The Truth About Catherine O'Hara's Husband

Catherine O'Hara was a film and TV icon, and her death at the age of 71 came as a real shock to many. The Toronto-born actress got her first big break on "SCTV," alongside other comedy greats like Martin Short and O'Hara's long-time collaborator, Eugene Levy. And after the sketch series debuted in 1976, there was nowhere to go but up for O'Hara.

Catherine O'Hara evolved into one of the most successful actors in Hollywood — she was likely most remembered for her roles in "Beetlejuice" and "Home Alone," but O'Hara gained a new generation of fans thanks to her portrayal as Moira Rose, the hilarious, over-the-top matriarch in "Schitt's Creek." The show, which also stars Eugene Levy, Dan Levy, and Annie Murphy, became a sitcom sensation, impressing both fans and critics. In 2020, the show swept the Emmys, taking home several awards, including a win for O'Hara for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.

O'Hara was undeniably a star in the entertainment industry, but she was a beloved wife and mom behind the scenes as well. O'Hara was married with kids, and she and her husband, Bo Welch, had been together for nearly 40 years before her unexpected death. Though, she clearly preferred to keep her personal life mostly private, and her husband was more comfortable letting his wife take the spotlight. So, who is Welch, and how did he and O'Hara first get together?

Though Bo Welch has stayed out of the spotlight, he was happily by wife Catherine O'Hara's side as she has shined throughout her career. Welch himself may not be an actor, but he still has an impressive number of Hollywood successes under his belt. According to The Sun, Welch works primarily as a production and art designer, though he has dabbled in TV and film directing, too. He's worked on several Tim Burton films, including "Edward Scissorhands," "Beetlejuice," and "Batman Returns." Welch's work has earned him numerous Oscar nominations and a BAFTA award win for Production Design. 

Interestingly enough, Welch initially aspired to be an architect, but the job ultimately proved unsatisfying. "It [architecture] should serve people and be the framework for a more cohesive kind of country, world, state and town," he told The New York Times in 1992. "But everything in the fabric of our physical world works to alienate and separate people from each other."

Welch and O'Hara met in 1988 on the set of "Beetlejuice," and the film's director, Tim Burton, apparently played a key role in their love connection. Per People, O'Hara told Burton that she was interested in Welch, although she was too shy to tell the production designer about her feelings outright. Not too long afterward, Welch actually asked O'Hara to accompany him on an outing, and the rest is history.

In 1992, they tied the knot, and in 1994 and 1997, the duo welcomed their two sons, Matthew and Luke. When speaking with The New Yorker, O'Hara admitted that she found Welch "very attractive" when they first met and that she left her native Canada behind and moved to Los Angeles to be with him. Clearly, the move was the right decision. 

Regarding the success of their relationship, the key was apparently something simple and unsurprising. When it came to conflict resolution, O'Hara explained to People, "We do a lot of it with jokes. We'll make fun of each other instead of yelling at each other. Sarcasm helps!" Thankfully, it seems like Welch had the comedic chops to match his wife, as he even went viral for trolling O'Hara during her Golden Globes acceptance speech. Obviously, their love was made to last.