Inside This Is Us Creator Dan Fogelman's Marriage To Caitlin Thompson
Dan Fogelman is a television producer and screenwriter known for his work on a number of children's films, including "Tangled," "Bolt," and "Cars." However, his reputation and success sky-rocketed after creating, producing, and writing the drama series "This Is Us," which follows the lives of two parents and their triplet children between the past and present.
The series does not shy away from heart-wrenching and melancholy storylines, which can be attributed to Fogelman's desire to create a show that "lives in between the laugh and the [heavy] emotion," as per a 2017 interview with NPR. The point of the series in Fogelman's mind is to speak directly to "that person who wakes up every day determined to be a better person ... and probably fails 99 percent of the time." He adds, "Regardless of politics ... everybody's living the same existence where you're trying to live better and do better. How we get there is what's up for debate."
Many fans of "This Is Us" may not be aware that the "Pitch" creator and screenwriter is married to one of the actors on the NBC show: Caitlin Thompson. Her character, Madison, has changed immensely over the course of the series' six seasons, so much so that Thompson admitted to People in a 2021 interview that she "definitely in the beginning had no idea that it would be what it is today." Throughout the years, fans have wondered what it's like for the creator of a show to be married to one of its actors.
Warning: Spoilers ahead!
Dan Fogelman didn't want Caitlin Thompson's character to sleep with a co-star's character on This Is Us
Dan Fogelman was not a fan of Caitlin Thompson's character, Madison's, storyline with fellow co-star Justin Hartley's character, Kevin Pearson. Fogelman took to Twitter in 2018 to respond to fan rumors that Kevin and Madison were heading down a path toward sleeping together after exchanging flirts at Kevin's sister, Kate's, wedding. The screenwriter penned, "Just FYI: Madison is my wife in real life @CaitwithaC. And if you thought I was letting her sleep with @justinhartley on national television you're nuts." Many of his followers thought the post was hilarious while others expressed their love for the real-life married couple. Some seemed to want to stir the pot, commenting that a romantic relationship between Madison and Kevin was undoubtedly where the show was leading regardless of Fogelman's resistance.
In fact, these latter followers ended up being right. Madison and Kevin not only began hooking up but had twins together in Season 5. Executive producer Isaac Aptaker assured fans in a 2020 interview with Entertainment Weekly that the decision was not Fogelman's, although he put up a good fight. It took two and a half years for the other showrunners to convince him to give in to the Kevin-Madison storyline. It seems like Fogelman never really had the power to prevent the storyline from playing out as Aptaker said, "It's something we've talked about and had in our heads from early on."
Caitlin Thompson and Dan Fogelman had a baby of their own
Caitlin Thompson's "This Is Us" character, Madison, wasn't the only one to welcome a bundle of joy into the world. The actor and her husband, Dan Fogelman, are also proud parents of a baby boy, named Benjamin, who was born in June of 2020. The world found out about the couple's happy news through Thompson's Instagram page where she posted a photo of herself holding Benjamin a couple of months after his birth. She referred to life with Benjamin up until that point as "baby bliss."
In an interview with SheKnows in May 2021, the "Christmas Perfection" actor opened up about becoming a mom during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thompson described the experience as "amazing" in the sense that she could stay home with her baby and "be present" with him. At the same time, raising a child during a pandemic has been understandably "isolating." Since her own pregnancy matched up with Madison's pregnancy on "This Is Us," Thompson reflected, "I felt like I was pregnant for two years because I was pregnant on the show up until [Madison's] labor, and I was [actually] pregnant all through even part of season four."
Fogelman also seems to be enjoying his fatherhood journey, which he posts about on his Twitter account. In a Thanksgiving post, Fogelman uploaded a photo of him holding Benjamin alongside a message that read, "Thankful for this little dude who allows me to do this for 5 seconds a week."