Lauren Ridloff's Husband Douglas Ridloff Is a Deaf Artist

Lauren Ridloff's husband, Douglas Ridloff, has a successful career as an American Sign Language poet and has dabbled in sign language coaching. Although they have been together for sixteen years, the couple joked that they still hadn't gotten their love story straight.

Douglas's wife has made a name for herself in the film industry as a well-known deaf actress following roles in "Legacies," "New Amsterdam" and "Sound of Metal." And her husband has also proved successful in his field, following his slam poetry in sign language performances at TEDx Talks.

Although they have slightly different versions of how their love story began, the "The Walking Dead" actress admitted to falling in love with Douglas on their first date, despite having a boyfriend.

Lauren Ridloff's Husband Is a Deaf Artist

Alongside working as a sign language coach, Douglas is also a visual poet. He has performed on many stages and delivered poems in motion to cheering crowds.

In 2018, he was a sign language coach on an episode of "Saturday Night Live." That same year, he continued his profession as a sign language coach on John Krasinski's— who is married to Emily Blunt—horror film, " A Quiet Place." He also worked on the film's sequel, "A Quiet Place Part II."

The Couple Told Their Story in Sign Language

Before their 2006 wedding and the birth of their two children, Lauren and Douglas met while she was studying at California State University in Northridge. He was visiting a friend who attended the same school and lived in the same dorm as Douglas's future wife.

According to Douglas, he and his friend were looking for Lauren's boyfriend at the time, John. He knocked on her door, and when it opened, he saw her. Their first exchange lasted seconds. After asking Lauren if she knew where John was, she signed "no," and Douglas thanked her before leaving.

Their paths crossed again later on in New York. John and a friend, David, joined a group of friends—which included Lauren and her friend—for drinks. However, according to his wife, only three people were there that night. She said:

"I met this guy, and he is so funny and warm, and I kept laughing and laughing, and I fell in love with you right there."

Lauren added that she felt terrible for their mutual friend they ignored after getting lost in conversation. However, Douglas noted that he found Lauren attractive and knew he had to have her number, which he received.

They stayed in touch, even though Lauren had a boyfriend with whom she said she was going through a slow breakup. For their first date, Lauren picked a Mexican restaurant, and they ended the night with drinks at a bar.

Over drinks, Douglas said he had the corny idea to write out four questions for Lauren to answer, promising her she would not be able to answer "no."

Although she could not remember all four questions, Lauren recalled that the first was, "Do you like chocolate?" and the fourth was, "Can I kiss you?" and Lauren answered "Yes" to both. Douglas shared:

"This was someone I didn't want to lose. I wanted to keep dating her and see how it would go because I really felt that she could be the one."

16 Years of Saying 'I Do' with These Two

In June 2022, Lauren and Douglas celebrated nearly twenty years of marriage. In honor of the milestone, the actress shared a throwback from their wedding day, and in the caption, she shared, "16 years ago I said I do, and I still do today, tomorrow and always (except last night when you stole the covers) Happy anniversary."

Earlier in 2022, the couple's children joined them for a picture of the family enjoying a swim. Lauren humorously captioned the post, "The hubs cast me as a mom in this amazing Ridloff production. It was such a hit that we decided to go for a sequel. Best decisions ever."