The Truth About Rob McElhenney And Kaitlin Olson's Relationship
Mac and Sweet Dee may not be an item on "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," but in real life, the actors that play the characters, Rob McElhenney and Kaitlin Olson, are a couple and have been since 2007.
The two first met when Olson auditioned for the role of Dee back in 2006, but "It's Always Sunny" creator McElhenney had his sights on his future wife long before meeting her in the mid 2000s. In a heartfelt Instagram post, the actor revealed that he saw Olson on-screen two decades ago, and he was smitten right away. With a picture of Olson attached, McElhenney wrote in part, "I remember watching an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm in 2002 — before I even moved to L.A. — and seeing this woman playing Larry's sister-in-law. I thought she was so funny and so beautiful and so out of my league. ... What a lucky person I am."
Not long after meeting, the pair's relationship blossomed, and since getting married in 2008, McElhenney and Olson have had two children together, Axel (born 2010) and Leo (born 2012). For over 15 years, the iconic duo have shared the screen together in "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," and they have loved one another for just as long. Here's the truth about their relationship, from the embarrassing beginning stages to how they handled Olson's pregnancy on the show.
Kaitlin Olson wasn't interested in Rob McElhenney at first
While Rob McElhenney and Kaitlin Olson's chemistry is evident in their real-life relationship, it wasn't love at first sight for the couple. In 2022, when Olson was a caller on "The Always Sunny Podcast," her husband asked her, "You fell instantly in love, right?" Co-star Charlie Day wondered if she recalled seeing McElhenney at her audition. Olson answered, "So what I do remember is, as soon as I got in my car, I called my manager...I wanted it so bad. And I was like, 'I think that was really good.' And she goes, 'Were any of them cute?' And I was like, 'Not really.'"
Though Olson and McElhenney didn't link up when they first met, the pair collaborated well on the show, with McElhenney even modifying the character of Sweet Dee around Olson's suggestions and recommendations. In an interview with Metro, Olson shared how her character came to be and explained that she preferred the male characters over the female character in the show's script, which pushed McElhenney to reconstruct the character of Dee. When her future husband said he and the team weren't well-versed in writing for female characters, Olson recalled, "I said, 'Well don't write for a woman, just write another funny character and I'll make it a woman.' So I'm glad that I trusted him..."
From that moment on, Olson was front and center in the show among the other actors, which would lead to an eventual romance between her and McElhenney.
The two kept their romance a secret
Midway through Season 1 of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," Kaitlin Olson realized she was beginning to fall for her co-star Rob McElhenney. In Olson's interview on Dax Shepard's "Armchair Expert" podcast, the actor revealed some of the traits that made her realize she had a crush on McElhenney. "He really just has a vision and he's just a wonderful boss and he's a collaborator... He has more discipline than any person I know," Olson explained, noting that he is a competent decision-maker.
As the two started working more together, the lines of their relationship began to blur and the flirting hit an all-time peak at a party with other cast members. Olson explained on "Armchair Expert" that she drunkenly made her move on McElhenney by sitting on his lap, which he initially questioned, but their romance bloomed shortly after.
In Season 2, the pair began dating and did not tell anyone, including their cast members. According to Metro, their secret romance only lasted the duration of filming the season, approximately two months. Nonetheless, Olson argued that hiding it from everyone was not the best idea. "I mean, really, it's the dumbest thing we could have done. And we knew that the whole time. We were like, 'We can't do this anymore, this is so dumb. We've got this great thing going on, we got a second season, why are we trying to ruin it?'" the actor told the outlet.
How Rob McElhenney embarrassed himself early on
Rob McElhenney and Kaitlin Olson's romance started off on an interesting foot, between keeping their romance a secret and an embarrassing incident that occurred in the early stages of their relationship. In an episode of "The Always Sunny Podcast," McElhenney told his podcast co-hosts and "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" co-stars Charlie Day and Glenn Howerton about a drunken moment that he thought would end his relationship with Olson, who had only just become his girlfriend at the time.
According to McElhenney himself, he and Olson were partying one night after a long day of shooting and he became intoxicated. The following morning, Olson woke him up and questioned the level of sweat that was on the bed sheets, which turned out to be something much worse. "The sheets are like soaking wet, and I'm like what the f***... and then she smelled it and was like, 'You p*ssed all over me.' I p*ssed the bed," he explained.
While some people would definitely be turned off by this gross situation, Olson took it in stride and allegedly thought the whole thing was hilarious. At the time, she already knew she loved him, and this situation clearly didn't shake her feelings. "Like, once I fell in love with him, I realized that I was deeply in love with him in a way that I hadn't been in love with anyone before," she explained on "Armchair Expert."
Their relationship made this cast member jealous
When Rob McElhenney and Kaitlin Olson started dating, it wasn't always smooth sailing for the couple, from their secret dating to McElhenney's drunken accident. As their relationship was getting more serious, the two actually made one of their "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" co-stars jealous.
According to Olson's interview on "Armchair Expert," actor Glenn Howerton, who played the role of Dennis Reynolds on the show, initially was jealous of McElhenney's romantic endeavors. "Glenn would come to work jealous and be like, 'God, Rob is just like, he's just out there at bars, just like, meeting people? F***ing every bar he goes to, he goes and spends the night at her house," she revealed on the podcast.
Throughout their secret relationship, including the interaction with Howerton, the two were constantly worried about their romance ruining the show and their on-set dynamics with their co-stars, and these fears became obvious when they broke the news to the cast. Actor Mary Elizabeth Ellis, known for her role as The Waitress on "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," recalled to BuzzFeed in 2015 the moment the pair revealed their relationship, telling the outlet, "Kaitlin just starts crying and says, 'I love him. I love him so much, you guys. He's such a great person. We don't want you guys to be mad at us because we're dating and on the show.'"
Rob McElhenney proposed at Danny Devito's house
The cast members of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" are a close-knit group, and when Rob McElhenney decided to take his relationship with Kaitlin Olson to the next level, he included co-star Danny Devito in his proposal in a special way. Approximately two years after the two started dating in 2006, McElhenney proposed to Olson at none other than Danny Devito's house. According to InStyle, the "Mythic Quest" actor popped the question at Devito's beachside home in Malibu with a unique 1920s-style cocktail ring.
On September 27, 2008, McElhenney and Olson said "I do" and married in an intimate ceremony at a winery in Malibu, via People. Among the guests for the ceremony were Devito, Dax Shepard, Emily Deschanel of "Bones," and Fred Savage, known for directing many "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" episodes. The lovebirds have since shown great respect for one another both personally and professionally. Adorably, McElhenney interviewed Olson in August 2022 when he hosted "Jimmy Kimmel Live." All the kisses and "I love yous" showed that they're as happy as ever.
Kaitlin Olson's pregnancy was written into It's Always Sunny
In 2009, the "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" stars were expecting their first child. When an actor gets pregnant, producers and directors aren't always accommodating to a change that big, but this wasn't the case for Kaitlin Olson. Instead, her pregnancy was actually written into the show and embraced by the cast and crew members. Touching on the new challenge of his wife's pregnancy, McElhenney told TV Guide, "Ultimately we realized we were never going to be able to hide it, realistically, so we knew we had to embrace it and put it into the show."
During Season 6, Olson's character, Sweet Dee, was pregnant. Her child's birth was highlighted in episode 12 of the season, titled "Dee Gives Birth," which aired in December 2010. In real life, Olson had her first child, Axel Lee, in September 2010, per People. Olson's labor began during a baseball game between none other than the Philadelphia Phillies and the LA Dodgers. "As soon as Ryan Howard hit a three-run home run, we felt comfortable leaving to go have our baby. We love him like crazy, even though he made us miss the second half of the game," she told the outlet. In 2012, the parents welcomed their second baby, Leo Grey.
The gang owns a tavern in Philadelphia
Rob McElhenney grew up in South Philadelphia and has since embraced his hometown in creating "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" and even launching a tavern inspired by the show in the City of Brotherly Love. In the beloved show, the gang (consisting of Mac, Charlie, Frank, Dennis, and Dee), all work at Paddy's Pub, which is the foundation that holds them all together. In real life, McElhenney and Kaitlin Olson bought Skinner's Tavern in 2010 and renamed it Mac's Tavern, coincidentally after his character, Ronald "Mac" McDonald on the show, per The Temple News.
The tavern itself came to be through the efforts of the couple and a few of their friends and business partners, according to the official website. "Mixed with a few national, local and (perhaps) cult celebrities — most notably, Rob and Kaitlin McElhenney of 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia' fame — the dynamic is as unique as it gets," the site says.
Mac's Tavern has both a jukebox and TVs, as well as a variety of beers and delicious quality bar foods, making it not only a great spot to hit up if you love the show, but the perfect place to hang in the Philly area.
The husband and wife love working together
While some couples like to separate business and work from their relationship, Rob McElhenney and Kaitlin Olson embrace their professional relationship because they love collaborating with one another. In a 2020 interview with The Guardian, the "Mystic Quest" star praised his wife for her talent and admitted to the publication that he believes she is, "hands down the funniest woman on television."
Olson holds similar feelings about her famous husband and revealed to Metro just how special it is to work with him. "Rob works on this show year round, I do other things and work on this show two months out of the year. So, really, it's only two months that we're together, and it's two months that we get to see each other all day," she explained in 2013. "So it's actually awesome. He's my favorite person, so it's pretty great to be able to spend the day with him for a couple of months."
McElhenney and Olson have remained on screen together for the existing 15 seasons of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia." In February 2022, Deadline reported that the series would continue (it had been renewed in 2020 through Season 18). The former president of FX Entertainment, Eric Schrier, told the publication that "It's Always Sunny" wouldn't be going away if its creators were willing to keep delivering the fresh comedy fans enjoyed. No formal updates have since been given.