Hilarie Burton and Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s Relationship Timeline

Hilarie Burton Morgan and Jeffrey Dean Morgan have enthralled fans with their sweet relationship, which quickly evolved after they met in May 2009.

Burton Morgan hit it off with the Walking Dead actor instantly, thanks in part to her former One Tree Hill costar Danneel Ackles’ interference. Morgan, for his part, had his Supernatural costar Jensen Ackles to thank for introducing the pair that spring.

The couple didn’t tie the knot until October 2019, but throughout their first 10 years together, they grew in their love, and welcomed two children: Gus and George, in 2010 and 2018, respectively.

Two years later, the pair reflected on their introduction to one another and how they’ve evolved as a couple since their blind date.

“The smokin hot @jeffreydeanmorgan showed up and it was game over,” Burton Morgan recalled via Instagram in May 2021. “Here’s to being crazy kids, living all over the country, giving birth to two doppelgängers, getting gray hair and still being totally inappropriate … together.”

Scroll down to relive Burton Morgan and Morgan’s relationship highs and lows:

The pair were introduced by their mutual friends Jensen and Danneel Ackles. “I happened to be single and Jensen said, ‘I’ve got a girl you should meet,’” Morgan recalled to HuffPost in 2015. “So, I went to a bar and I met Hilarie at a bar with Jensen and Danneel, and the rest is history. … We ended up back at my house drinking shots of tequila.”

The couple made their red carpet debut at the Los Angeles premiere of Morgan’s film The Losers.

Us Weekly reported at the time that the pair secretly welcomed their first child, son August, “a few months ago” after dating for less than one year. “[We’re] really happy, and we’re a very good team. And we got very lucky that our family is what it is,” Burton Morgan told The Associated Press in August 2010, keeping her son’s birthdate under wraps.

Marriage rumors surfaced as the duo’s romance continued. Five years later, Burton Morgan addressed the speculation following their official wedding in October 2019. “For years, publications have reported that we got married in 2014 or 2015 and that I’ve been married and divorced before,” she wrote via Instagram. “All untrue. But WE knew our truth. So it felt silly to try and correct anything.”

Morgan and the Lethal Weapon alum bought Samuel’s Sweets in Rhinebeck, New York, alongside pals Paul Rudd and his wife, Julie, Andy Ostroy, Phoebe Jonas and John Traver, who started working at the shop when he was 15.

Burton Morgan guest starred on Extant as Anna Schaefer for six episodes. Morgan, for his part, played JD Richter on the series.

The twosome bought Mischief Farm in upstate New York after living in the area for years. The 100-acre space is home to cattle, miniature donkeys, dogs, chickens, ducks and alpacas. “On our very first date, we asked one another, ‘What do you want for the future?’ We both answered, ‘To live and raise a family on a farm,’” Burton Morgan and Morgan wrote on their farm’s official website. “The joy we have found in this lifestyle of hard work and chores and mountains of manure is something we wish for everyone. If you’re visiting us here at the virtual farm, our hope is that you too will declare what you want for your own future and take the risks necessary to see it happen.”

“Hey y’all … baby gal Morgan is spectacular. We just respecting her wishes for laying low a bit longer,” Morgan wrote via Instagram in March 2018, confirming the arrival of their daughter, George. “But we super appreciate all the well wishes n stuff. Thank you.”

“To my one and only … @hilarieburton there are no words to express to you, both my love … and incredible luck in fooling you into diggin me,” the Watchmen actor wrote via Instagram on the couple’s milestone anniversary. “10 years ago we met and that was that. So … not only happy anniversary, but more importantly? Happy Mother’s Day. Not a day goes by that we other three don’t know just how lucky we are. All the love. Always. Forever. PS: You sure are the pretty one.”

“This past weekend was the best of my entire life. Jeff and I just want to put it out there that WE GOT MARRIED! For real,” the Surprised by Love actress wrote via Instagram, revealing that the couple were legally married. “We’ve lived as husband and wife for a decade. We’ve built a family, and a farm and found our community.” She described the wedding as “private and magical and everything I dreamed.”

“Ten years ago, I was pregnant, unemployed, unsure about where I was gonna live or give birth and despite the bravado I may have projected, I was scared,” Burton Morgan wrote via Instagram while reflecting on the past decade with Morgan. “My whole life I’d thought I would follow the same path as everyone I’d grown up around. Have a steady job. Get married. Buy a house. Have kids. But the path didn’t unfold that way at all.”

She explained that 2019 was “incredibly good to our family” and that the wedding she thought she wanted at age 26 was “made so much sweeter by waiting.” The actress gave her husband a shout-out, adding, “My love for @jeffreydeanmorgan has evolved into something so much deeper and golden. Our children participated and were at our sides for all of it. It was the celebration of an entire decade. As I see all the year in review posts today, my entire year – my entire decade really – can be summed up in that one day.”

The actors teamed up to host AMC’s Friday Night In With the Morgans amid the coronavirus pandemic. “My husband pitched the show without even telling me. I think he saw me trying to maintain a healthy household for two little kids while also watching the news at night and becoming completely overwhelmed,” Burton Morgan told Architectural Digest in May 2020. “We want this half hour to be a lighthearted but sensitive space where people can go after a long week. It’s also nice for us because it’s the one hour out of the week that we get to be together. It feels nice to keep our AMC crew working, and it’s also good because we’ve been profiling the efforts that people across the country are making, including small business owners, farmers, and doctors. This idea of supporting as many people as possible was an important element to me.”

The Summer Villa star paid tribute to her husband ahead of the release of her book, The Rural Diaries, explaining how his support shaped her, their family and her writing. “But the biggest thank you of all goes to my forever Valentine, @jeffreydeanmorgan! This farm has seen us through so many ups and downs,” she shared via Instagram. “Births and losses. Being your teammate makes all the unexpected turns manageable. You have given me a life worth writing about, and I love you. Plain and simple. I love you.”

Burton Morgan played Morgan’s onscreen wife, Lucille, on The Walking Dead before the AMC series ended for good. “Working with her on this? Probably the highlight of my career. I sure know how lucky I am,” the Grey’s Anatomy alum wrote via Instagram.

Morgan revealed that he and his wife took their children to Massachusetts for a family vacation at the beach and gave Burton a special shout-out.

“We escaped for a few days to Cape Cod, a tiny 400sq ft cottage on the sand. Magical. It’s our last night here, and don’t want it to end because it was just… perfect,” the Walking Dead alum explained via Instagram. “@hilarieburton thank you. For everything. Always. To my punks… y’all kill me in the greatest of ways.”

The actress commented, “I adore you, Jeffrey. Let’s keep exploring together forever.”

As the final season of The Walking Dead started airing, Burton Morgan commented on her husband’s Instagram to let him know just how proud she is — and how sexy he is in character.

“Proud of you. Proud of your hard work and grateful for all the lifelong friendships this job has brought to our family,” the author commented. “And proud of how absof–kinglutely HOT Negan is. 💖”

Burton Morgan shared a “husband appreciation post” via Instagram to thank Morgan for all his support as she wrapped her true crime series It Couldn’t Happen Here.

“In the last few years, I’ve changed up jobs quite a bit. Producing. Writing. Podcasting. Every once in a while an acting job sparks my interest. And on top of that I’m creating chaos around the property, renovating rooms and adding to the garden and making a general mess,” she wrote in the lengthy caption.. “My husband @jeffreydeanmorgan has supported every bit of it.”

She continued, “He has supported me so thoroughly in this new chapter – from conception of the series, to filming, to releasing it out into the world. So I want to say thank you to the person who picks up the slack so I can disappear into work, and makes me feel capable of trying new things. You’re a catch. 💖”

“Boyfriend knows exactly when to send flowers. I love you @jeffreydeanmorgan .🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹,” Burton Morgan captioned a photo of her with the beautiful arrangement via Instagram. Morgan commented on the pic, writing, “Just cuz. Xxx.”

The duo announced via social media that they had teamed up to create Mischief Farms Libations, an alcohol brand that features whiskey and gin.

“My husband and I, we like classics — I’m wearing the same leather coat that I bought 12 years ago,” Burton Morgan told Bustle at the time, commenting on the premise of the brand. “We want things that are evergreen in our business, so coming with two liquors that we feel really proud of, that’s fun for us.”

She said of the name, which is also the moniker of their family farm, “Mischief is the fountain of youth. We have a sense of boldness when we’re young that gets beat out of us with taxes and all the grown-up s–t we have to do. We like to maintain a sense of curiosity about what we work on, so with these liquor flavors too, we’re like, ‘We don’t want to just do typical stuff that everybody else is doing.’”

The couple launched their alcohol brand, MF Libations, on Morgan’s 56th birthday. Burton Morgan shared a video of the inception of the company via social media before gushing over her husband on his special day.

“Jeffrey, you believed in mischief from day one. From the town square in Santa Fe to trick or treating in the Garden District of New Orleans, to the beaches of Miami, and the cobblestone streets of Spain …. you have made life a massive adventure,” she wrote. “And home is wherever we are all together. But the farm, and the sanctuary you’ve built there … that’s the thing I’m proudest of. So happy to be bottling that feeling with you and sharing it. Happiest Birthday babe.”

After Burton Morgan opened up having an abortion following a miscarriage, Morgan defended his wife’s decision via social media. “I got OPINIONS. You don’t like em? Piss off. Go follow someone else,” he tweeted alongside a photo of himself wearing a pro-Roe T-shirt. “I’m in a block n delete kinda mood today. Before you clap back with some bulls–t … read my wife’s last instagram post … and tell me I have no skin in the game.”

After the White Collar alum spoke out against Candace Cameron Bure’s controversial comments about portraying “traditional marriage” in her Great American Family Christmas movies when asked about same-sex characters on the network, Morgan had his wife’s back.

“How’d I miss this twit?! Who the f—k is this person? Hey Hil? You’re awesome. We lucky to have ya. X,” the actor tweeted before quoting his spouse’s post. “‘Make your money honey.’ Lol… cooked kids dinner and was laughing whole time. Wife has words AND timing.”

The married couple shared a kiss during a family outing at Disneyland.

The proud parents supported their son’s first play, a local production of A Christmas Carol.

“Like… I can’t even write this without getting choked up. It was Gus first time performing in anything like this… and with a large audience… I was WAY more nervous than Gus was! He killed it,” Morgan wrote in a lengthy tribute via Instagram.

Burton commented on the post saying: “Big ol tears streaming down your face. The sweetest. Love my boys. Xoxox.”

In response to a fan tweet calling Morgan the “top DILF of the year,” Burton Morgan replied, “Merry Christmas to me.”

The couple celebrated the 15th anniversary of their 1st date alongside Gus and George. 

“Fifteen years, @jeffreydeanmorgan asked me to come out Memorial Day weekend and visit him in New Mexico so he could take me on a date before I left the States to live in the apartment I’d rented in Paris,” Burton wrote via Instagram alongside a family photo. “It’s been a very long date 💖.” 

Jeffrey, for his part, commented on the post: “You forgot awesome. Long and real awesome. Xxx.” 

Burton Morgan and Morgan brought Gus and George to the 8th Canneseries International Festival, where they walked the red carpet as a family.