Longtime love! Bryce Dallas Howard and her husband, Seth Gabel, have a romance that stands the test of time.
The Jurassic World actress met the Fringe alum when they were both studying at NYU in the early 2000s. The twosome began dating in February 2001 — which Howard revealed two decades later.
“Twenty years ago today, I went on a first date with this very dashing man,” the Twilight saga alum wrote via Instagram in February 2022. “Since February 21, 2001, we have seen and experienced so much magic and wonder together. I am amazed by you, the gift of your love, the life we’ve built together, and the way your presence always brings me peace. I love you Seth Gabel. I loved you the first moment I met you. Thank goodness I had the guts to ask you out on the first date — and that’s another long and magical story ;).”
After dating for two years, the couple got engaged — but didn’t walk down the aisle until June 2006. While on their honeymoon in Turkey, Howard learned she was pregnant with her and Gabel’s first child.
“My first pregnancy, I was 25 and my husband was 24. We were newly married and the pregnancy was accidental,” the Lady in the Water actress shared in June 2022 alongside a throwback photo. “We were using birth control methods and I had not missed my period.”
At the time, Howard thought she had the flu or food poisoning and was surprised yet excited to be expecting.
“I instantly was elated — I mean look at my face, look at my body language, I’m pretending I’m already showing,” she reflected. “My sweet husband took a little time to process but quickly was just as excited as me.”
In February 2007, the pair welcomed their first child, son Theodore. Five years later, Howard and the Nip/Tuck actor expanded their family with daughter Beatrice, whom they welcomed in January 2012.
Since becoming a family of four, the duo continued to show their appreciation for one another in various heartfelt social media posts over the years. In honor of Howard’s 40th birthday, the Salem alum penned a touching tribute for his wife.
“I’ve been with this gorgeous woman for more than half my life and today I have the honor of celebrating her 40th birthday!” Gabel gushed via Instagram in March 2021. “Everyday with @brycedhoward is better than the last and there’s no one I’d rather share my everything with. Happy birthday baby! 🥳 🎂 🎉 ❤️💕.”
Seven months later, the Spider-Man 3 alum returned the favor with a heartfelt post of her own for her husband’s milestone birthday.
“My hot husband is juggling it all (kids, pets, moving, new schools) all while I’ve been filming in the UK.” she captioned a series of photos of her husband with their pet cat. “We are all very needy with Seth because he’s everyone’s favorite person. He’s turning 40 today and it feels like lifetimes ago and also just yesterday that he turned 20 and we were two crazy kids in love. I love our life together and I love you, Seth. Happy Birthday ♥️.”
Sign up for Us Weekly’s free, daily newsletter and never miss breaking news or exclusive stories about your favorite celebrities, TV shows and more!
Keep scrolling to see Howard and Gabel’s relationship timeline:
Credit: Eric Charbonneau/Invision/AP/Shutterstock
Bryce Dallas Howard and Husband Seth Gabel’s Relationship Timeline: From College Sweethearts to Family of 4
Longtime love! Bryce Dallas Howard and her husband, Seth Gabel, have a romance that stands the test of time.
The Jurassic World actress met the Fringe alum when they were both studying at NYU in the early 2000s. The twosome began dating in February 2001 — which Howard revealed two decades later.
“Twenty years ago today, I went on a first date with this very dashing man,” the Twilight saga alum wrote via Instagram in February 2022. “Since February 21, 2001, we have seen and experienced so much magic and wonder together. I am amazed by you, the gift of your love, the life we’ve built together, and the way your presence always brings me peace. I love you Seth Gabel. I loved you the first moment I met you. Thank goodness I had the guts to ask you out on the first date — and that’s another long and magical story ;).”
After dating for two years, the couple got engaged — but didn’t walk down the aisle until June 2006. While on their honeymoon in Turkey, Howard learned she was pregnant with her and Gabel’s first child.
“My first pregnancy, I was 25 and my husband was 24. We were newly married and the pregnancy was accidental,” the Lady in the Water actress shared in June 2022 alongside a throwback photo. “We were using birth control methods and I had not missed my period.”
[jwplayer 2dAEKnve-zhNYySv2]
At the time, Howard thought she had the flu or food poisoning and was surprised yet excited to be expecting.
“I instantly was elated — I mean look at my face, look at my body language, I’m pretending I’m already showing,” she reflected. “My sweet husband took a little time to process but quickly was just as excited as me.”
In February 2007, the pair welcomed their first child, son Theodore. Five years later, Howard and the Nip/Tuck actor expanded their family with daughter Beatrice, whom they welcomed in January 2012.
Since becoming a family of four, the duo continued to show their appreciation for one another in various heartfelt social media posts over the years. In honor of Howard’s 40th birthday, the Salem alum penned a touching tribute for his wife.
“I’ve been with this gorgeous woman for more than half my life and today I have the honor of celebrating her 40th birthday!” Gabel gushed via Instagram in March 2021. “Everyday with @brycedhoward is better than the last and there’s no one I’d rather share my everything with. Happy birthday baby! 🥳 🎂 🎉 ❤️💕.”
Seven months later, the Spider-Man 3 alum returned the favor with a heartfelt post of her own for her husband’s milestone birthday.
“My hot husband is juggling it all (kids, pets, moving, new schools) all while I’ve been filming in the UK.” she captioned a series of photos of her husband with their pet cat. “We are all very needy with Seth because he’s everyone’s favorite person. He’s turning 40 today and it feels like lifetimes ago and also just yesterday that he turned 20 and we were two crazy kids in love. I love our life together and I love you, Seth. Happy Birthday ♥️.”
Keep scrolling to see Howard and Gabel’s relationship timeline:
The twosome went on their first date, with Howard later admitting she asked out Gabel first. While neither have disclosed what they did, the Jurassic World actress hinted it is a “magical story” via Instagram in February 2022.
Gabel and Howard got engaged after two years of dating.
The actors walked down the aisle after five years together. While on their honeymoon, the Dads director learned she was pregnant with their first child.
Three years after welcoming Theodore, the Jurassic World Dominion star opened up about experiencing postpartum depression and how Gabel and her family were by her side. (Howard is the eldest daughter of director Ron Howard and Cheryl Howard. She also has two sisters, Jocelyn and Paige, and a brother named Reed.)
“[Seth] would ask what he could do to help, but knowing there was nothing he could do, I screamed expletives at him, behavior he had never experienced in the seven years we had been together,” she wrote in an essay for Goop. “Distraught and concerned, he told me he would figure everything out, tried to assure me I didn’t need to worry. He created a plan, and with the support of my husband, my friends and my family, I returned to my midwife.”
The pair welcomed their second child daughter, Beatrice. More than one year later, Gabel exclusively opened up to Us Weekly about his wife giving birth in Vancouver as he was filming the finale season of Fringe.
“I knew that she could go into labor at any minute, and we were in a different country so I didn’t know if everything was going to work out well, it was a lot of stress,” he recalled in February 2013. “We weren’t positive that the hospital was even going to accept us!”
The family of four decided to relocate from California to New York after they fell in love with a cozy home upstate.
“We were in upstate New York for my brother’s wedding, and we’d been talking about moving the family from Los Angeles back to New York. And we kept driving past this one stone house that we loved. But it wasn’t for sale,” Howard recalled to Architectural Digest. “Then, on our last day there, we got an email saying that very house was about to hit the market. When I walked in there, it was like completely immaculate inside too. So we ended up buying it.”
Howard shared a sweet selfie of her and her beau in honor of his 39th birthday.
“Happy Birthday Seth, you handsome, kind, brilliant, insightful, poetic, and funny as f—k husband ❤️ I met you when you were 19, and today, you turn 39,” she penned the post. “I can say whole-heartedly that the love has only grown with every day and every adventure we’ve journeyed together (including this photo from our trip to NZ earlier this year). Thank you for holding down the fort these last four months. I don’t have the words to describe how much I miss you and I cannot wait till we are back in each other’s arms ❤️ Love you so so so much.”
In honor of their 15th wedding anniversary, the Mandalorian director posted a throwback photo of the young couple.
“To the man who has made me and our family feel so adored each and every day, Happy 15th Wedding Anniversary 😘,” she wrote via Instagram. “ I can’t wait to spend the rest of our lives in love @stealthgabel ♥️.”
After not being together on Gabel’s birthday, the Florida native was reunited with Howard as she was working overseas.
“This newly 40-year-old man came to visit me in the UK! I love you Seth Gabel!” she gushed alongside a selfie of the twosome.
The SAG winner and the Billions actor posed for a picture together in honor of their 20th anniversary.
“A double post to celebrate over two decades of being in love with @stealthgabel. Happy 21st Anniversary 😘,” she captioned the snap.
Gabel posted a sweet pic with his wife with the caption, “She’s the best ❤️.” Howard, for her part, shared via Instagram a few weeks later that she still owned the sweater she wore on their first date because she “just knew” they were meant to be.