Hollywood actors playing lovers on-screen only to fall in love off-screen happens more
often than not.
But what is rare is when they play siblings on screen only to spark a romance off-screen.
This was the case for Michael C Hall and Jennifer Carpenter.
After the pair met on the set of Dexter, it didn’t take long for them to stir dating
rumors.
Just two years later, the couple tied the knot, elopement style.
They truly seemed like they were in it for the long run, but the newlyweds faced some
huge obstacles that most couples don’t go through in a lifetime.
The year was 2006, and Michael C Hall was going through some pretty big life changes.
He was going through a divorce with Amy Spanger, his wife of four years and he would be the
lead on the hit TV series Dexter.
Michael would play the infamous serial killer, Dexter Morgan and Jennifer Carpenter would
play his adoptive sister, Debra Morgan.
On the show, Hall was the blood spatter analyst by day and serial killer by night, and Carpenter
was a police officer in the homicide division.
Understandably, as brother and sister, the pair’s characters don’t have a lot of
on-screen chemistry, but that didn’t stop something from blossoming between the actors
themselves.
By 2007, rumors were spiraling that Michael and Jennifer were together, but it was only
a year later that they confirmed their relationship.
And when the world knew they were together, they couldn’t help but gush about one another
in interviews.
In 2008, Jennifer unofficially nominated her boyfriend for People magazine’s highest
honor, Sexiest Man Alive.
She also let the world know why he deserved this award!
"He is the sexiest man alive.
He's one of the best we've got.
He's an incredible talent and if anyone deserves accolades, it's him,” she said.
By New Year’s Eve 2008, Hall and Carpenter had decided to take a big step in their relationship.
They eloped to Big Sur to tie the knot!
"It was nice to do it alone.
I think it's the most personal commitment you could make.
Even knowing that our families were with us in spirit, it was enough.
It just needed to be the two of us,” he said.
The on-screen siblings continued working on Dexter together after their wedding and weren’t
shy to speak about the newlywed life.
They were asked to name the best gift they’d ever given each other, and Hall quickly responded,
“Our lives.”
How sweet is that?
But the newlywed bliss was short-lived.
While filming season 4 of Dexter in 2009, Jennifer and Michael were going to face one
of the scariest obstacles anyone could face.
The actor was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which is a serious and often fatal cancer.
He went through extremely intense treatment for a few months.
Thankfully, soon after, the Dexter star was in complete remission.
"It's always felt like an opportunity to get closer and I'm just so impressed with him
and anyone who's had to go through it.
Every second's special with him, it sounds corny, but it's true.
I'm very lucky," she said.
During Hall’s treatment, he even won a Golden Globe for his work on the Showtime drama and
during his speech, he thanked his wonderful wife for standing by his side through everything.
"Jennifer, all my love and gratitude," he said.
Sadly, it wasn’t long after Hall was cancer-free that the couple’s relationship fizzled out.
After just two years of marriage, the pair filed for divorce.
Allegedly, they had been separated for a few months before they decided to do so.
But why did they file?
Cue the frenzied spinning of tabloid stories!
Just days after their split was announced, Jennifer and Michael’s co-star, Julia Stiles
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0L8FSDB9d1g 0:00), who played the actor’s love interest
on the show, was accused of coming between the former couple.
She released a statement not long after hitting back at the rumors and saying she obviously
had absolutely nothing to do with the split between the pair.
They were all just good friends who enjoyed working together.
"This is a personal matter between them, and we should respect their privacy.
Although I prefer to keep my private life private, I felt compelled to dispel the rumors
I was somehow the cause for this matter,” she said.
As to why they actually divorced, it seems that we may never know.
While both actors have since spoken of their time on Dexter after their divorce, neither
has offered a closer look into their relationship.
Carpenter and Hall kept the details of their reasons for divorcing mum, and to this day,
no public titbits have been provided on why the couple decided it was necessary.
Hall and Carpenter cited irreconcilable differences, and their divorce was finalized in 2011, but
this was long before they would part ways professionally.
Dexter continued on with both stars for another three seasons.
According to Jennifer, the two still had a great time on the set and joked around constantly.
Despite their marital status, the pair somehow managed to remain great friends.
Although she did admit that the divorce obviously changed some things between them, in the end,
they’re comfortable with each other.
“Has it changed anything?
Yes.
But he is and always will be one of my best friends in the world.
Just because the marriage ended doesn’t mean the love isn’t still there.
We take very good care of each other and our cast, we always have,” she said.
Michael echoed his ex-wife’s sentiments, calling their ability to continue to work
together “gratifying.”
He said the fact that they worked through whatever was going on with them personally
helped them maintain telling the story for the show.
It was always what they needed and wanted to do.
The actor also said they take pride in the fact that they have not just maintained their
professionalism but their sense of enthusiasm for the story.
"I think Jennifer is an astonishing actress.
She remains a dear friend as well as a dear colleague.
We're still in each other's life, in a different capacity, but it's an amicable situation,
to say the least," he said.
That said, the potential for awkward situations was still high.
At one point during an interview panel, the moderator prompted the cast to play “Kiss,
marry or kill,” which was an idea that the actress did not take well to.
“I don’t want to play,” she laughed.
Then, when the host asked Hall if he’d kiss, marry, or kill Carpenter’s character Deb,
she interrupted with, “You understand why this is loaded, don’t you?”
Yeesh!
Then in early 2012, a smattering of reconciliation rumors arose after Jennifer and Michael were
spotted on a series of seemingly romantic outings.
This included a photo of them cuddling on the beach at sunset.
It wasn’t long before the rumors were dispelled.
The pair were friends who spent a lot of free time together and worked together, but it
wasn’t romantic.
"I feel like marriage is sort of like a generic label.
Our marriage didn't look like anyone else's.
And our divorce didn't either.
There's nothing but love and respect," she said.
By 2013, Dexter was coming to an end, and their relationship aside, both stars said
they felt good about where the show ended.
Hall said that with shooting the final episode, there were so many lasts, and it was a bittersweet
perpetual going-away party.
“It was the feeling when you read a great book, and you read the last page, and there’s
something hovering in the air.
It was that times 100.
The only reason I’m okay walking away is that the finale felt right,” he said.
In 2012, Michael found love again with novelist Morgan Macgregor.
The pair married in 2016.
As for Jennifer, she began dating musician Seth Avett in 2013, and two years later, the
couple welcomed their son Isaac.
By 2016, there were wedding bells for her too, and she married the love of her life.
However, Dexter wouldn’t be the last time the exes would work together.
Showtime brought the series back in 2021 in the form of Dexter: New Blood.
Naturally, Hall and Carpenter reprised their roles because Dexter wouldn’t be the same
without the two of them.
Although the romance was rather short-lived, it’s clear there was and still is a lot
of love between Michael C Hall and Jennifer Carpenter.
The pair went through some difficult times during their two-year-long marriage, and they
obviously still have a special bond.
It’s clear that Michael and Jennifer have the utmost respect for each other as people,
actors, and colleagues.
We are happy that the actor has fully recovered from his cancer and that both him and the
actress have found love again.
Let us know in the comments below if you could work with your ex-spouse.
Thanks for watching.
This has been Rumor Juice.