Malin Åkerman and Her Husband, Jack Donnelly, Knew Each Other 4 Years Before Dating

Elle

a day ago

THE RUNDOWN
In The Hunting Wives, Malin Åkerman leads an elite inner circle, but in real life, she's been building a quieter love story with her husband, Jack Donnelly. The actress, who stars as Margo Banks in the new series, has been married to the British actor and writer since December 2018.
From starring in films together to supporting each other's creative work, the couple has built a life together in Los Angeles with Åkerman's son, Sebastian.
Here, everything to know about Donnelly and his relationship with Åkerman.
Åkerman first met Donnelly through one of her sister's boyfriends. '[Donnelly] is actually my youngest sister's boyfriend's friend from drama school in England,' Åkerman revealed during an appearance on Live with Kelly and Ryan in 2o18. 'I had known him for the past four years but didn't see him...Then all of a sudden he came back from England like a year-and-a-half ago, and I went, 'Wow, have you always been this cute?''
Donnelly's 2017 proposal to Åkerman was thoughtful and personal. 'Jack came to the door with a beautiful bouquet of flowers and proceeded to take me out for dinner at my favorite spot in Brooklyn,' Åkerman told Vogue in 2018. 'We sat in the garden and closed the place down. When we got home, he called me to our room, where he got down on one knee and asked the big question with a beautifully designed ring.'
They married on Dec. 1, 2018, at the Papaya Playa Project in Tulum, Mexico. 'It was all about being authentic...not adhering to somebody else's standard of what a wedding should be,' Åkerman told Brides. 'We wanted the wedding to feel real to us. It gave us a lot of freedom.'
Donnelly and Åkerman have collaborated on multiple projects, including Friendsgiving, A Week in Paradise, and Slayers. In Friendsgiving, they starred as a couple and filmed a sex scene together. 'Any chance I get to have him do a scene like that, who better than to do it with than your husband?' Åkerman said during an appearance on The Talk in 2020. 'It's a really, kind of, intimate, crazy scene and thank God we know each other well enough instead of just meeting somebody on the first day and [doing] this crazy S&M scene. It was lovely to have him there.'
Donnelly said that filming with Åkerman in Slayers, a vampire horror-comedy, was one of his favorite professional experiences. 'Malin and I are married, so any opportunity we get to work together, we always love it because it means we can keep the family together and travel together,' he told Bleeding Cool in 2022.
Donnelly is well known for playing the lead in the BBC fantasy series Atlantis, and has appeared in United We Fall, Slayers, and the short comedy series The Players.
In Slayers, Donnelly embraced a genre he hadn't tackled before. 'This is one of the only projects where I've not taken my top off at any point,' he joked to Bleeding Cool. 'This is the first time I've done an American accent on camera,' he added. 'I had such a good time doing it. Working with these guys and Asher, I would go back to this team and do more horror. Neither Malin nor I were huge horror fans in the past, but after doing this and exploring it, it was more like, 'There's stuff here that we'd like to get into again.''
In addition to acting, Donnelly writes and directs. He directed and starred in the short series The Players in 2023.
Donnelly has a close relationship with Åkerman's son, Sebastian, from her previous marriage to musician Roberto Zincone. 'He was brilliant with my son, and that was it, and my heart melted,' Åkerman said on Live with Kelly and Ryan in 2018. When she told Sebastian about the engagement, she recalled, 'He jumped up on the couch and went, 'Yay, we're getting married!''
When Donnelly proposed in October 2017, Åkerman posted an Instagram, writing, 'This sweet and loving man has stepped into our lives and stole both our hearts! I think we're gonna keep him around for a while. ;)'
Åkerman also told Us Weekly in 2018 that Donnelly and Sebastian were 'inseparable,' adding, 'It makes my heart warm. I'm very glad to be bringing Jack into our lives for good.'
Åkerman credits Donnelly with helping her grow in their relationship. 'He's a master at [communication]. He's taught me a lot,' she told People in 2023. 'He's allowed me to be vulnerable and lean into him a bit, and it's been beautiful to be able to communicate with someone who's your partner.'
The couple also prioritizes intentional time together. 'I love date nights. We both live for them,' she said. 'Sometimes, when we know we're not going to be able to do a date night one week, then we go out for breakfast together.'
Donnelly does not have any social media accounts. 'I'm not really on social media with Twitter, Instagram, or anything,' he told Bleeding Cool in 2022.
Åkerman often posts glimpses into their relationship instead, including a heartfelt post for their six-year wedding anniversary in December 2024: '6 years ago today…and still loving you more than ever ❤️ even if we both forgot that it was our anniversary. 😳 😂 '
She's also celebrated his birthday publicly. In October 2024, she wrote, 'It's his birthday!! #jackdonnelly I couldn't have asked for a better partner ❤️ you make me laugh like no one else! You are a shining bright light and I absolutely adore you for everything that you are.I cannot believe you're still in your 30's 👀 !!! #happybirthday my love.'