Meet 90s and 00s star Alyson Hannigan’s famous actor husband of 23 years and their two children

The Primetime Emmy-nominated actor met his now-wife on the set of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and they tied the knot in 2003, though it wasn’t a simple transition from co-workers to marriage. Speaking to US Weekly, Sarah Michelle Geller and Alyson recalled the couple’s bumpy start to romance. 

“Somebody had a crush and she fell hard,” Sarah said of her friend. Alyson added, “Oh yeah, and he wouldn’t date me, by the way!” Denisof was hesitant to date a coworker but it’s happily worked out for the couple who now enjoy life as a family of four.

Alexis appeared in 9 episodes of Buffy but is better remembered for reprising his role as the stuck-up Watcher Wesley Wyndam-Pryce in Angel for over 100 episodes, developing Wesley’s character significantly.

Outside of the Buffy-verse, he’s appeared in Avengers Assemble, Guardians of the Galaxy and appeared in 10 episodes of How I Met Your Mother, co-starring again with wife Alyson.

The couple’s first child, Satyana Marie Denisof, was born on 24 March, 2009. Her name comes from the Sanskrit word for ‘truth’, with ‘ana’ added at the end to fit better alongside Alexis’ Russian surname. 

Inspiring her daughters to make brave choices has always been a priority for Alyson, it seems, as she told People when explaining her decision to join Dancing with the Stars: “You shouldn’t let the fear of, ‘What if I’m not good enough?’ hold you back. I’m doing something that terrifies me. It doesn’t come naturally, but I’m going to work hard to improve every week.”

Alyson’s second daughter arrived on 23 May 2012. Keeva’s first name comes from the Gaelic name Caoimhe. Alyson explained on The Ellen DeGeneres Show: “It means just lovely, wonderful, beautiful, it’s like eight words but they’re all nice.”

Keeva and Satyana were both delivered at home with their mother explaining to Yahoo in 2015: “I don’t like hospitals and the idea of being in labor somewhere I don’t like at all wasn’t how I wanted to bring my kids into the world. For me, the choice was phenomenal.”

The American Pie actress has come a long way from band camp. After starring in all 144 episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer with Sarah Michelle Geller and Nicholas Brendon, Alyson appeared as Lily in hit sitcom How I Met Your Mother. 

She has also worked as a voice actor on Disney’s Fancy Nancy between 2018 and 2022, and most recently appeared in rom-com Solo Mio. According to IMDb, her latest project Dodie & Cheryl Get Hitched is in pre-production and stars Alyson as the titular Cheryl Crum.