Read in 5 minutesBear star Abby Elliott has been in the spotlight since the early 2000s, when she was a cast member on Saturday Night Live. Her former partner Bill Kennedy is also in the industry and is a successful screenwriter and producer. They married in 2016, but in 2026 the former couple filed for divorce.
Here’s everything you need to know about Elliott’s relationship with Primetime Emmy nominee Bill Kennedy.
Kennedy and Elliott met while working together.
According to The Knot, the pair met on the set of the 2014 comedy film Sex Ed, written by Kennedy and starring Elliott. After filming wrapped, the cast went out to dinner, and Kennedy and Elliott shared lobster macaroni and cheese, Entertainment Tonight reported. However, their romantic relationship did not happen immediately. According to Entertainment Tonight, the two separated after the project ended, but reunited in 2014 when Kennedy contacted her and asked her to “see a scene in the movie.” That encounter turned into a date.
Elliott and Kennedy married in 2016.
Elliott told The Knot that Kennedy proposed on October 28, 2015.
“I think we’ve been together for a year and a half. It was a surprise,” she said. “He did it in our apartment, and it was beautiful. There were flowers everywhere.”
The two got married in late September 2016. According to People, the couple made their day more private by involving their families in a special way. Not only did Elliott’s engagement ring previously belong to Kennedy’s grandmother, but the actress also featured a performance by her sister Bridie Elliott, who commissioned her uncle to do the calligraphy for the menu and table numbers.
Elliott told Martha Stewart Weddings that she wore a tulle dress by Leanne Marshall for the wedding at her parents’ home. Kennedy was her “something blue” in a custom blue Duca Sartoria suit.
they have two children.
On October 23, 2020, Elliott shared the news on Instagram that he and Kennedy were expecting their first child.
“❤️Edith Pepper Kennedy❤️,” she wrote in the caption, along with a black-and-white photo of Kennedy holding their newborn. “The love of our lives.”
She announced her pregnancy the previous month in a post celebrating their four-year anniversary.
The caption read, “Happy 4th Anniversary! Here’s to many more amazing adventures with you. The best of them is coming next month ❤️.”
Shortly before announcing her pregnancy, Elliott revealed on The Kelly Clarkson Show that she was undergoing IVF treatment.
“This is hardcore. So this Valentine’s Day, I’m going to get shot in the butt by my husband. It’s so romantic,” she joked, before adding more seriously, “It’s so hormonal and so many people go through this and I don’t think we as women talk about it enough. We need to be more understanding and aware.”
In January 2023, she revealed that she was pregnant again. And on June 12, 2023, the actress shared Instagram and revealed that she was expecting her second child.
“🩵William “Billy” Joseph Lanny Kennedy IV 🩵 6 lbs 7 oz June 9, 2023 5:10pm 🩵 Heartbroken, we love you so much,” she wrote.
Kennedy is also a television writer and producer.
Kennedy has screenwriting credits on House of Cards, The Morning Show, Tell Me Rise, An American Odyssey, and the film Sex Ed. He also worked as a producer on “House of Cards” and “Life on the Line,” and as a supervising producer on “The Morning Show” and “Tell Me Rise.”
In a conversation with Duke University’s Alumni Magazine, he revealed that he originally pursued a career in finance before two creative writing professors encouraged him to pursue his first love, writing.
He attended the university’s Duke in New York program, interned at the Weinstein Company, and spent summers “working 10 hours a day without pay and reading as many scripts as he could,” the magazine wrote. After graduating from college in 2007, Kennedy moved to Los Angeles and took a job at the production company Media Rights Capital.
Kennedy initially intended to become a producer, but never stopped writing on the side. According to the magazine, he met director Isaac Feder on his second day in Los Angeles, who asked him to write the screenplay for Sex Ed. It took him three years to complete the script, during which time he wrote it at night after his day job.
“I was still thinking about going to law school if this didn’t work out,” he told the magazine. “But I didn’t want to be in a situation where I’d been working in the industry for eight years and I wasn’t getting any traction because I wasn’t writing or I wasn’t working hard.”
Kennedy left his job at Media Rights Capital after three years and asked his boss if he could set up a meeting with House of Cards creator Beau Willimon because the company was producing a Netflix series. They did, and Willimon and he connected. A month later, Willimon hired Kennedy as an assistant writer on House of Cards.
He told Creative Principles Podcast host Brock Swinson that the opportunity was a pivotal moment in his career.
“It was a very formative experience for me,” he said. “I was able to throw a lot in the room and was promoted to staff writer for Season 2 (of House of Cards).”
Kennedy is also credited as a producer for all 13 episodes of Season 5 (2017). In September of the same year, Kennedy was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series for her work on House of Cards. He walked the carpet with Elliott, who wore a sparkling dress with a slit down the leg. Kennedy wore a black tuxedo and a bow tie.
Elliott frequently posts about Kennedy on social media.
While Kennedy has been open about her personal life on Instagram, Elliott has taken to social media to support her husband.
On June 18, 2023, Elliott paid tribute to Father’s Day. She posted several photos of Kennedy and her children.
“Happy Father’s Day to this amazing dad 🩷🩵 We love you more than anything,” she wrote in the caption.
She also posted about him the previous year.
Kennedy and Elliott attend an event together.
Elliott and Kennedy are enjoying their red carpet date. In February 2024, they attended Netflix’s SAG Gala in coordinating black looks. Elliott’s fitted dress featured embroidered details along the sides.
They also attended the 2024 Golden Globe Awards together, again wearing black.
They walked the red carpet at the 76th Emmy Awards in September 2024.
On February 23, 2025, they attended the 31st Screen Actors Guild Awards ceremony held at the Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall in Los Angeles.
And in March, he attended the Elton John AIDS Foundation’s 33rd Academy Awards viewing party.
Elliott filed for divorce in July 2026.
On July 17, Elliott filed for divorce from Kennedy, according to court documents obtained by TMZ. The filing lists the separation date as July 8, and she cited “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for the separation. She was said to be seeking joint legal and physical custody of the children.
