Actress Sarah Michelle Gellar has celebrated her 24th wedding anniversary with actor Freddie Prinze Jr by sharing throwback pictures from their early years together.
The 49-year-old star of Buffy the Vampire Slayer posted the nostalgic images on Instagram on Tuesday, September 1. Her 50-year-old husband later shared the post on his own Instagram Stories account.
In her message, Gellar asked whether anyone could have imagined telling the pair where they would end up 24 years later. She noted that while they had technically been together for 26 years since becoming a couple, Tuesday marked 24 years of marriage.
Gellar gained global fame in the late 1990s starring as Buffy Summers in the hit television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which ran from 1997 to 2003. Prinze emerged as a leading teenage film star during the same era, featuring in popular romantic comedies such as She is All That. The couple also co-starred together as Daphne Blake and Fred Jones in the live-action Scooby-Doo feature films in the early 2000s.
From horror film set to first date
The couple first met in 1997 while filming the teen horror movie I Know What You Did Last Summer. Although they hit it off on set, the two actors remained close friends for several years before their relationship became romantic.
I Know What You Did Last Summer became a major box office hit following its release in October 1997, helping launch both actors into mainstream Hollywood stardom.
Their romantic relationship began in 2000 following an accidental dinner date. The pair had planned to meet a mutual friend for dinner, but when the friend was unable to attend, Gellar and Prinze decided to dine alone together.
The evening proved to be a turning point for the couple. Prinze has previously noted that after that first dinner, he had no interest in dating any other woman. The couple got engaged in 2001 and married on September 1, 2002, at the El Careyes resort in Mexico.
El Careyes, located along the Pacific coast in the Mexican state of Jalisco, is a luxury private resort destination. Gellar and Prinze have since welcomed two children, 16-year-old daughter Charlotte and 13-year-old son Rocky.
Maintaining a lasting Hollywood marriage
Despite being recognised as one of the longest-lasting couples in Hollywood, Gellar and Prinze have deliberately kept much of their family life out of the public spotlight. Gellar has explained that she considers it essential to maintain a clear boundary between her public career and her private personal life.
The actress has emphasised that maintaining a long-term marriage requires constant effort and commitment. Speaking previously to People magazine, an American weekly celebrity publication, Gellar stated that individuals must be willing to work for their relationships, noting that the principle applies to marriages, friendships and personal connections in general.
Prinze has attributed the longevity of their relationship to mutual respect and the solid foundation of starting as friends before becoming romantic partners. Now celebrating 24 years of marriage and roughly 26 years as a couple, the pair remain one of the most stable partnerships in the entertainment industry.
