George Stephanopoulos and Ali Wentworth’s Relationship Timeline: From a Quick Engagement to 2 Decades of Romance

Credit: Courtesy Ali Wentworth/Instagram; Shutterstock; Courtesy Ali Wentworth/Instagram; Shutterstock

George Stephanopoulos and Ali Wentworth’s Relationship Timeline: From a Quick Engagement to 2 Decades of Romance

Lasting love. George Stephanopoulos and his wife, Ali Wentworth, have a relationship that has continued to stand the test of time — and make Hollywood history.

The couple met in April 2001 after one of the Nightcap alum’s friends told her they would be a good fit. Despite her original reservations, Wentworth eventually agreed to a blind date with the Good Morning America anchor.

''You know how when you go on a date and the first 15 minutes are on automatic pilot?'' Stephanopoulos told The New York Times in November 2001. ''About 15 minutes in, she just leaned in and said something, and we were suddenly in another place, in another universe, immediately. We went from strangers to friends to being in love in days.''

Two months after going on their first date, the couple got engaged, and in November of the same year they tied the knot — the Massachusetts native’s father performed the ceremony.

Within the next five years, the lovebirds welcomed two daughters, Elliott and Harper, and have continually supported each other.

The In Living Color alum revealed in 2017 that she has committed to an early bird schedule for bed in order to make sure she could go to sleep with her husband, whose job requires him to wake up at 2:30 every morning. “I feel like to stay married; I have to go to bed at 8:30 p.m.,” Wentworth said during an appearance on Live With Kelly and Ryan in May 2017.

When it comes to what makes their nearly 20-year marriage work, the Office Space actress said “humor.” “I think we’re hot for each other,” she added while sitting beside her husband during an April 2018 Good Morning America appearance.

The actress has also written about her love life in her 2018 book, Go Ask Ali: Half-Baked Advice (and Free Lemonade).

“The lowest moment for me is when the time arrives for the fateful question: ‘How often do you and your husband have sex?’” Wentworth wrote in her memoir. “I have lost friends with this question.”

According to the book, her pals have reacted strongly when they hear just how active the couple’s sex life is.

“The women gasp and scream like I’ve confessed that I shot my dog,” she joked. “One of them always slams her fist down on the table; a woman’s wine glass once smashed in her hand. I’m sorry! We’re hot for each other. Jesus!”

In March 2020, Wentworth tested positive for coronavirus and her husband was by her side. After her two weeks of quarantine, he cheered her on to Destiny’s Child’s “Survivor” on April 13, 2020. He revealed that same day that he had also tested positive for COVID-19 after caring for his wife but was asymptomatic.

Scroll down to relive Stephanopoulos and Wentworth’s relationship from the beginning.

Credit: Courtesy Ali Wentworth/Instagram

April 2001

The couple began dating in April 2001 after Wentworth moved to New York City and agreed to go on a blind date with Stephanopoulos. “I said, no, thank you. Not interested. Not my type. I grew up in politics in D.C., like, no,” the actress, whose mom worked for Nancy Reagan in the White House, told Jimmy Fallon in August 2017 about her initial reaction to the setup. “I was like, when is Matthew Perry getting out of rehab, that’s who I want. Or Hugh Grant.” She eventually agreed to lunch at Barneys with the Massachusetts native. “I’m telling you, by the end of lunch, done. We were engaged two months later.”

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November 2001

In November 2001, the two were married at the Greek Orthodox Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in New York City after dating for six months. “I knew within 24 hours, I would not ever dare risk losing her,” the news anchor told The New York Times on November 25, 2001.

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September 2002

The lovebirds welcomed their first child, daughter Elliott, on September 9, 2002, in Washington D.C.

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2005

The happy couple welcomed their second daughter, Harper, on June 2, 2005.

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2012

“We’ve been married 10 years and we have two kids,” the In Living Color alum explained on Good Morning America in 2012. “I’m telling you, my heart skips a beat when he walks in the door.”

Credit: ABC

2013

More than a decade of marriage, the couple played the “Not So Newlywed Game” on Good Morning America. They answered almost every question correctly including Stephanopoulos’ guilty pleasure, which was Tasti D-Lite ice cream, and what their wedding song was by Elton John.

Credit: YouTube

November 2016

In 2016, the actress’ husband appeared as a guest star on her comedy Nightcap, as himself, and showed his support. “It took 15 years of marriage to get him to come to something on my turf,” Wentworth told Good Morning America in November 2016. “I thought he was great.”

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November 2016

The journalist revealed that when it comes to the pair’s relationship and parenting tactics, “let’s just say we balance each other out.” Wentworth told Entertainment Weekly in November 2016 that her husband is “more of the disciplinarian, but I’m the shopper. I’m the indulger.” She added: “But it works. Like he said, it’s a good balance.”

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May 2017

“He’s America’s Greek and a sexual icon, he’s been called,” Wentworth said on Live With Kelly and Ryan in May 2017. She explained that the two stay in sync by going to bed together, even though Stephanopoulos wakes up for work at 2:30 a.m. “I feel to stay married; I go to bed with him at 8:30 p.m.,” she explained. “He has to kiss us all before he leaves in the morning, it’s like this weird ritual.”

Credit: ABC

April 2018

“I’m always right and he’s always wrong,” Wentworth joked on Good Morning America in April 2018 about the key to their 16-year marriage. “I think humor. I think we’re hot for each other.”

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April 2018

After releasing her book Go Ask Ali, in which she described her sex life with her husband, Wentworth opened up about her happy marriage. “It was suddenly very uncool to be a solid family,” she explained on the Wendy Williams Show in April 2018. “I believe that [sex is] part of the marriage. This is the one thing I have with him. You need it.”

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April 2018

“No. No. No. But he’s my straight guy,” the Office Space actress told Parade in April 2018 about whether her husband is funny. “He’s not funny per se, but I can make fun of him and he can laugh at that. He can laugh at himself. There’s endless making fun of him, and he loves it. That’s the best. If I had a husband that was like, ‘Stop it,’ I wouldn’t have married him. No. George can fall off the bed laughing at something that’s amusing.”

Credit: Courtesy Ali Wentworth/Instagram

April 2020

After being in isolation for 16 days because of testing positive for coronavirus, the actress was serenaded with “Survivor” by Destiny’s Child as she walked downstairs in her home and Stephanopoulos clapped. “I am grateful for my health. It was a brutal and scary time. But I am one of the lucky ones,” Wentworth wrote alongside the video on April 13, 2020.