Mare Winningham and Anthony Edwards' Relationship: All About the “ER” Costars' Romance

The couple eloped in 2021 after first meeting in the 1980s

When Mare Winningham began working alongside Anthony Edwards, she didn’t know that she had met her future husband.

The couple first met in the mid-1980s, when they were auditioning for The Sure Thing. Although they missed out on the roles, they ended up working together for the first time in the 1988 romance-thriller Miracle Mile.

They then went on to work together several times after that and remained friends throughout their respective marriages and subsequent divorces. (Winnigham has three ex-husbands: actor A Martinez, married 1981 to 1982; actor William Maple, married 1982 to 1996; and director Jason Trucco, married 2008 to 2012. Edwards, meanwhile, was married to make-up artist Jeanine Lobell from 1994 to 2015.)

The friends began to grow closer and they eventually became a couple. In 2021, they took their relationship to the next level.

Here’s everything to know about Mare Winningham and Anthony Edward’s marriage.

They first worked together in 1988

The actors have long costarred in movies and television together. In their first project, the 1988 film Miracle Mile, they played lovers.

Since their first time sharing the screen, the pair worked together in the long-running TV show ER. Winningham played Dr. Amanda Lee, a woman obsessed with Edwards’ character, Dr. Mark Greene.

Winningham had “a crush” on Edwards

In an interview discussing their time making Miracle Mile, Winningham revealed that she was crushing on Edwards during filming.

“I don’t recall Mare and I rehearsing,” Edwards explained of their time on set, to which Winningham responded with a laugh, “I’m laughing because we did have chemistry and I had a crush on him and we were good to go for that so we didn’t have to rehearse that."

They grew closer throughout the COVID-19 pandemic

Winningham and Edward’s friendship — and romantic relationship — grew stronger during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The pair, who both lived in New York City at the same time, would often go on walks together.

"We've been having incredible walks," the Top Gun actor told Fox News in April 2020. "We have a family staying with us with a young child, our godson, who's only 19 months old, so we've formed this group for the last five weeks."

"It's been really nice to get into some different rhythms and also use technology as we're using today to connect with people," he added. "We're trying to prioritize what is important to this life when we're realizing how fragile it is when a pandemic can come in and take so many of us so quickly."

They eloped in 2021

In 2021, Edwards revealed that, instead of holding a traditional wedding, the couple opted to elope in private. The intimate ceremony was "just the two of them and an old friend to officiate."

"We're too old to throw weddings," the Inventing Anna actor told Esquire at the time, before praising Winningham. "She's just spectacular. She's an amazing singer and she's a wonderful actress and she's an incredible person."

Edwards made his Broadway debut in Winningham’s play

Edwards unexpectedly made a last-minute Broadway debut after he stepped in to play an understudy — with only one hour of rehearsal time under his belt!

The actor portrayed Dr. Walker in the Tony-nominated Girl from the North Country, while his wife played her regular role of Elizabeth Laine.

In a backstage video, Edwards explained that he was two hours away at their Connecticut home when he got an unexpected call from his wife that afternoon, saying they'd have to cancel the show due to a COVID-19 outbreak.

“I’m beyond impressed and proud,” Winningham praised Edwards in the backstage video. “You’re fearless.”

During the final curtain, the show’s lead producer Tristan Baker took to the stage to thank the musical's swings and understudies, before asking the audience if there's "a doctor in the house," referencing Edwards' beloved tenure as Dr. Mark Greene on ER.

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