Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr.'s relationship timeline explored as actress shares secret to her long-lasting marriage

Sarah Michelle Gellar is telling the world how she keeps her marriage to Freddie Prinze Jr. going.

The actress, 48, reflected on her 23-year marriage during Wednesday’s episode of Today with Jenna & Friends. Noting that she first met her husband on the set of the 1997 film, I Know What You Did Last Summer, she shared that the pair were friends for a few years before they began dating.

Acknowledging that they have been married for over two decades, hosts Tiffany Haddish and Jenna Bush Hager asked her: “What’s the secret?”

“Separate bathrooms,” Gellar answered, prompting Bush Hager to ask: “That’s it? It’s that simple?” She concurred, replying: “It’s that simple.”

Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr.'s relationship of 23 years explored:

The Buffy the Vampire Slayer alum and the She's All That actor first met in 1997 while filming their horror slasher film. The actor told People Magazine back in 2001 that at the time, he and Gellad "really didn't dig each other" at first, but things changed when they began speaking.

"Then one day I gave her a ride to the gym. We talked on the way up, and she was a cool chick," Prinze said.

In 2020, Prinze once again told the outlet that neither one of them “were into marriage" when they began dating, but one day he “just knew” they were going to tie the knot.

“I knew I was gonna propose,” he explained. “I didn’t know when or how. And so I did and fortunately, she was on the same page. My instincts were correct.”

Sarah Michelle Gellar added,

“I think for the first time it felt different right? Maybe it was the right time for both of us in our lives.”

The Buffy the Vampire Slayer star then offered her advice when it comes to working on a long-lasting relationship:

“Take the 10 minutes—put the phone down. Have a cup of coffee together. Walk the dog at the end of the night. Read a story with your kids. Make the most of the time that you have. We are all pulled in so many directions, so make sure that, whichever one you are focusing on, you’re present.”

in 1999, Sarah Michelle Gellar made a cameo appearance in Prinze Jr.’s movie She’s All That, and director Robert Iscove told Cosmopolitan in 2015,

“[Gellar] was there visiting Freddie and we asked her if she would come and do it, and she said she would come and do it, but she wouldn’t speak. She wouldn’t say any lines. Okay, we don’t know why you wouldn’t say, ‘Thank you,’ or ‘No.’ But that was her thing and she did it. And to get Buffy in the movie was certainly—because at that point, Buffy was huge.”

Back in 2021, she took to Instagram to share the cameo for the film’s anniversary:

“In honor of its 22 anniversary, I thought I would post one of my greatest on-screen performances in #shesallthat,” Sarah Michelle Gellar wrote. “I think you really understood that my character did not want pepper. Also, I believe my husband @realfreddieprinze made an appearance in that film as well 😂 😂 #flashbackfriday #fbf #anniversary.”

Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr. began dating in 2000. During a 2001 interview with People Magazine, Gellar said,

“We were friends for a very long time. We’d had many dinners before. And we were supposed to go with someone else, and the third person didn’t make it out and we decided to still go...We were just two people at dinner catching up...We had a long car ride and a long dinner and things just happened.”

Prinze Jr. said that after his date with Gellar, he knew she was the one.

“I didn’t go on dates with other girls, nor did I even want to pursue dates with other girls,” he said.

In April 2001, the pair announced that they had gotten engaged when Sarah Michelle Gellar was 24 years old. The following year, they played the now-iconic characters Fred Jones and Daphne Blake in the live-action Scooby-Doo.

On September 1, 2002, they tied the knot at the El Careyes resort in Mexico.

“They glowed as they gazed at one another,” said a guest at the time. “Everyone could feel the love they were sharing. It was perfect.”

In April 2009, the pair announced that they were expecting their first baby, and by September, they welcomed their daughter, Charlotte Grace Prinze. During an interview with People Magazine in November that year, they reflected on waiting a few years before they had kids:

“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,” Sarah Michelle Gellar explained. “I don’t know if you know how to do that when you’re in your 20s.”

Prinze added,

“I’m so happy we didn’t have kids in our 20s—I just didn’t know a thing. You have so much more patience in your 30s, and I feel like I appreciate this so much more.”

By April 2012, they revealed that another baby was on the way

“She and Freddie are thrilled,” a source shared. “They love their little girl more than anything in the world and know that love will only multiply. She is such a fantastic mom; it is just great news.”

In September 2012, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr. welcomed their son, Rocky James Prinze. At the time, she uploaded photos of Rocky as a baby, writing,

“And just when I thought it wasn’t possible to love another human the way I loved my daughter, seven years ago today, my son was born, and I learned that was not the case. Rocky, on the day you were born, I swear my heart tripled in size. Your laugh is the only medicine I will ever need, and your excitement for life is my motivation.”

In September 2017, the pair celebrated their 15th anniversary. They shared a video montage of themselves through the years, writing,

“My husband thinks I’m crazy, but I’m not the one who married me. #happyanniversary @realfreddieprinze 15 years!!”

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This past September, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr. celebrated 23 years together.

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