Dear Sally, can you believe Felicity premiered 24 years ago?
Break out your tape recorder and a fresh cassette because we're going back to 1998.
Can't you just picture Keri Russell walking through the streets of New York City, swimming
in a baggy sweater?
And then watch her endlessly debate between Scott Speedman’s Ben Covington, and Scott
Foley’s Noel Crane.
Of course, it made Ben fans more than happy to know that Kerri and Scott were dating in
real life.
From why Scott was a disaster of a boyfriend, to inside their low-profile relationship,
to how they are still friends 20 years later, we have it all!
Before the days of social media and hyperactive paparazzi, Scott Speedman and Keri Russell
dated under the radar.
Always one to keep his private life well… private, Speedman said that when it came to
being with Russell, they didn't really go out.
"Sure, we're dating, but that's ours," he said.
The set of Felicity brought us a lot of joy.
The beloved coming-of-age series was a home away from home for many, and how could you
not get completely engrossed in the ongoing love triangle?
But off-screen, it was just a duo.
Speedman and Russell met on the set, and when the pair met, Scott was struck by his new
co-star's… beauty?
"I remember seeing this big mop of hair and I was like there's no way that's Felicity.
I thought she was supposed to be this nerd.
She was a very beautiful girl, and I was like that girl cannot be Felicity," he said.
And it wasn’t just the Animal Kingdom actor that was thinking this!
Imagine almost not getting a job because you were too pretty.
Well, Keri didn’t have to imagine.
While it is hard to picture anyone other than her playing Felicity Porter, the creator of
the show, J.J.
Abrams almost didn’t cast the actress.
“She was so pretty, I thought there was no way she could play the part.
And then she started reading and was just funny as hell.
And if you’re funny, I don’t care, you win,” Abrams said.
That role would go on to make Russell a household name, Golden Globe winner, TV icon and Scott
Speedman’s girlfriend and best friend.
But that rise to fame wasn’t easy for the private actress.
Even though she looks back on her time on the show fondly, it came with some growing
pains.
“I found it a struggle when everyone just knew me overnight.
I loved that character and I still love her, she has such a sweetness but she was all truth,
unabashedly,” she said.
Although the Felicity co-star’s relationship was relatively short-lived and while we don’t
have a timeline for the split, we do have an idea of why.
Scott is a self-professed “disaster of a boyfriend.”
Almost two decades after their breakup, Russell and Speedman appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live…
together!
Naturally, Kimmel spoke about Felicity’s one specific plot line that is somehow still
iconic two decades later – the haircut.
You know the one.
Felicity got a pixie cut on-screen at the beginning of season two and therefore, so
did Russell.
It may not have even been worth it since the series’ ratings began to plummet after that.
Either way, Scott and Keri were dating at the time, and he knew he needed to react well
since he'd been such a disaster of a boyfriend up until then and his girlfriend’s iconic
curls were no longer.
“I knew I had to put on a good show.
I knew I was going to see her new haircut and I was like, ‘Come on man, you got to
bring it home.
You gotta do it.’
And I got to work, and she turned around the corner and my face sort of froze in a half
panic, half smile sort of situation.
I just didn’t pull it off and she called me out.
But it grew into something great.
We all recovered from it,” he said.
He was also asked what constituted as a disaster of a boyfriend.
Russell generously replied on his behalf and said, "A young 20s boyfriend is called a disaster
of a boyfriend."
This couple only truly peaked after they broke up.
Scott is one of Keri’s go-to friends in a moment of crisis and she constantly leans
on her former love in tough times.
In a 2013 interview, the actress recalled a time when she needed help, and the actor
was right there for her.
"The other day, I was crying because I had this huge issue.
So, I texted my close girlfriend and Scott.
He called back first!
He was like, 'What's going on?'
When I need a great friend, he’s there,” she said.
Even though they remained close friends, leading busy lives kept them from seeing one another
much.
However, they did reunite for Russell’s Hollywood Walk of Fame star ceremony.
The friends of 24 years went down memory lane as they talked about their on-screen romance
in Felicity.
The rapport between the two feels authentic, and they happily admitted to staying friends
after all this time.
As for an official Felicity reunion anytime soon, both stars were less optimistic about
it actually happening.
“Some people are on some high-class shows.
I’ll do it in a heartbeat.
I’ll be on Lifetime in no time,” he said.
Speedman also spoke on why he was particularly private when it came to his relationship with
Russell.
When the actor appeared on Chelsea Lately in 2014, host Chelsea Handler mentioned that
she used to see him and Russell at a restaurant she worked at in the Pacific Palisades.
"That's when I was dating Keri.
She lived out there.
We didn’t go anywhere together, sure we were dating, but it was ours," he said.
Chelsea said she didn't know that they'd dated, and the actor replied, "Why did you think
we were at breakfast every morning?"
Touché, Scott.
Since their split, Speedman and Russell have moved on to build families of their own.
In 2007, the actress got married to Shane Deary, a Brooklyn-based contractor she met
through mutual friends.
The pair welcomed their first child the same year.
They then welcomed a daughter 2 years later.
Sadly, after nearly 7 years of marriage, the couple separated.
She has since been linked to her co-star on The Americans, Matthew Rhys, with whom she
welcomed a son in 2016.
Matthew and Keri are still together and seem happier than ever!
As for Scott, he went on to date Camille De Pazzis, Teresa Palmer, and Ashley Scott.
They were all relatively short relationships that lasted about a year, but he clearly has
a type – actresses.
There was no information on Scott’s dating life from 2014 until 2017, probably because
he remained singlel for that time.
But in 2017 he met Lindsay Rae Hofmann who is surprisingly not an actress!
Speedman’s whole world changed and the two seem to be the perfect match!
Then in October 2021, they welcomed their first child, Pfeiffer Lucia.
The couple shared the meaning behind their baby girl’s name, and it is so sweet!
Pfeiffer is for her heart to always feel connected to the ocean and nature.
While Lucia is because it means “forever our little light.”
How adorable is that?
The best part, of course, is that Keri is right there alongside her best friend while
he embarks on the journey of fatherhood.
While celebrity breakups are usually heart-breaking for fans, sometimes the exes are not only
better off as friends but thriving!
Keri Russell and Scott Speedman show us that if two people don’t work together in a romantic
relationship, it doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be in one another’s lives in some way.
We love seeing them succeed and be happier than ever with their new partners, but what
we love more is that they are still by one another’s side and sharing their journeys
together.
We hope to see more of Scott and Keri in the future, and, who knows, maybe one day we will
see them reunite on screen in a Felicity revival?
Let us know in the comments below if you think these exes were better together or better
as friends.
As always, this has been Rumour Juice at your service.