her husband “the most patient man on the planet.”
The couple currently have three children. They announced the birth of their first child, Justice Jay, on May 30, 2013, and three years later, Jensen and Danielle welcomed fraternal twins Zeppelin Blum and Arrow Rose.
Since then, they’ve taken on several projects together, launching Chaos Machine Productions in 2020, and their first project as co-executive producers was a Supernatural spinoff called The Winchesters.
Jensen and Danielle are also co-owners of Family Business Beer Company, a brewery that pays homage to Supernatural’s famous opener.
Misha Collins and Emily Farallon
Misha Collins/Instagram
Actor Misha Collins, who played the angel Castiel, was married to author Victoria Vantock for over 20 years. The couple had two children, son West and daughter Maison.
Collins confirmed her separation from Vantock in the acknowledgments for her 2021 poetry collection, Some Things I Still Can’t Tell You.
He appeared to debut his new relationship in August 2024 when he posted a photo of himself with Emily Farallon on Instagram at the Democratic National Convention.
“Emily was so excited to be here and finally allowed me to post a photo,” Collins wrote.
Since then, the two have shared photos of themselves hiking together and goofing around in the kitchen. In November 2025, Collins and Farallon posted an essay on Substack about their values and relationships.
Mark Shepherd and Sarah Louise Shepherd
Mark Shepherd/Instagram
Mark Shepard, who played the demon Crowley on Supernatural for seven seasons, met his wife Sarah Louise Shepard on the show.
According to Sarah’s Instagram, the pair first met at a Supernatural convention in Vancouver in 2014.
“It was supposed to be my last competition, but I was drinking with some friends…and this guy named Mark Sheppard waved us over to join. When we started talking, time seemed to stop,” she recalled.
Sarah, a longtime fan of the show, acknowledged conversations between Mark and fans about their date, pointing out on Instagram that “of course it should have happened,” but added that she and Mark were “real.”
The couple welcomed a daughter, Isabella Rose Shepherd, on March 1, 2016, as well as Mark’s two sons from a previous marriage.
In 2023, Mark credited Sarah with saving his life after suffering six heart attacks.
“I wouldn’t be writing this if it wasn’t for my wife, the Los Angeles Fire Department at Mulholland, and the amazing staff at Providence California at St. Joseph,” he wrote on Instagram.
Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Hilarie Burton
Jamie McCarthy/Getty
For Morgan, who played Sam and Dean’s demon-hunting father, love has also permeated his life through Supernatural.
Fellow cast member Jensen and his wife Danielle introduced Morgan to One Tree Hill actress Hilarie Burton on a blind date in 2009. The two hit it off right away and have been together ever since, and the following year their son, Augustus, was born. Their daughter, George Virginia, was born in 2018, and Morgan and Burton decided to officially marry in 2019.
Burton told PEOPLE that their decision to get married was all about being honest with each other and their relationship.
“We built this life together, we had kids together, and I think there comes a point where you don’t want to go through the next day by not being honest about that,” she said.
In 2021, the couple brought their love story to the big screen, co-starring on The Walking Dead. Burton plays Lucille, the late wife of Morgan’s Negan, whose infamous barbed wire baseball bat is named after Negan. Their son Augustus also made his acting debut playing a young zombie in the same episode.
Morgan said on Instagram that working with his wife was “the highlight of[his]career.”
Mark Pellegrino and Tracy Pellegrino
Mark Pellegrino/Instagram
Mark Pellegrino, best known to Supernatural fans as Lucifer, is married to director and acting coach Tracy Pellegrino.
According to IMDb, she’s best known for her work on Strangers in a Strange Land (2018), but she’s also had behind-the-scenes roles in many of Mark’s biggest projects, including Dexter, Lost, and Supernatural.
In a video shared on Tracy’s Instagram, Mark revealed that she often served as his on-set acting coach, “secretly supervising” him through scenes.
According to Tracy’s Instagram profile, the couple splits their time between Los Angeles and Paris and have been posting sweet photos together in the City of Love, including one of them kissing in front of the Eiffel Tower, which Mark captioned, “Lovers in paradise. Me and the lovely and wonderful @tracypellegrino.”
Rob Benedict and Ruth Connell
Amy Sussman/Getty
Rob Benedict, who played Chuck Shirley (aka God), shared the screen with Ruth Connell, who played Rowena, Queen of Hell.
The two developed a romantic relationship off-screen and announced their engagement on October 29, 2024, with Benedict telling PEOPLE that he proposed earlier this year, shortly before their first daughter, Margaret, was born.
“We have a lot of love and support from our older children,” he added of Audrey and Calvin with ex-wife Molly. “We are very happy and looking forward to the adventure.”
Connell also shared the birth news on Instagram, along with a cute photo of her newborn’s feet, writing, “In love. Long awaited. Thank you @robenedict. Love you Calvin and Audrey and all of our friends and family near and far.”
DJ Qualls and Ty Olson
Jerrod Harris/Getty Images, AMC; Action Press/Shutterstock
Actors DJ Qualls and Ty Olson also found love through the world of Supernatural, but they never actually met on set.
Qualls, who played the werewolf Garth on the series, announced his engagement to Olson, who played the vampire Benny, on the May 15, 2024 episode of the Locked and Probably Loaded podcast with Kelly Blackheart. He revealed that the two first met at a Supernatural convention and had a close friendship that lasted over 10 years before becoming romantically involved.
“Ty and I were instantly inseparable from the beginning,” Qualls said. “Over the past 10 years, our relationship has evolved to what it is today and we are now married.”
He also reflected on their bond. “Ty was the first person in my life that I had that connection with. I say just a friend. (He’s) the best friend I’ve ever had. And now we’re going to be old people together, which is really crazy,” Qualls said.
After the episode aired, congratulations poured in from fans. Mr. Olson then expressed his gratitude for X.
“Thank you for your love, support and kindness today 🙂 Sending you all love and hugs,” he said.
