Sarah Michelle Gellar & Freddie Prinze Jr Are Married for 19 Years Now after Accidental First Date

Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr. have been married for almost two decades, but their relationship started as an accidental date. Get inside their beautiful relationship and marriage.

American actress Sarah Gellar has risen to great heights since making her screen acting debut in the television film "An Invasion of Privacy."

Since then, she has starred in series like "Swans Crossing," "All My Children," "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Scooby-Doo," "The Crazy Ones," and many more.

Meanwhile, Freddie Prinze Jr. is an actor, writer, and producer. He has featured in movies like "I Know What You Did Last Summer" and "Scooby-Doo" alongside Gellar and series like "Friends," "Boston Legal," "Freddie," and "24."

Besides being in the same profession, Prinze and Gellar have been married for over 19 years and are still going strong. However, the couple started dating by accident. Find out more about their union below.

IT ALL STARTED WITH FRIENDSHIP

Gellar and Prinze got to know each other while filming "I Know What You Did Last Summer." Although their characters did not have many scenes together, Prinze often gave Gellar a ride in his car. Eventually, they became friends.

During a chat with E! News, Prinze said he and Gellar just became friends. Thus, they knew the kind of persons they were, as well as their morals and priorities.

They also knew each other's faults. He explained that they had opposite personalities but ended up being a perfect balance. He concluded:

"It didn't happen until years after and there was a solid foundation built. And That's probably the main reason why we've always been cool and groovy."

As Prinze and Gellar got closer, they bonded over food. Their love for food led to Gellar playing host to a weekly barbecue with Prinze's family. Then, he felt she was skinny and could not resist the urge to cook for her.

The lovebirds still have a shared passion for food. Gellar has admitted Prinze's culinary skills. In a post she made in November 2020, she shared a picture and video of them exploring sushi and yakitori on a night outing and captioned it:

"@realfreddieprinze is an amazing chef, but there's still one thing he has yet to master- sushi and yakitori....until last night...."

THE FATEFUL "ACCIDENTAL" FIRST DATE

During an interview with Us Weekly, Gellar opened up on her and Prinze's first date. She revealed that they celebrated the 20th anniversary of their first date by going to the restaurant where they had their first date.

When asked how she and Prinze made the leap from friends to lovers, Gellar said their relationship happened organically. She explained that their relationship differed from nowadays, where people meet through social media and dating apps.

Gellar revealed that she and Prinze were supposed to have dinner with a mutual friend on the night of their first date. However, their friend could not make her flight, and they went ahead with the dinner. She said:

"We'd had tons of dinners before and for some reason, it felt different that night. Organically, it just transitioned into something else."

In a 2019 chat with Us Weekly, Prinze gushed about his wife, saying, "From the first time we kissed, I didn't go on another date — it was just Sarah."

The sweet couple still celebrates their first date every year. In January 2020, Gellar shared a post on her Instagram page narrating the story of their first date.

She shared two side-by-side snaps of them from years back and a more recent photo in the post. In the post's caption, the actress detailed how they decided to meet still and catch up after their friend could not make it to the dinner and concluded:

"Now 20 years together, 17 plus married and two kids, we still go to that restaurant for dinner. So thank you @sloaney77 for not showing up for dinner."

THE KEY TO LONG-LASTING MARRIAGE

Prinze and Gellar got engaged in April 2001 and tied the knot in Mexico on September 1, 2002. The couple will celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary this year.

Gellar marked her and Prinze's 19th wedding anniversary last year by sharing two black and white photos of their wedding day. She looked beautiful in her white wedding dress while Prinze wore a matching white suit and pants. In the post's caption, Gellar wrote:

"You... are my favorite husband #happyanniversary."

Despite Gellar and Prinze being married for a long time, they are still going strong in their relationship. Prinze said that their relationship has always been good because they were friends for two years before they ever went on a date.

In a chat with Us Weekly, Gellar said her relationship with Prinze takes effort to maintain. She explained:

"I think the truth of any relationship is that, whether you're a couple, whether you're friends, whether you're business partners, is you have to put the work into a relationship."

Gellar stressed that it takes work to have a good friendship and that couples have to call, check in, and dedicate time to their other halves. However, most people are not willing to put in that work. The "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" actress added:

"So to have a successful relationship, whether it's marriage, whether it's friendship, whether it's business, you have to put the time, if you want to see the results."

She concluded by saying one needs to have private things and things that are between them and their spouse if they want to keep a relationship.

RAISING KIDS AS STRICT PARENTS

Gellar and Prinze are parents to two children. They welcomed their first child, Charlotte Grace, in 2009, while their son, Rocky James, was born in 2012.

The couple chose not to have kids immediately after their marriage. They finally became parents in their 30s, which they see as a blessing in disguise. Gellar explained:

"Becoming a parent is the most selfless act, and you need to be at a point in your life where you can give up anything and everything for a child."

The successful actress also admits that she and Prinze are strict parents. Hence, they have laid-out rules about how their son and daughter use phones.

She told Us Weekly that they are strict about family dinners and stipulate that there should be no phones on the table during such gatherings.

Gellar enjoys being a mom to her kids and once described to Parade how being a mother filled the missing part of her life. She also said:

"I've done some pretty amazing things. I've hosted Saturday Night Live. I've traveled the world. But for me, all that pales in comparison to bedtime [with her kids]."

Gellar showed love to her kids in her post on Instagram on Mother's Day last year. She shared a sweet picture of Charlotte and Rocky and captioned it:

"To the two that made me a mother, and will forever call me mommy. On this my first Mother's Day not with you, there is a part of my heart in pain, but the larger part is overflowing with love and gratitude."

She concluded her post by saying she is a better person for knowing and loving her children and said every day with them is Mother's Day.

Although Gellar shares pictures of her family's beautiful moments, she is sensitive about her children's privacy and protects them by covering their faces now that they are getting older.

For example, in January, she shared photos of her family during one of their vacations and covered Charlotte and Rocky's faces with stars.

Gellar and Prinze have come a long way in their relationship and marriage and have two adorable children. The cute family will surely have more beautiful moments in the coming years.