Relive Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone's 24-Year Love Story

McCarthy and Falcone first crossed paths when they were teenagers, but McCarthy didn't realize it until after Falcone jogged her memory. Though they hadn't talked, the two had seen each other in passing. During their joint appearance on the Aug. 24, 2021, episode of "Late Night with Seth Meyers," McCarthy recounted their first encounter. "I went to college at SIU Carbondale, Southern Illinois, which is where Ben grew up. He's three years younger than me. So I was a freshman when he was still in high school. And when we became friends in LA, like a week into it, he was like, 'Oh, my God. I know who you were,'" the "Bridesmaids" actress revealed.

While McCarthy didn't believe he was telling the truth, when Falcone recalled that he was "afraid" of her, she instantly went, "Oh, my God. That was me!"

"It was probably the dead of summer, and she had a very heavy cape and kind of a nice shade of blue hair," Falcone added, to which McCarthy quipped, "And his eyes just went to hearts."

McCarthy and Falcone officially met 10 years later at The Groundlings, an improv and sketch comedy theatre in LA. They had signed up for the same comedy writing class, and McCarthy immediately took a liking to Falcone after watching his improv on day one of the course. "Ben got up there and was so quiet and was just very peculiar," she revealed in an October 2018 episode of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show." "He was playing an inmate that really liked his new roommate. He kept calling it a roommate, I believe. And he was so quiet. And I realized that everybody, myself included, we had all, like — we were leaning forward, listening. And he's the only one that went really quiet. And I immediately was like, 'Oh, he's strange. I like him.' And we were friends from, like, day one."

During a June 2022 appearance on "The Late Late Show," the couple shared that they knew pretty early into their after-class hang out at the dive bar, The Snake Pit, that they had a connection. "I knew I was pretty sweet on him, for sure, like from day one. He was the only person I was like, 'I like you. That's it. I'm done. I'm done shopping,'" McCarthy told James Cordon.

McCarthy and Falcone shared the screen in Amy Sherman-Palladino's beloved dramedy, "Gilmore Girls." While McCarthy starred in the show as the talented chef and Lorelai Gilmore's best friend, Sookie St. James, for its seven-season run, Falcone made a cameo in season three, episode 20, titled "Say Goodnight, Gracie." Playing Mr. Brinke, a lawyer attending Fran's funeral, Falcone shared a scene with McCarthy in the episode.

After a seven-year courtship, the two comedians tied the knot in an intimate ceremony in 2005.

In Jan 2007, McCarthy and Falcone announced they were expecting their first baby together. "We are so excited about the baby," McCarthy told People, adding, "I hope the baby has a lot of Ben's calm traits and less of my spazzy ones." On May 5, 2007, the "Life Of The Party" actress and Falcone welcomed a baby girl, who they named Vivian Falcone.

The pair announced they had welcomed their second daughter, Georgette, into the world on March 22, 2010. At the time, McCarthy was gearing up to film the CBS sitcom "Mike & Molly" and returned to the set only four months after giving birth to Georgette.

In a June 2022 interview with E! News, McCarthy opened up about her daughters' potential acting careers. "I think we both just want them to do something they really love and to feel good about themselves doing it," she said. "It could be a gecko catcher in the Galapagos Islands or could be acting or — they're both very artistic. So, I just want them to be happy and to kind of lead with kindness."

While "Gilmore Girls" was the breakout role for McCarthy on television, her hilarious turn in the 2011 blockbuster "Bridesmaids" firmly planted her on the Hollywood map. In the comedy movie, McCarthy's Megan starred against Falcone's undercover air marshal, Jon. Their onscreen chemistry is apparent from the moment they share the frame, all the way to the postcredit, racy home video of the pair.

When McCarthy's sidesplitting performance in "Bridesmaids" earned an Oscar nomination, the couple hit the red carpet at the 2012 ceremony all smiles. Though McCarthy lost the Best Supporting Actress category to Octavia Spector for her role in "The Help", McCarthy and Falcone's loved-up snaps from the red carpet were the real winners of the night.

Falcone made a guest appearance as a motel reception clerk in McCarthy's action-comedy "Identity Thief." According to Yahoo, the actor was in Atlanta looking after their two girls when the filming was taking place. When director Seth Gordon approached Falcone about a cameo in the film, he was down, and that's how his small performance ended up in the film.

"Tammy" marked the first big project where the husband and wife juggled many creative roles — the pair cowrote and coproduced the road comedy, with McCarthy starring in the lead role and Falcone at the helm. The movie was released under their production company, On the Day, which the Hollywood couple launched in 2013. Talk about power couple goals!

The adorable couple decided to go biblical with their Halloween costumes in 2015. McCarthy was decked in black garb as a nun, while Falcone convincingly dresses up as a priest as they posed for a Halloween snap.

McCarthy and Falcone teamed up for another comedy flick, "The Boss." The comedy duo cowrote the screenplay with, once again, McCarthy starring in the project and Falcone directing his wife. This collaboration is even more special as their daughters made a cameo in the movie, making it a sweet family affair!

Falcone wrote his first book, titled "Being A Dad Is Weird: Lessons in Fatherhood from My Family to Yours," a lighthearted memoir detailing his experience of fatherhood as the couple raises their two daughters. McCarthy wrote a touching foreword for the book, which shares many hilarious anecdotes about their family.

After years of creating magic in Hollywood movies as a couple, the duo returned to the small screen with the comedy series "Nobodies." McCarthy and Falcone play themselves in the show, in which a group of actor/comedians struggle to hit it big while their fellow Groundlings members have achieved fame and fortune before them.

McCarthy knows the key to Falcone's heart is deviled eggs, or so we are told in the Instagram post shared by her hubby. "Love is knowing I want deviled eggs more than chocolate. Thank you @melissamccarthy – Happy Valentine's. Love you!" the caption read.

McCarthy and Falcone celebrated 13 years of marriage — and 20 wonderful years together — with a perfect night in at their home. However, they weren't alone and didn't seem to mind it all that much. "We had a very romantic evening at our house with Richard E. Grant, which I thought was kind of lovely," McCarthy spilled on "The Ellen Show." McCarthy described her "Can You Ever Forgive Me?" costar as "the most delightful person on Earth." "But he found out on the way home. He's like, wait, 'Is this our anniversary?' I'm like, 'Yes. You're the gift.' And then we just ate hamburgers," she said.

When asked about the presents they exchanged to mark the occasion, McCarthy gave her spouse a Jitterbug, or as she explained, "phone for senior citizens." Falcone, on the other hand, swept her beau off her feet with "two beautiful rings, one that said 'Love.'"

"So I need to work on my romance skills, I think," McCarthy joked.

The dynamic duo joined forces for two movies that came out in 2018 — "Life Of The Party" and "Can You Ever Forgive Me?" The latter even locked in a second Oscar nomination for McCarthy, who earned a nod for best actress in a leading role.

You know what they say about how couples eventually morph into one another over time. That seemed to be the case for the McCarthy and Falcone who showed up at the Vanity Fair Oscars Afterparty wearing matching Adidas tracksuits.

McCarthy was behind the creative wardrobe choice, but Falcone was so into the idea that he was on board instantly. "I just thought, like, 'Should we change?' And I was like, "Oh, I have an idea!'" McCarthy told Entertainment Reporter about the outfit switch.

"When I heard that, I was like, 'Oh, God, yes. 150 percent yes; let's do this,'" Falcone added. Rocking a comfy coordinated athleisure outdoors has got to be an advanced level rite of passage in a relationship, and these two are the living proof of it!

For their 15th wedding anniversary, both artists shared sweet messages on social media, with a little spritz of humor, as per usual. "15 years ago today I married the kindest, funniest and weirdest human I've ever met. Grateful every single day!!!" wrote McCarthy alongside a throwback picture of the couple kissing on their big day.

Meanwhile, Falcone posted a cryptic photo of his wife wearing a blond wig with a floral headband and boho-chic attire while holding two cute rabbits in her arms. "Was scrolling through my phone and came across this photo. Can't remember seeing it before," he wrote in his message. "Two things: A) I'm so lucky and grateful to be married to such a lovely, smart, kind, and wonderful person B) why is there a skunk in the picture? Happy fifteenth Anniversary, Mooch! Here's to 500 more (I am assuming we will kinda be robots for 400 of those years)."

Bringing back last year's robotic anniversary inside joke, Falcone shared a happy picture of the two cutting a rug as husband and wife for the very first time. "Sixteen years ago today, I was lucky enough to marry the most wonderful person in the world. Happy Anniversary Mooch! Love you, here's to 400 more (for a few of those I am assuming we shall need to be at least partially robotic beeeeeep!)," he captioned the image.

McCarthy and Falcone have come together for Netflix's latest comedy series, "God's Favorite Idiot." The story centers on Falcone's Clark, who becomes an unwitting messenger of God, and hilarity ensues as he struggles to navigate this new role and has to enlist the help of his pals to save the world. The sixteen-part series hits the streamer in two parts, with its first eight episodes now streaming.