‘Walker’ Stars Jared Padalecki and Genevieve Cortese: What to Know About Their Relationship

After making their first TV appearance as fictional husband and wife on The CW’s Walker, Texas Ranger reboot, the real-life married couple Jared and Genevieve Padalecki have been on viewers’ minds. The show has already broken records following its Jan. 21 debut as the network’s most-watched series premiere in five years, Entertainment Weekly reports.

Before the actual couple made their debut as Cordell Walker and Emily Walker on the show, they met while working on Season 4 of Supernatural. Genevieve guest-starred as Ruby, a demon devoted to Lucifer’s return. Padalecki recently said goodbye to his beloved character Sam Winchester after the series came to an end in November. His wife penned a sweet message to the star following the show’s finale. “Jared, what you have given to [your character] Sam Winchester, to the cast, the crew, the friends you’ve met, the family you’ve grown, is immeasurable,” she wrote. “You walked in [as] a young kid of 23 and walked away married to a demon and spawned 3 children. I am so proud of this adventure and everything you gave to it.”

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the couple has three kids together, two boys and a girl: Thomas, Shepherd, and daughter Odette. The budding family recently moved to a Texas lodge in Austin, Texas but decided to make it kid-friendly for obvious reasons. Working with kids and making their house feel more comfortable can be an arduous task. The parents spoke with PEOPLE, revealing how the family was adjusting.  “We have two young boys, so I don’t want to tell them they can touch the furniture,” Genevieve said. “Everything we have is rough so they can fool around with it and if they get some color on it, that’s okay.”

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The couple celebrated their 10-year wedding anniversary almost a year ago. The two wed in Cortese’s hometown of Sun Valley, Idaho. “I can’t even imagine what I must have done in a past life to deserve to be able spend THIS one with this phenomenal women [sic]. I am the luckiest man alive. Love you baby,” he captioned the celebratory post. 

Us Weekly reports it was during their 10-year anniversary dinner that the Walker star was asked by series creator Anne Fricke if he would like to work on the show playing husband and wife with his actual wife. “I was concerned that people might actually think it was his idea or that they would have preconceived notions,” Genevieve said. 

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Padalecki proposed to Genevieve in 2009 –– just a year after meeting each other on Season 4 of the popular CW series. Jared popped the question at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in October but didn’t make their public announcement until January. 

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They’re a couple of marathon runners. The two completed the Boston Marathon in 2019. “Like pregnancy and motherhood, my journey to the marathon included a ton of surprises—and lots of late-night researching. I spent countless hours looking for the perfect gear that wouldn’t chafe and shoes that fit in just the right way (and would cause the least amount of toenail loss—gross, I know). Quality and quantity of the right meals were also challenges,” Genevieve wrote on her blog of her marathon training. “Figuring out what to eat pre- and post-training to avoid upsetting my stomach or making me sluggish. I also learned how crucial it was to find the right fit in a running group and a coach who could help me find the right balance of miles in my training—and encouragement to find the time while balancing being a mom.”

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In 2015, Padalecki made news after canceling one of his appearances due to him experiencing depression. He tweeted telling his followers that he was “in desperate and urgent need of my family.” “I was 17 years old when I moved to Los Angeles, and I just kind of got into a habit. … Everything was like, work, work, work, work, do, do, do, do,” he told Us in June 2015. “And the last summer, my life has changed a lot. I have a wife. I have two sons, and so I really needed a chance to just unplug. And it was the best thing I’ve ever done. I’ll probably do it every year.”

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The family has made a few socially distanced vacations in an attempt to escape the monotony of being stuck in quarantine. Genevieve snapped a few photos of their hiking trip, making sure even the little ones were wearing their masks.