When it comes to Melissa Joan Hart’s on screen romances, she doesn’t have to explain it all to husband Mark Wilkerson.
“He ignores all that,” Hart, 47, exclusively told Us Weekly while promoting the 2023 World Vision Gift Catalog. “Luckily, he doesn’t pay attention to that stuff. He rarely looks at my social media or anything like that.”
Hart added that her husband only watches her movies when she forces him to do so. “[When] we have to watch it live, [live] tweet it or something like that,” she explained. “We don’t often sit down and watch my stuff.”
The actress certainly has plenty for viewers to watch. Hart shot straight to stardom in the ‘90s for her Nickelodeon hit series Clarissa Explains It All before portraying the titular character in Sabrina the Teenage Witch for seven seasons on ABC and The WB. She has since become known as the “Queen” of Christmas for her holiday films — one of which she’s hoping her family will one day agree to watch.
“I wish they would watch Holiday in Handcuffs,” Hart told Us of the 2007 film costarring Mario Lopez. “That’s my favorite Christmas movie I’ve ever done, but I can’t get them to watch it. It’s so funny.”
While Wilkerson, 47, avoids watching Hart pretend to fall in love in her films, he also has to ignore his wife getting candid about her past real-life romances, as Hart has opened up about her dating life before getting married. Earlier this year, she revealed that she dated fellow Nickelodeon star Chris William Martin, a.k.a. Corky Martin from Hey, Dude, and even had a “little thing” with Ryan Reynolds, whom she worked with on the 1996 Sabrina the Teenage Witch movie.
Maintaining space between careers and romance may be one of the couple’s secrets to a long-lasting marriage. The pair, who tied the knot in 2003, recently celebrated their 20-year anniversary. According to Hart, keeping a unified front up with their children — sons Mason, 17, Brayden, 15, and Tucker, 11 — also helps the relationship.
Hart told Us that while the pair used to have fun “bickering” with each other early on in their romance, their teenagers are using that tone “against” them so it’s no longer “as cute.”
“We’re trying to be careful about how we talk to each other and just trying to lean into each other a little bit more to support [each other] as a team,” she explained. “And especially with teenagers, we’re learning a lot about not letting the kids be, like, ‘Well, dad said I could go.’ Saying things like, ‘Well, I’m going to go talk to your dad. We’re going to decide this together,’ instead of, ‘I don’t know, go ask your dad.’”
While Hart confessed that “nothing can prepare” a parent for their child’s teenage years, she and Wilkerson work hard in teaching their kids how to give back. Hart began partnering with World Vision in 2019, sponsoring three sisters in Zambia who are around the same ages as her own sons. The family of five has since been to visit the girls’ village twice, learning about the struggles they face and providing necessary goods and services.
This year, Hart is lending her support to World Vision’s Gift Catalog, which features more than 100 lifesaving gifts ranging from $16 to $50,000. Donations through the Catalog go to help families around the world and here in the U.S. lift themselves out of poverty. The actress even has her own “Beads of Blessing” bracelet available for purchase.
“Beads of Blessing, which is this bracelet that was made by artisans in Africa, [is] in the gift catalog,” she explained. “You can gift this to someone, a teacher, a mother, whatever. And then the money will go to help the projects that World Vision does.”
Hart noted that there are “many” other options for purchase as well, including animals as well as medical supplies, backpacks and more, which can be sent domestically or internationally. “Wherever you want to send the help,” she told Us.
The 2023 World Vision Gift Guide is available on the organization’s website.
