The Truth About Annie Murphy's Husband
"Ew, David" has become a catchphrase, a meme and, of course, the tagline that in part garnered actor Annie Murphy her first Emmy award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy. The "Schitt's Creek" star may have become a household name seemingly overnight in 2020, but Murphy has been working in Hollywood since 2007, according to her IMDb page.
Prior to the six seasons of "Schitt's Creek" beginning in 2015, Murphy had appeared on "Rookie Blue," "Good God," and "The Plateaus." The role of Alexis in "Schitt's Creek" changed Murphy's life. "I'm certainly in a different place than I was before the show," she told Harper's Bazaar in February 2020. "[Before the show] I hadn't worked in almost two years...I still can't really believe I got the part in the first place. I feel so lucky that every day I went into work and was schooled by Catherine O'Hara, Eugene Levy, and Chris Elliott."
Now, with new series "Kevin Can F**k Himself" currently filming, Murphy is ready for what's next in her career. Unlike her alter ego, Alexis, Murphy has a decidedly more calm personal life, and has been married to husband Menno Versteeg since 2011. Here's what we know about her marriage to the musician!
Annie Murphy is married to a Canadian rocker
It's a maple leaf kind of love! Canadian duo Annie Murphy and musician Menno Versteeg tied the knot in August 2011, per PopSugar. Versteeg was the lead singer of band Hollerado but the group split up after 12 years together. While the band called one another "still best friends in the world," they went their separate ways in 2019. Versteeg moved on with Anyway Gang, made up of other solo artists like Dave Monks of Tokyo Police Club and Chris Murphy of Sloan, per iHeartRadio. Versteeg also has his own record label, Royal Mountain Records, and encourages signed artists to seek treatment addressing the pressures of touring with a $1,500 mental health stipend.
Of course, Murphy and Versteeg have collaborated using their respective artistic talents. Versteeg appeared in Murphy's TV series "The Plateaus" and also co-wrote the famed "A Little Bit Alexis" song in "Schitt's Creek," per PopSugar.
In 2020, Versteeg opened up to Elle about working with Murphy. "For the first half of Hollerado's career, Annie was a struggling actress — she would get the odd commercial or bit part here and there, but she had a lot of time off. So she would often come on tour with the band, and that would involve sometimes coming onstage to sing with us," he recalled. "We ended up writing songs together ... She's one of the funniest people on this entire planet."
Menno Versteeg wrote So It Goes, a song about his grandfather
Inspired by his grandfather, whom the Nazis imprisoned during World War II, Menno Versteeg put his remarkable story to music with "So It Goes." The song, by his indie Canadian band Hollerado, focuses on how his Dutch resistance fighter grandfather was captured and survived in prison rather than being executed because a Nazi officer spared him. That grace was something Versteeg's grandfather returned to the officer when he testified during his trial after the war which, in turn, spared the officer's life.
"It's the story of forgiveness in the most horrible of times — there's something inspiring about it," Versteeg told CBC News. Versteeg even met the grandson of the officer who helped his grandfather all those years ago in Berlin. A video of their encounter is also part of the "So It Goes" music video. Versteeg told HuffPost that the officer's grandson was hesitant to meet up at first, but they ended up meeting and becoming friends.
"He didn't know what I was about," Versteeg told HuffPost. "I explained to him that this story is about what happened, for sure, but my desire to meet him was very much ... I wanted to meet this person who, we would not be alive were it not for this giant act of forgiveness."
Annie Murphy and Menno Versteeg's house burned down
Annie Murphy has more in common with her character, Alexis Rose, in "Schitt's Creek" than one would initially think. For example, she lost her home before making it big with the beloved sitcom. Although her home was taken by fire rather than by financial misuse, Murphy and Menno Versteeg's personal tragedy hit home (literally) right before "Schitt's Creek" changed their lives. Murphy told Fashion that she and Versteeg weren't home when the fire happened, though the experience changed them.
"My house had just burned down, I hadn't booked a job in two years, I had $400 in my bank account and I'd absolutely s**t the bed on my very first screen test out in L.A.," she told the magazine. "When my place burned down, it was a serious lesson in losing things, but it was an even bigger lesson that things are just things and can be replaced in one way or another." Interestingly, that's something that her character Alexis had to come to terms with, as well.
The fire happened in May 2013, according to HuffPost, and Versteeg's bandmates were fast to react to the tragedy online. Just shy of 2 a.m. on May 7, 2013, after the fire, it appears Versteeg replied to concerns on Twitter about his (and Murphy's) wellbeing: "Place is trashed. We are all fine. And that's all that matters," the tweet read.
Menno Versteeg supports Annie Murphy unconditionally
Some celeb couples keep their relationship on the down-low on social media. While Menno Versteeg isn't constantly flaunting his married life/best friendship online, he does make it clear that he is Annie Murphy's No. 1 fan. He has posted multiple adorable shoutouts about his wife's stardom on "Schitt's Creek" on his Instagram — adorable candids like these —and he even showed his nurse-husband skills when Murphy got Lasik in 2015. Plus, as previously noted, Versteeg and Murphy collaborated on the now infamous "A Little Bit Alexis" bop from "Schitt's Creek."
Not to worry, though. Versteeg isn't alone in his cutesy social media posts about his love. Murphy posted a tribute on their anniversary back in 2017, which featured an adorable photo of the two on their wedding day, captioned: "Boyfriendz 4 lyfe six years and a day ago." However, she did blithely call for a divorce via Twitter after Versteeg said he didn't like pizza in 2015, to which her "Schitt's Creek" co-star Dan Levy rebutted, "Divorce isn't enough."
Menno Versteeg signed Stranger Things star Finn Wolfhard's band, Calpurnia
Supporting wife Annie Murphy isn't the only thing musician Menno Versteeg is putting his energy behind. In fact, his record label, Royal Mountain Records, is lending a hand to the next generation of musicians. They even signed Calpurnia, "Stranger Things" star Finn Wolfhard's band.
"It's been an incredible year," Wolfhard told CityNews in 2018. "We have signed to Royal Mountain Records and they are the most supportive label and people that we could've asked for. It's been a pretty amazing experience, getting our own fan group and core fan base." Royal Mountain Records actually represents nearly 50 artists. Some of their other represented artists include Alvvays, Islands, KOKOKO, and Wolf Parade. Royal Mountain Records' reach extends into even raising funds to address mental health in the artistic space. In 2019, the label officially launched a fund to ensure their signed bands have access to mental health services.
"It's literally an everyday occurrence where you run into something," Versteeg told the Toronto Star at the time. "In every band you know, there are people who are in art because they have something inside them that needs to come out, and often a professional helping that thing come out will serve a totally different purpose than it coming out just through your art."