It’s official: Nobody Wants This is the most delightfully tangled web of on-screen and off-screen relationships on TV right now. The hit Netflix rom-com doesn’t just bring the laughs — it brings real-life Hollywood couples into hilariously intertwined roles that have fans doing mental gymnastics to keep track.
Let’s start at the heart of it all: Kristen Bell and Adam Brody, who star as chaotic-but-charming couple Joanne and Noah. Their characters’ love story has been the emotional core of the show since Season 1 — but IRL, both stars are very happily married to other famous faces. Kristen is married to actor and podcast host Dax Shepard (who, for the record, hasn’t popped up on the show… yet), while Adam has been married to Gossip Girl alum Leighton Meester since 2014.
Now here’s where things get deliciously messy: Leighton actually joined Nobody Wants This in Season 2, playing Abby, Joanne’s former middle school nemesis turned mommy influencer. On the show, Abby is married to a character played by Joe Gillette — and here’s the kicker: Joe is dating Jackie Tohn in real life, who also happens to star in the show as Esther Roklov.
Got all that? Let’s recap: Kristen Bell’s character is dating Adam Brody’s character. Adam’s real-life wife, Leighton Meester, plays the wife of Joe Gillette, who’s dating Jackie Tohn — who plays Adam and Kristen’s friend on the show. It’s a Hollywood love square that somehow makes sense… if you draw a chart.
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Even the cast admits it’s a lot to wrap your head around. “It got so incestuous,” Kristen told Entertainment Weekly in September 2025. “I had a blast on set saying, ‘Jackie’s boyfriend is playing Adam’s wife’s husband and Adam’s wife is playing Jackie’s boyfriend’s wife.’ It was like breaking the sim.”
The group has also leaned into the chaos online. After Season 2’s release, Kristen shared a video on Instagram joking about the tangled web of relationships. In the clip, Adam points to Joe and says, “That’s my wife’s husband.” When someone asks Kristen who Leighton is, she laughs, “That’s my boyfriend’s wife.”
