The Real Life Partners Of The Cast Of NCIS: New Orleans
After the successful expansion of the franchise with the action-packed "NCIS: Los Angeles," the long-running and ever popular CBS naval crime procedural drama, "NCIS," spun off once again in 2014 with "NCIS: New Orleans." Like its predecessors, the show depicted a highly skilled and specialized team investigating and solving mysterious crimes committed under the purview of the U.S. Navy, led by a brilliant and charismatic leader — in this case, the familiar and well-liked Scott Bakula of "Quantum Leap" and "Star Trek: Enterprise" fame as Dwayne Cassius "King" Pride. Unlike its fellow "NCIS" series, "NCIS: New Orleans" wove in the singular, deep, and wonderful culture of its setting, as the series shot on location in The Big Easy.
Also lending some realism to the series: the actors who imbued their characters with believable and endearing human emotion. Perhaps their off-screen romances helped make them better performers. Here's a look into the real-life romances, marriages, and partnerships of the cast of "NCIS: New Orleans."
Scott Bakula is married to Chelsea Field on screen and off
For the first three seasons of "NCIS: New Orleans," viewers heard about but never saw an important woman in the life of NCIS Special-Agent-in-Charge Dwayne Cassius Pride — Rita Devereaux, an old friend and military attorney who is also the subject of his long-distance affections. In a 2017 episode, Rita finally showed up in the flesh, portrayed by actor Chelsea Field. And — spoiler alert! — in the 2021 series finale of "NCIS: New Orleans," Dwayne and Rita get married in an intimate backyard ceremony.
It was a case of art imitating life, because off-screen, Field and Scott Bakula, the 1980s "Quantum Leap" legend who plays Pride, have been married since 2009, walking down the aisle after being a couple for 15 years, according to Country Living. The duo share two now-adult children together, sons Wil and Owen. "I love working with her, we've worked together a bunch before," Bakula said on "The Rachael Ray Show" in 2018. "She makes me a better actor, because she works more intensely and more deeply than I tend to work."
That intensity has been on display in Field's work, which includes a lot of searing dramas and action movies. She co-starred as a femme fatale in 1991's "The Last Boy Scout" and as interplanetary warrior Teela in the 1987 live-action film version of "Masters of the Universe." Revealing to People that the married pair "work hard to stay present in the relationship," Bakula added, "I feel incredibly lucky to have the career and family I do."
Rob Kerkovich tied the knot with dietitian Anjali Prasertong
Actor Rob Kerkovich got his big break in 2014, jumping from small roles on network sitcoms to the extremely popular "NCIS: New Orleans." He appeared in all 155 episodes of the show as Sebastian Lund, the lovably geeky NCIS Special Agent specializing in forensic analysis.
In September 2011, according to Instagram, Kerkovich married Anjali Prasertong after a few years of couple-hood. Prasertong works with food on a variety of platforms. On her healthy-eating blog Eat Your Greens, Prasertong noted that she quit being a personal chef in order to be a dietitian. She also blogged for food site The Kitchn, and preferred to publish recipes for easy-to-make vegetarian dinners. In 2019, Kerkovich revealed on Instagram that Prasertong had received her R.D. degree, and she now works as a dietitian in the realm of public health.
After moving to New Orleans for Kerkovich's role on "NCIS: New Orleans," Prasertong started working for Good2Go, which aims to get healthy produce into corner markets and convenience stores around the city. In February 2020, she shared on Instagram that she gave birth to the couple's second child. "If you ever have to do the strange, difficult, messy, life-changing, beautiful and singular work of giving birth, I hope you have a birth coach like @robkerkovich, one who makes you feel brave and unstoppable even when all seems impossible and dark," she sweetly captioned the post. "I'm so excited to raise another kid with him."
Shalita Grant is head over heels for MMA fighter Jessica Aguilar
NCIS Special Agent Sonja Percy headed to New Orleans, leaving her position as an agent at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, and served for three years before moving on to the FBI. Shalita Grant portrayed Special Agent Percy for three seasons, from 2015 to 2018, then moved on to the dark comedy, "Search Party," to play wacky rookie lawyer Cassidy Diamond. In addition to her TV success, Grant has also been lucky in love. "It's really soul-nurturing to be at a pinnacle in your career and have the world be so lovely and so grateful for your work and your home life match your outside," Grant told The Advocate in 2021 of her relationship with athlete Jessica "Jag" Aguilar.
Connected by a matchmaking mutual friend, the couple got together right before pandemic-related lockdowns shut down American life for months in 2020, with their relationship blossoming over the phone because, at the time, Grant lived in Los Angeles and Aguilar in Florida. That was Aguilar's longtime training ground, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel — she's a champion mixed martial arts fighter. Since turning professional in 2006, she's won upwards of 20 bouts. In 2014, Aguilar walked away from the World Series of Fighting league as the title-holding Women's Strawweight Champion, then joined the higher profile Ultimate Fighting Championship.
In 2021, the pair documented their Pride Month celebrations with joint Instagram posts. "This #pridemonth @jagatt and I are #proudandpresent," Grant captioned a sweet series of photos, while Aguilar wrote, "Sprinkles of our LO[V]E..."
Stacy Keach married his Mike Hammer co-star, Malgosia Tomassi
Prolific tough-guy character actor Stacy Keach added one more intimidating guy to his lengthy resume in 2015 when he joined the cast of "NCIS: New Orleans" in the recurring role of Cassius Pride, the late father of main character and Special Agent Dwayne Cassius Pride. In the '80s, Keach starred as Mickey Spillane's classic detective novel hero in made-for-TV movies and the series, "The New Mike Hammer."
"The best thing that came out of [that 1984-87 show]," Keach told Diabolique Magazine in 2018, "was I had the chance to meet my wife." According to Keach, Polish born model-turned-actor Malgosia Tomassi played a nurse, sex worker, and spy on the series. When Keach reprised his role in the late '90s syndicated one-season reboot, "Mike Hammer, Private Eye," Tomassi was a member of the regular cast, portraying Maya Ricci, a yoga teacher with a studio next to the detective's office who would give him grief for smoking.
By the time they were officially co-stars, Keach and Tomassi had been married for more than a decade — they wed in 1986, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Their marriage got underway right after Keach's divorce from his previous wife, Jill Donohue, was finalized, and after he was released from prison on a cocaine smuggling charge, per AP. But "Mike Hammer" wasn't the only time the couple professionally collaborated: They've also written and recorded two songs together, "Follow the Sun" and "Catch Me," sung by Tomassi in her native Polish.
Dylan Walsh has kids with Leslie Bourque, a Louisiana politician
Any good crime procedural show depicts the occasional jurisdictional dispute and/or turf war between law enforcement agencies. When the crew on "NCIS: New Orleans" butts heads (or teams up) with local law enforcement, they usually have to go through New Orleans Police Department's Captain Jim Messier. Dylan Walsh recurred on the show as Capt. Messier, just one role in a long string of TV parts that's also included gigs on "Superman and Lois," "Longmire," "Unforgettable," and "Nip/Tuck."
In 2011, Radar reported that Walsh was in a relationship with Leslie Renée Bourque, and that she gave birth to the couple's daughter that year. A Los Angeles-area fitness trainer, they later had a son together and moved back to her origin point of Lafayette, Louisiana, not too far from where "NCIS: New Orleans" was both filmed and set, according to the Daily Advertiser.
"When I moved back, it was important for me to find my own uncharted territory in my hometown," Bourque told the outlet. That journey apparently included hosting the celebrity interview podcast, "Put a Bourque in It," and also running for office. In 2019, according to Ballotpedia, she ran for a seat in the Louisiana House of Representatives, but soundly lost to incumbent Stuart Bishop in the primary election.
Amanda Warren is partnered with TV and film consultant Kevin Pozzo
The naval-based NCIS team on "NCIS: New Orleans" occasionally interacts with the local government, and that means going through the city's mayor, Zahra Taylor. Between 2017 and 2020, Amanda Warren played the official in seven episodes.
Warren's real-life partner, according to her Instagram, is an actor and crew member named Kevin Pozzo — who she noted in a sweet birthday post "has made me the happiest I have ever been!!!" In addition to a couple of episodes of the 2018 TV adaptation of "The Purge," Pozzo's acting roles all seem very similar: "SWAT Team Leader" on "Queen of the South," "SWAT Operator 1" on "#Freerayshawn," "SWAT Officer" on "Your Honor," and "SWAT Commander" on a 2019 installment of his partner's show, "NCIS: New Orleans." This is because in real life, Pozzo is a former police officer who now primarily works as an advisor and consultant on such matters for TV and film, including on most of the shows where he briefly acted, as well as in the 2019 film, "Queen & Slim."
According to Nola.com, Pozzo once worked for the New Orleans Police Department's SWAT unit. Prior to his days as a police officer, Pozzo was a semi-professional hockey player, taking the ice as a defenseman for multiple minor league teams in the U.S. and Canada from 1992 to 2001.