Alan Ritchson is currently in the spotlight for his portrayal of Jack Reacher in the show Reacher.
You might also know him from his other roles in 'Fired Up!' and even Aquaman in Smallville. What
you might not know is that this great muscle man met his wife in the most surprising way … in fact,
he tried to keep the story of how they met a secret. From struggles with sobriety
to frightening car accidents, Alan and his wife Catherine have stood by each other through it all.
While his career is currently booming, one thing that he's already built for
himself is a flourishing family life. He's been happily married to his wife,
Catherine Ritchson, for the past sixteen years, and he's also a father of three boys.
Alan and Catherine probably have one of the cutest love stories yet.
They're high school sweethearts who met in one of the most unlikely places …
During an interview, the actor was asked how he met his wife, and he confessed,
"Can we keep this between us? It was in ballet."
Alan seemed a little shy when speaking about his dancing past, but naturally,
fans went wild when they saw an old photograph of the actor and his then
future wife in costume from their dance show "Guys and Dolls."
Ritchson was beaming next to Catherine, wearing a fancy tie topped with a fedora.
The actor was so shocked to see the throwback to his past that he responded,
"Where did you find this!"
Back in the days that he and Catherine used to dance together, before their performances, she
used to bring him cookies backstage - which only meant that she knew the ultimate way to his heart.
Dancing in fancy costumes and eating cookies, it was clear that there was
only one direction their relationship was moving. Alan gushed, "Of course I fell in love," he said.
In addition to meeting his future wife, high school also marked the time when
Ritchson first started growing the muscles that would serve him in his latest role.
The actor described himself as a "late bloomer." and confessed that by the age of 17,
he still hadn't hit puberty. So, he decided to take matters into his own hands.
He explained, "If I'm not going to hit puberty, I'm going to work out and get muscles."
After finally going through a growth spurt, combined with his strict exercise routine,
his body seemed to change "overnight," he said. By the time senior year came around,
he had become famous as the guy with the "best physic" in the school.
Alan first started his career in the entertainment industry when he appeared as
one of the contestants on American Idol. After his on-screen debut in The Butcher as Mark,
he began his acting journey. In 2016 he undertook movies like Black Mirror and sequel movies,
Blue Mountain State: The Rise of Thadland and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of Shadows.
There isn't that much known about their personal lives as a couple;
Alan has done his best to keep his private life out of the spotlight as his fame grew. What we do
know is that the high school sweethearts married in 2006 and have been going strong ever since.
The Grand Forks, North Dakota native actor's wife, Catherine, is an American producer and writer.
Catherine has gone on to make a name for herself in the entertainment
industry as a producer. She's produced films like the 2017 short movie 'TreeHouse Time Machine'
and even worked as the writer of the film 'Employee 665'.
After working at Comedy Central as a development intern and the University of
Florida as its financial teaching assistant, she finally partnered up with her hubby at AllyCat
Entertainment - a production company that was founded by Alan himself. Even though she is the
wife of a famous celebrity, she's still been able to keep her personal life pretty private.
In 2012, they welcomed their first son, Calem. Their second son, Edan,
joined their family two years later, and then they welcomed another boy, Amory, just one year later.
With a fast-growing family, the couple remained
determined to be the best parents but also the best partners to each other.
For their 15-year wedding anniversary, Alan commemorated their special day with
a lengthy and emotional Instagram post that gave a little insight into their marriage.
He captioned, "15 years ago today two kids got married. They had no idea what splendid and
terrible things lie ahead of them when they made that vow to remain each other's partner in life,
come what may. Despite the precarious highs and suffocating lows, they're still holding hands,"
He also admitted that he and his wife faced their fair share of struggles during their time
together, sharing that they "had to wonder how they would survive till the end of the month,"
but that there were also times when "they wondered how things got so good."
He ended his post with,
"Happy 15 years @catritchson – I don't deserve you and the memories we make."
"The suffocating lows" Alan mentioned in his post
might have been referring to his wife's previous struggle with addiction to alcohol
and the difficult journey to sobriety she's been on for the past few years to stay sober.
Catherine has been open about her battle with sobriety and updates her Instagram
every year to mark another year of sobriety for herself. She's been sober since 2018,
and since then, she even counsels others who want to live a life free
of alcohol and encourages them not to be intimidated by society's drinking culture.
Throughout her journey, Alan has been there for her and never left her side,
no matter how difficult things got or how impossible they seemed.
He stood by her because he knew that she needed the support to get through it.
Most importantly, the couple has been open to sharing their journey with the world
and their fans because they know how important it is to let other
people who are going through the same thing know that they aren't alone.
In January of 2022, Catherine and their kids were involved in a car accident after their
truck was rear-ended at a stop sign by another car, going 45 miles per hour. Thankfully,
no one was hurt in the incident, but Alan took to Instagram to share the news with his followers.
He expressed his gratitude for his family's safety and opened up about the terrifying car accident.
He shared a picture of the car and captioned it, "No serious injuries in either vehicle,
thank God. These unexpected moments can disrupt the lives of everyone involved,
but health is something many of us take for granted. Glad everyone walked away,
and my thoughts are with the other passengers. But Good lord the truck didn't budge."
There's no doubt that their love and respect for one another only grew stronger through it all.
In February of 2022, Catherine was by her husband's side for the premiere of his new
Amazon Prime show, Reacher, in LA. Before heading into the theater for the screening,
Alan gave a sweet kiss to his wife, and then the pair went on to pose for photographers.
She beamed with pride and couldn't contain her excitement for Alan.
Catherine also gushed over her husband on Instagram to share her pride with the world.
She explained that after Alan got the big call that announced that he got the part as Reacher,
he looked "as if he had seen a ghost," and his eyes began to well up.
She gushed in the caption, "I hope you love this series as much as Alan loved making it.
Because my goodness did he put his all into making it."
In "Reacher," Ritchson plays a reimagined version of Jack Reacher, a character who
is known for his strong, 6'5 ft, 250-pound appearance, formerly portrayed by Tom Cruise.
After watching the show, fans all thought that Alan was born to play the character of
Jack Reacher because he did such a great job in the series. Not only did he act the part,
but he looked the part too.
Alan and his family have been riding high on the success of Reacher, and we can't blame them.
They've continued to share their joy on social media with snippets
of their family life with their followers.
But out of all the adventures they've shared, the best part must have been starting a family.
There's no doubt that Alan is a rising star in Hollywood; with the success of the first
season of Reacher and the new season coming in the future, we're pretty sure we're going to
be seeing a lot more of his face … and of course his very muscular physique.
But it's not just his looks that fans have fallen in love with;
it's his gentle nature, his unmoving dedication to his wife and kids,
and of course, the kindness that he shares with anyone that crosses his path. We're so happy for
Alan and his success, and we only wish him the best for his very bright future ahead.
Thanks for watching our video, Juicers! Be sure to check out the rest of our channel
and subscribe to stay up to date with all of our latest videos.