The Real-Life Loves Of The Handmaid's Tale's Leading Ladies

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Just like the ladies of "The Handmaid's Tale" are actually gorgeous behind their infamous red cloaks, the actors' real-life romances tell a much different story than many of the harrowing plot lines we watch play out on screen. The hit dystopian Hulu series, which is based on Margaret Atwood's 1985 novel of the same name, follows the lives of several fictional women trapped in the confines of a totalitarian regime that has overthrown the U.S. following a massive fertility crisis. With stars like Elisabeth Moss, Alexis Bledel, Yvonne Strahovski, Madeline Brewer, Samira Wiley, and more, viewers are brought along an intense, emotional, and often nightmarish journey defined by systemic oppression, trauma, and even torture.

As such, happy endings are hard to come by in "The Handmaid's Tale," especially in terms of romance. The series features a wide range of complex relationship storylines, with everything from love triangles and forbidden romances to deceit and downright betrayal. Fortunately for many of the show's leading stars, their real-life love lives are drastically different — and far less traumatizing — from those of their characters living in the Republic of Gilead. Some of the actors have successful marriages and happy families, while others are currently living their best single life. Behind the scenes of the dystopian drama, many of the stars that make up the cast have been much luckier in love than their onscreen counterparts, so keep reading to see the real-life loves of the leading ladies of "The Handmaid's Tale."

Long before stepping into her role as June Osborne on "The Handmaid's Tale," Elisabeth Moss was married to comedian and actor Fred Armisen—though their marital bliss didn't last very long. After connecting on "SNL" in 2008, the former pair became engaged just a few months later. By October 2009, they had tied the knot in New York City. Sadly, after just eight months, they called it quits, with Moss filing divorce papers in September 2010. The "Mad Men" actor then dated cinematographer Adam Arkapaw for about three years before splitting up in 2015, and she's kept her dating life private ever since. Moss admitted in a 2019 interview with Marie Claire that there was a "special someone" in her life, but she insisted on keeping his identity private. "I learned you just don't talk about it," she told the outlet at the time. "Who really gives a s*** whether or not I'm dating anyone? I hate to put that importance on it. I cringe a little."

In 2024, Moss confirmed that she was pregnant with her first child, whom she later welcomed sometime during that year. She has not divulged any details about her child's father, nor has she publicly shared the baby's name or sex. Moss did reveal, however, that she brought her little bundle of joy with her to Vancouver to film the sixth and final season of "The Handmaid's Tale." While her character June was already a mom throughout the duration of the show, Moss said actually becoming a mother herself really helped her experience come full circle. She gushed to the Hollywood Reporter in April 2025, "It was incredibly meaningful to be able to end this show as a mom."

Unlike her character's complicated marriage and misunderstood fertility journey during the duration of "The Handmaid's Tale," Yvonne Strahovski's real love life with her husband, Tim Loden, is something out of a fairy tale. The Australian met Loden, a fellow actor, while working on the set of "Chuck" in 2009, and the rest was pretty much history after that. They made their red carpet debut together later that year, and dated for several years before getting married in 2017. Although they tied the knot during the summer, Strahovski and Loden didn't publicly share the news of their marriage until the following September, when they gushed about their big day on the red carpet for the 69th Emmy Awards in 2017. Revealing that they said their vows in the midst of a heat wave, Strahovski told reporters, "We ended up jumping in the lake in our suit and gown, it was ridiculously hot, but we had a great time," according to People.

Just over a year after saying "I do," Strahovski and Loden welcomed their first son, William, in October 2018, followed by their second son in December 2021, and their third son in December 2023. The actor has not revealed the names of her two younger kiddos, though she does occasionally share photos of her little ones on social media. Strahovski has previously explained how working on "The Handmaid's Tale" helped shape her perspective on motherhood, stating that she intends to raise her kids to be "nothing like any of the characters in Gilead," during a 2019 interview with Katie Couric Media. "I am inspired to raise my son in a way that is accepting of all people."

At the time that Alexis Bledel first started playing the role of Emily Malek on "The Handmaid's Tale," she was still married to her now ex-husband, Vincent Kartheiser. The two were married for eight years before filing for divorce in 2022. They first crossed paths in 2011 while working on the AMC series "Mad Men," starring Kartheiser as the advertising exec Pete Campbell. Bledel guest-starred in a few episodes during the show's fifth season, playing a brief love interest for Kartheiser's character. Behind the scenes, something much more serious was brewing between the two actors. Their budding romance was confirmed by US Weekly in 2012, though the pair tried to keep things low-key, only stepping out for rare red carpet appearances together.

Bledel and Kartheiser quietly tied the knot in June 2014 with a small ceremony in Ojai, California, and in the fall of 2015, they welcomed a baby boy together. They kept the details of their son's birth private and have never publicly shared their child's name. By August 2022, Kartheiser filed for divorce, just two months after marking their eighth wedding anniversary. The divorce was finalized later that same month, with a proposed judgment and settlement having already been submitted at the time. Since splitting from Kartheiser, the "Gilmore Girls" alum has stayed quiet about her dating life, and as of October 2026, she did not appear to be dating anyone, at least publicly.

We already knew that Janine from "The Handmaid's Tale" is gorgeous in real life, and her husband Jack Thompson-Roylance clearly thinks so too. Madeline Brewer, the actor who plays Janine, met her future husband on a dating app in 2022, and their whirlwind romance was off to the races shortly after. But before hitting it off on their first date, Brewer considered one of their earliest conversations to be a bit "cringe," revealing that Thompson-Roylance had messaged her the line "Marry me" after she suggested they go out for ramen or sushi on their first date (they both mentioned liking Asian cuisine in their online profiles). "I hated that! How cringe?" she told Brides in 2025. But for Thompson-Roylance, he was smitten from the very beginning. Looking back on their first date, he recalled to the outlet, "I met her outside the bar, and with the street lights behind her, she looked like an angel."

Just a few years later, the Thompson-Roylance asked Brewer to marry him for real in Central Park in January 2024, and of course, she said yes. They tied the knot in July 2025 with a romantic outdoor ceremony in Somerset, England. "I have loved calling Jack my fiancé, but I'm really excited for us to be husband and wife," Brewer gushed during their interview with Brides that same month, while her husband noted that he's excited "to see some little Jacks and Maddies running around in the future."

Samira Wiley, who played the role of Moira on "The Handmaid's Tale," was in a relationship with Lauren Morelli for over a decade before calling it quits in January 2026. The two met in 2012 while Morelli was working as a writer and producer on "Orange Is the New Black," which Wiley starred in as the fan-favorite character Poussey Washington. At the time, Morelli was still married to former husband Stephen Basilone, whom she divorced in 2014 after writing for the show helped her realize she was gay. Morelli and Wiley dated for two years before announcing their engagement in October 2016 with a social media photo of Wiley showing off a diamond ring on her left hand. They tied the knot the following year in March 2017 with an intimate ceremony held in Palm Springs, California. In April 2021, Wiley and Morelli became parents to their daughter, George, whose arrival was announced in an Instagram post on Mother's Day that year. 

But at the start of 2026, after almost nine years of marriage, Wiley and Morelli filed for divorce. A representative for the pair confirmed to Out at the time that the split had been "amicable." Like other celebs who have co-parenting down to a science, Wiley and Morelli remain committed to working together to give their child the best life possible. After going public with the news of their divorce, Wiley and Morelli said in a joint statement: "After nine years together we have decided to end our marriage, however, our lifelong commitment to co-parenting will forever remain" (per Out).