Why was Melissa McCarthy kissing another man on her 10th wedding anniversary?
And why was her husband watching?
Wigs, matching tracksuits, and a $5 million home.
Here's what Melissa McCarthy's marriage is like.
Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone met at the legendary Groundlings Theater in Los Angeles
in 1998.
They were both relatively new to Hollywood, and they found themselves performing and taking
comedy writing classes together at the improv theater, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed.
The pair hit it off the moment they met and they both remember that day like it was yesterday.
Falcone recalled to NPR that he wanted to hang out with McCarthy from the moment he
watched her first monologue.
McCarthy admitted she felt exactly the same way after seeing Falcone do his monologue,
which she said was so different from anyone else's.
There's no denying this was an incredibly sweet meet-cute, but McCarthy and Falcone
had actually run into each other once a decade before that.
"We were in a party together, though, ten years earlier."
However, the pair never actually spoke, perhaps because Falcone was a little afraid of her
back then.
"Once I mentioned that she struck terror in certain people, she was like, 'Yup, that was
me.'
Because she was very, very goth."
Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone immediately hit it off at the Groundlings Theater, leading
to a very exciting comedic partnership between the pair.
"We started writing and performing and bombing almost right when we met."
As they explained on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," the first sketch the pair wrote
together involved them creating a new holiday, "All Seger's Eve," which was a holiday dedicated
to the American musician Bob Seger.
However, the couple admitted that — despite loving the sketch — it really was no good
and it only got worse when they added Scottish accents, they revealed to Colbert.
"And they were just like, 'Get off the stage.'"
Thankfully, McCarthy and Falcone didn't give up after their first failure and they went
on to write more sketches together.
Their performances often involved some hilarious costumes and props, as McCarthy was almost
always in a wig.
She revealed to NPR that she had accumulated over 50 of them by the time they left Groundlings.
Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone started dating roughly a year after they first met, the "Mike
& Molly" star confirmed to NPR.
Surprisingly, it wasn't an easy decision.
"We'd become, kind of, best friends and I think we were kind of, a little nervous to
screw that up."
But as her husband explained, they just decided to take the leap, and they never looked back.
McCarthy and Falcone dated for six years until they tied the knot.
During most of that time, McCarthy was playing Sookie St. James on "Gilmore Girls."
Any eagle-eyed "Gilmore Girls" fans out there will know that Falcone had a brief cameo on
the show's third season.
Falcone appeared in the episode "Say Goodnight, Gracie" as Mr. Brink and the real-life couple
shared a short scene together.
"Do you think we could discuss this a little later?
This is a little heavy and I sort of need to focus."
In 2005, after six years as a couple, Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone got married.
As with all other aspects of their life together, planning their wedding was full of comedic
moments, one of which was how they chose their wedding song.
They shared the entertaining story with ABC News, saying that they wanted their song to
be "(I Don't Want to Work) Bang the Drum All Day" by Todd Rundgren.
But McCarthy admitted the couple was worried it might just be a little too out there for
their guests, and they didn't want to offend anyone.
"Is it too weird?
Then we went with 'At Last,' but in our hearts we kind of think our real song is 'I Don't
Want To Work.'"
After almost two decades of marriage, the couple are still as in love now as they were
on their wedding day.
McCarthy shared with People that she found a true partner in Falcone.
"It's [about] finding someone who you just absolutely are better with.
He's nothing but supportive, and he's super smart.
He makes me gut-laugh, like crazy gut-laugh, four or five times a day.
I hit the jackpot!"
After almost a decade of comedy sketches and that one memorable "Gilmore Girls" television
appearance, Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone finally appeared on the big screen together.
In "Bridesmaids," the film that solidified McCarthy's status as both a comedy legend
and leading lady material, the couple also shared one hilarious scene.
In the infamous airplane scene, their characters, Megan and Jon, are seated together, with McCarthy's
character dropping some heavy flirting on the air marshal.
"Hey, not-Air Marshall Jon, you want to get back in that restroom and not rest?"
"No."
Seth Meyers dubbed it "one of the funniest movie scenes that took place on an airplane"
and we definitely don't think he's wrong.
It's still one of their most popular roles together to date, and the couple dressed up
as their characters in 2020 to provide some light-hearted comedy entertainment during
quarantine.
Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone have been collaborating professionally longer than they
have been together, and after they took their comedy stylings to the big screen in "Bridesmaids,"
they've made a habit of working together in the film industry.
The couple are a writing duo, with Falcone then focusing on directing the feature.
While working and living together could be too much for some couples, that's not the
case for McCarthy and Falcone.
The "Gilmore Girls" alum gushed to E! News:
"It's like, you know, you get to go to work with your best friend and it's exactly how
we met and we became such good friends because we loved doing this together.
So to get to do it on this kind of scale and still keep telling stories ... it's the dream."
Their first big project together was the 2014 film "Tammy," which they wrote after Falcone
came up with the concept in a dream, per ABC News.
It was also Falcone's directorial debut, but since then, they have followed it up with
four more features: "The Boss," "The Life of the Party," "Superintelligence," and "Thunder
Force."
Of course, it's not always roses, as Falcone explained about directing scenes between McCarthy
and other men.
"We shot that scene where she's making out with this really good actor named Luke Benward,
who's a really sweet kid, too, and it was our anniversary."
In 2007, after two years of wedded bliss, Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone welcomed
their first daughter, Vivian.
In 2010, their family grew from three to four, with the addition of their youngest daughter,
Georgette.
"And then the little one looks like Ben and is more like me, and then when you walk in
her room she's usually on top of something with, like, a sickle."
As you'd expect, the McCarthy-Falcone household's a funny place to be, with the couple putting
on little skits and comedy acts to keep their kids entertained.
Performing a few at-home skits isn't the only acting McCarthy and Falcone's daughters have
undertaken, and it's safe to say they've inherited the acting gene.
At the age of eight and six respectively, Vivian and Georgette made their acting debuts
in "The Boss," which the couple co-wrote.
Vivian also appeared in "Thunder Force."
In both films, she played a young version of her mom's characters.
"Get in that dumpster."
"What?
Why?"
"'Cause that's where the garbage goes."
However, it's not just fun and games in the McCarthy-Falcone household.
The couple, who are on the same page when it comes to parenting, wants to instill discipline
in their kids, too.
So, despite their daughters' early foray into acting, neither of them are spoiled and they
do chores to earn their allowances, an insider revealed to Closer Weekly.
Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone have been together for over two decades, making them
one of the stablest couples in Hollywood.
They've built a life together, a career together, and a family home together.
During the early years of their marriage, they lived in a three-bedroom house in Toluca
Lake, Los Angeles.
But, by 2012, the house was feeling too cramped for them and their two kids, so they purchased
a bigger property in the same neighborhood for $3.53 million, Hello!
reported.
After four years and an extensive renovation, they moved into their new home.
The additions of a screen room, elevator, and tennis court increased the value of the
property to $5 million, the Daily Mail revealed.
The couple shared plenty of videos to keep their fans entertained throughout quarantine,
each time showing off the stunning interior of their home.
This Toluca Lake house remains the permanent family home for McCarthy, Falcone, and their
daughters.
However, the foursome always stay together when one or both of the actors have to relocate
for work.
They lived it up in style in a $35,000 per week Byron Bay beach house when the family
temporarily moved to the land down under for McCarthy to shoot "Nine Perfect Strangers"
in 2020, per the Daily Mail.
Melissa McCarthy knows she and Ben Falcone were lucky to find each other and create a
life where they could share all aspects of their work and personal lives together, telling
More that she, quote, "got hit with the lucky stick."
But Falcone told the outlet she wasn't the only one who was lucky, while waxing lyrical
about his wife in a similar manner.
"We got hit with the same lucky stick.
From the very first time we spoke, we were on the same page.
We love each other, respect each other and try not to sweat the small stuff.
And we really make each other laugh."
The pair credit their strong friendship as the foundation for their relationship.
McCarthy told E! News that the reason the couple became so close back at the Groundlings
Theater was not only because they loved comedy, acting, performing, and telling stories, but
because they loved doing all of it together.
Their friendship blossomed into both a relationship spanning more than two decades and a lucrative
professional career.
It sounds like they both hit the jackpot!
It's been pretty well established that Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone are perfect for each
other.
Separately, they're comedic gold, but together, they are comedy royalty.
While they did enjoy some quiet time together during the pandemic, it was pretty much business
as usual for McCarthy and Falcone in terms of work — whether that was creating comedy
skits for social media or working on their documentary, "Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal
& Greed."
However, one thing that was not business as usual was the 2019 Vanity Fair Oscars After
Party, a typically dressed-up event to which McCarthy and Falcone wore matching tracksuits.
McCarthy explained to InStyle:
"I just wanted to be in tennies and tracksuits.
It just seemed so funny to me and so comfortable.
I have never been flipped off or told to f— off as much as at that party."
"I'm very comfy.
I was like why don't we do this, and Ben was game for it, and I thought, 'I'm not gonna
fight it."
Although it wasn't the typical Oscars after party attire, McCarthy and Falcone sporting
matching black and white Adidas tracksuits at the event proved once and for all that
the pair are the ultimate couple goals.
To date, Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone have been together for 23 years and have spent
17 of them as a married couple.
Each year on their anniversary, one or both of them takes to social media to celebrate
their relationship.
On their 15th wedding anniversary, McCarthy wrote on Instagram:
"I married the kindest, funniest and weirdest human I've ever met.
Grateful every single day!!!"
The following year, Falcone shared a similar sentiment, gushing on his Instagram profile:
"Melissa makes everything fun — just by being herself.
I'm such a lucky fella to be married to someone so smart, kind, beautiful, and crazy funny."
So, what's the secret to their deliriously happy marriage?
Well, according to McCarthy, it's endless love and respect for one another and also
giving each other lots of breaks.
Sharing a passion for creating and performing comedy and wearing wigs helps, too, she noted
on Instagram.
As entertainment industry staples, Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone have some pretty
deep pockets.
Together, they have a combined net worth of $110 million, although most of that comes
from McCarthy's $90 million, while Falcone has amassed a cool $20 million, according
to Celebrity Net Worth.
With McCarthy being one of the highest paid actors in the world, as reported by Forbes
in 2018, it makes sense that the majority of the couple's net worth comes from acting,
writing, directing, and producing.
However, they have done a few things to diversify their income, too.
Namely, investing in property.
The duo retained their original Toluca Lake property after moving into their current home
and put it on the rental market.
According to Dirt, the property rents for $10,000 per month.
That's not a bad side hustle.
"I'm talking about real f—ing money"
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