Who is Jared Padalecki's wife Genevieve Cortese? How 10-year marriage began as a 'Supernatural' love story
Jared Padalecki might have slain demons for 15 years in The CW's hit series 'Supernatural', but if you ask his wife, Genevieve Cortese, he married 'demon and spawned three children'. And if that isn't adorable, what is? Joining the ranks of celebrities whose new-age goofiness on social media is what makes them so charming are Padalecki and Cortese who just celebrated their 10h wedding anniversary. The two had met all the way in 2008 on the sets of the same series that became Padalecki's brand after his stint as Dean Forester in 'Gilmore Girls'. But 11 years later, as the actor gears up to put his cowboy hat on as the titular ranger in The CW's 'Walker', Cortese and his romance still continue with regular date nights even after three kids.
Padalecki and Cortese met when she guest-starred as Ruby in the fourth season of Supernatural. The two actors got time to know each other better in advance before they actually went out, something that Padalecki thinks was a blessing. It was a short year of dating before Padalecki proposed to Cortese at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in October 2009. The two kept it a secret until January 2010, just a month before their snowy Idaho wedding in February 2010. “What made it work is that we got to know each other for about four months before we went on a date,” Padalecki later explained during a 2012 Supernatural panel.
It was around the same time that the couple was bracing themselves for the first of their three children. In October 2011, the little over a year old married couple revealed that they were expecting their first child, and in March 2012, their son Thomas was born. Before Thomas came to his world, Padalecki had gushed about taking care of Cortese during her pregnancy. “I’ve been trying to do everything I can to be the classic father: When she needs ice cream, I go get ice cream. If she needs a foot massage, I do the foot massage,” he told Us Weekly in January 2012. “I’ve [been] doing everything I possibly can.” He also noted: “Obviously I’ve been working, so I can’t be there all the time when she needs me, but I make sure she has what she needs when she needs it and when I get home at night.”
Cortese was pregnant again the next year, and the couple's second child, another son, Sheperd was born in December 2013. With their blissful family growing, Padalecki found himself opening up about his depression and a need for a hiatus in 2015. After Canceling a convention appearance, the actor tweeted: “I am in desperate and urgent need of my family. I am so sorry to tell you this but I must head home.” Elaborating further to Us Weekly, he explained "I was 17 years old when I moved to Los Angeles, and I just kind of got into a habit. … Everything was like, work, work, work, work, do, do, do, do,” he told Us in June 2015. “And the last summer, my life has changed a lot. I have a wife. I have two sons, and so I really needed a chance to just unplug. And it was the best thing I’ve ever done. I’ll probably do it every year.”
The couple's third child, daughter Odette, was born two years later in 2017. And although the couple took time off to enjoy running marathons and indulging in activities together, tragedy befell in November 2019, when 'The House of Wax 'star was arrested in October on two misdemeanor counts of assault. Cortese showed her support and strength for her husband via an Instagram post. “‘Owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing that we’ll ever do.’ – @brenebrown,” she shared following the incident.
Things looked better in a few short months when the couple reached the tenth-anniversary milestone on February 27, 2020. "Ten years ago today, I was able to convince my best friend to marry me,” Padalecki gushed via Instagram. “I can’t even imagine what I must have done in a past life to deserve to be able [to] spend THIS one with this phenomenal women [sic]. I am the luckiest man alive. Love you baby. Here’s to 10 THOUSAND more.” In her post about the day, the 'Wildfire' actress wrote: “10 years ago today I said ‘I do. The snow started to fall and we sealed our fate. We’ve grown a million different ways and back over the last 10 years but we’ve always grown together. I’m so lucky it’s you. I’d do it all over again. Here’s to 100 more.”
When Padalecki's long-running show Supernatural wrapped final day of filming in September 2020, Cortese shared a sentimental tribute to the journey, writing on Instagram: "Jared, what you have given to [your character] Sam Winchester, to the cast, the crew, the friends you’ve met, the family you’ve grown, is immeasurable,” she wrote. “You walked in [as] a young kid of 23 and walked away married to a demon and spawned 3 children. I am so proud of this adventure and everything you gave to it.” When the final episode aired in November 2020, the actress shared throwbacks of “the first pics I ever took on the set of #Supernatural. It’s a bittersweet evening in our home. Tonight is the last new episode of SPN. Something that’s been with us (or at least my husband) for 15(!) years. It’s no secret that @jaredpadalecki and I fell in love on Supernatural. Because of this show, we’re now celebrating almost 11 years married, 3 amazing kids, traveling the world together and making incredible friends who have formed and shaped who we are today.”
It's all sunshine and bliss, with countless marathons, hiking, social media couple goals and fun activities together. How do they keep the romance intact? "Jared and I have been together for 11 years and married for nine. Throw three kids in the mix and a career that takes him to Canada most the year, and keeping the romance alive can be hard,” she shared in a blog post from August 2019. “As boring as it sounds, we’ve found that the best way to reconnect is to schedule a date night (or day) as often as possible. Our goal is weekly, but that happens pretty much never. I’m happy if we can reconnect and do something fun together, just us, twice a month.”