Freddie Prinze Jr. Says Wife Of 20 Years Sarah Michelle Gellar ‘Needs Him To Live’

Nov 28, 2022 by apost team

Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr are a match made in teen dream heaven. Both found fame as stars of classic teen movies of the late 90s and early noughties and went on to find love. They've been in it for the long haul since, having been married for two decades and sharing two beautiful children together. 

Gellar got her career rolling by starring in the daytime soap opera "All My Children," for which she won an Emmy due to her role as Kendall Hart. This led to her starring role in the television adaptation of "Buffy The Vampire Slayer." The immensely popular and critically acclaimed series ran from 1997 to 2003 shot Gellar to fame. In-between starring in the TV show, she also took on roles in iconic teen slasher films, such as "Scream 2" and "I Know What You Did Last Summer." She also starred in other well-received films such as "Cruel Intentions" and a cameo in "She's All That," cementing her status as the era's "It Girl."

Prinze Jr. found himself becoming a teen heartthrob around the same time, too, with his starring roles in the same movies Gellar appeared in, such as "She's All That" and "I Know What You Did Last Summer." He also appeared in the horror flick's sequel, "I Still Know What You Did Last Summer," as well as with Jessical Biel in "Summer Catch." Unlike Gellar, Prinze's career took a backseat in the 2010s, but he returned to the screen in 2022 for Netflix's "Christmas With You."

Despite the pair having known each other and acting alongside one another in many films, their love story only started years later. Read on to find out more about how they finally settled on their happily ever after.

Gellar and Prinze Jr. initially met on the set of "I Know What You Did Last Summer," and quickly became friends. The actor told Entertainment Tonight their burgeoning friendship flourished on car rides together.

"She didn't have a driver's license so I was her chauffeur, and I would drive her to the gym every day and then go to the store, go get myself some lunch and then drive her back and we would just have an hour drive," he told the outlet, adding "We shot in this tiny little crazy town called South Fork. I would drive her to Wilmington every day that we had off, every day during rehearsals and we would have you know 55 minutes… to get to know one another. She was from New York City and I am a SoCal kid, so we were night and day, and it was just our philosophies on life just never clicked."

"Then one day everything clicked, and it was about probably three years later, and we started dating and she's been my girlfriend ever since,"

He said food also brought them together, "By the end of the movie, I just wanted to be friends with her because I thought she was too skinny, and I wanted to cook for her. Because that's what my family does," he said. "And so, we started this weekly barbecue thing at her house, and me and my cousins would come over and cook food for her and her friends. And then we'd make sure everybody ate, and that was kind of how our friendship began."

Their foundation as friends served as the stepping stone to their eventual romance when one fateful night, they were supposed to have dinner with a mutual friend when that friend couldn't make it.

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Gellar recounted their first date to People in 2021, as she said, "We've had many dinners before. We were supposed to go with someone else, and the third person didn't make it out, and we decided to still go. We were just two people at dinner catching up. We had a long car ride and a long dinner, and things just happened."

Prinze Jr., meanwhile, became a one-woman man after their first kiss, having told Us Weekly, "From the first time we kissed, I didn't go on another date — it was just Sarah."

He elaborated on the sentiment to People:

"I didn't go on dates with other girls nor did I even want to pursue dates with other girls. One day, I just knew we're going to get married and that I was going to propose. I didn't know when or how." 

And they did indeed get married, in September 2002 in Mexico. They have one daughter, Charlotte Grace, born in 2009, and son Rocky James, born in 2012. They have also worked together, most notably for the feature film "Scooby-Doo" and its sequel, as well as voiced characters in a few animated movies. 

And even years after their weekly barbeques, Prinze Jr. said he continues to man the cooking stations in their house, telling the Australian radio "The Kyle & Jacki O Show" he had found a way to make himself indispensable to her.

"My mom was a chef and I learned how to cook, and I married someone who couldn't cook. So I'm necessary. She needs me to live and sustain herself!" he said jokingly. He also credited keeping things clean and good communication behind their successful marriage.

"Listening is the most important thing. We still make each other laugh. And we treat each other with respect."

What do you think of the pair's beautiful love story? Do you think Prinze Jr. is winning in the husband department? Let us know, and don't forget to pass this along to all the hopeless romantics you know.