Party of five! Shortly after Jared Padalecki connected with Genevieve Padalecki (née Cortese) on the set of Supernatural, the pair found love and tied the knot before welcoming three kids.
“I realize Father’s Day was supposed to be about … well … ‘fathers’ … praising them and thanking them and making them feel needed and appreciated. But, as the ‘father’ in this relationship, I wanted to change things up a bit,” the Gilmore Girls alum — who shares sons Thomas and Austin and daughter Odette with Genevieve — wrote via his wife’s Now & Gen blog in June 2017. “I wanted to take this opportunity, after my fifth Father’s Day (and counting), not to say ‘you’re welcome,’ but to say ‘thank you.’”
He continued in his sentimental note: “Thank you for letting me feel what it’s like to love something more than yourself. I have your back, now and always. You’ve humbled me, you’ve helped me rediscover the joy of discovery. You’ve turned my world upside down. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Jared and the Idaho native met when Genevieve booked a recurring role on season 4 of his CW series Supernatural in 2008. The pair wed two years later in February 2010. Amid their sweet romance, the Walker star and Genevieve first expanded their family in March 2012 when Thomas joined the brood.
“I’ve been trying to do everything I can to be the classic father: when [Genevieve] needs ice cream, I go get ice cream. If she needs a foot massage, I do the foot massage. I’ve [done] everything I possibly can,” the Texas native exclusively told Us Weekly in January 2012 of his spouse’s first pregnancy. “Obviously, I’ve been working, so I can’t be there all the time when she needs me, but I make sure she has what she needs when she needs it, and when I get home at night.”
The couple’s second son, Austin, was born in December 2013. They welcomed daughter Odette nearly four years later. Since then, the twosome have figured out how to seamlessly balance parenting, their busy careers and their relationship.
“It sounds so boring, but it’s all about just scheduling time,” Genevieve exclusively told Us in January 2021. “That’s on multiple facets. From, ‘Hey, we’re going to take time the two of us just to be completely alone.’”
She added at the time: “A couple of times we’ve had date nights at the Commodore Perry, which is a hotel in downtown Austin. We just to look in each other’s eyes and connect because even though we’re connecting on set or connecting at home, there’s constantly people around or we’re having to multitask.”
Scroll below to see Jared and Genevieve’s cutest family photos through the years: