Alan Ritchson might be a big action star now, but the story of how he met his wife, Catherine, is less Reacher and more rom-com.
Videos by Suggest
During a February 2022 appearance on the Today show, the Fast X star, 43, revealed he met Catherine, 37, way back in his High School dancing days in Florida. “Can we keep this between us?” Alan quipped to co-hosts Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager. “It was in ballet.”
And because no talk show appearance is complete without a little light embarrassment, the program then pulled up a photo of Alan and Catherine during a school production of Guys and Dolls (slide three), which Catherine had posted on her Instagram in 2020.
It seems Catherine had a secret weapon in her courtship strategy: cookies. Alan revealed she’d bring him a batch before he went onstage for good luck. “Of course I fell in love,” he admitted.
But this ballet and cookie-fueled high school meet-cute barely scratches the surface of the couple’s relationship. So, let’s dive deeper into the woman who captured the heart of a future action hero with baked goods.
Catherine and Alan Ritchson Weren’t Exactly High School Sweethearts
As mentioned, the actor met his future wife during high school in Florida when he was 17, and she was 16. However, they haven’t been an item ever since.
In a September 2023 appearance on The Road to Wisdom podcast, Catherine clarified their on-again, off-again beginnings. “We haven’t been ‘together’ since then, but we certainly dated,” she explained. Their paths first crossed in a high school dance class—a requirement for Alan, who was studying musical theater at the time.
“I’ll never forget seeing him for the first time in the [dance] studio. I turned to my friend Miriam, and I said, ‘Who is that?’ “ she recalled. “He, at some point, came up to me and we just got chatting.”
Catherine revealed that Alan was the one who initially broke it off at the end of their first summer together, assuming it was “just a fling.” Thankfully, he came to his senses, but Catherine has “made him pay for it ever since,” she joked.
“He still justifies it,” she laughed. “He’s like, ‘You lived 30 minutes away, I couldn’t afford gas.’”
Years later, after graduating from high school, Catherine attended the University of Florida, earning a degree in Finance and Russian. As fate would have it, Alan found himself in Miami for a modeling shoot and reconnected with his old flame through a mutual friend. The rest, as they say, is history. The couple tied the knot in 2006 and has since welcomed three children.
Catherine Ritchson Grew Up on a 90-Acre Farm
Perhaps Alan’s excuse for breaking up with her wasn’t so far-fetched after all. During her appearance on The Road to Wisdom podcast, Catherine shed some light on what it was like growing up on a 90-acre farm.
“I lived in a very small town, we would drive 30, 40 minutes just to go watch a movie in a movie theater,” she said, explaining that long car rides were the norm to get anywhere.
“There was no walking anywhere if we needed to be in civilization,” she noted.
Meanwhile, Alan and Catherine have three sons: Calem (born in 2012), Edan (born in 2013), and Amory (born in 2015). After expanding their family, the couple sold their home in Florida to live a life on the road.
In a December 2023 interview with The Wall Street Journal, the Reacher actor explained that his work commitments fueled the decision.
“Being away from my family for long stretches on location was hard on them and me,” he explained. “So Cat and I recently sold our Florida house, and we now live in Airbnbs and hotels while I’m on set.”
Professionally, Catherine worked as a financial analyst at the talent agency International Creative Management. It seems she’s multitalented, having also served as an executive producer for her husband’s 2017 short film, Treehouse Time Machine.
Meanwhile, Catherine has been sober since 2018.
In October of that year, Catherine participated in Sober October, treating it as an “experiment.” After the 31 days were over, she decided to continue her sobriety.
“I would encourage anyone out there who feels like they begin to ponder a life without alcohol but are quickly swept back into the current of our culture’s expectations or even our own psychological expectations; give yourself some room to experiment,” she detailed in an Instagram post. “You might find some treasures along the way.”
Her Instagram bio reads in part, “Dry life since 2018.”