Jimmy Kimmel and Molly McNearney worked on Jimmy Kimmel Live! for six years before they started dating outside of work.
As the only woman who wrote for the show, McNearney and Kimmel became friends even though they were both dating other people. When they were both single again, the host of a late-night show made a meal of McNearney’s favorite foods, and that’s when they decided to get together. They got engaged on safari in Africa and got married in Ojai, California, in 2013.
While Kimmel is known for his work in front of the camera, McNearney has had a successful career behind the camera as a writer and executive producer for her husband’s show.
She is the executive producer and co-head writer of Jimmy Kimmel Live!
McNearney and Kimmel don’t just live together, they also work together. She is the executive producer and co-head writer for Jimmy Kimmel Live! She has also worked on the Primetime Emmy Awards and the Oscars. The Oscars on March 12, 2023, will be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel. McNearney is set to be the executive producer of the show.
She sometimes shows up on Kimmel’s show, and Kimmel has talked about her on occasion. The former host of the Oscars told Matt James that McNearney had guessed pretty accurately who the last three contestants on James’ season of The Bachelor would be.
“I don’t think she’s thinking anything, she just seems to be looking at them. “Sometimes she chooses before the show starts and she just looks at a picture and decides, and somehow she gets it right,” Kimmel said on air, adding that McNearney thought Rachael Kirkconnell would be James’ “bride.”
She and Kimmel started dating in 2010
Before they started dating, the producer worked for Kimmel for six years.
“When I met him for the first time, he insulted me,” McNearney told Glamour about their first time together. “The executive producer took me into his office and introduced me to Molly, saying, “This is my new assistant, Molly.” Jimmy barely looked up from his desk until my EP said, “She does triathlons.” Jimmy then looked up at me and said, “That’s really stupid!” What a waste.'”
At first, Kimmel and McNearney were just friends because they were both seeing other people. Over time, their friendship at work turned into something more, and Kimmel won McNearney over by cooking for her.
“After the show, all of the writers would get together, and we’d just hang out more and more. We were really good friends, but then things just kind of changed. He made me food, and that was it. It was the deal-maker, “Glamour was told by McNearney.
She got engaged to Kimmel in South Africa
A source told PEOPLE at the time, “After Jimmy and Sarah [Silverman] broke up, both Molly and Jimmy were single, and they hit it off.” “They have a lot of fun together.”
Before they got engaged, the couple was slow to tell their co-workers about their relationship.
“I was very, very worried because I love our writers so much and because we work together so closely. I was also the only woman writer in the room, and I didn’t want to change the way things worked “Glamour was told by McNearney. “Here, people like to make fun of Jimmy, and I’m one of them. When you get along with your coworkers, one of the things you do is make fun of the boss. Now that I’m dating the boss, I didn’t want to stop making fun of him.”
She married Kimmel in 2013
McNearney and Kimmel got married in Ojai, California, on July 13, 2013. Stars like Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Emily Blunt, and Jennifer Aniston were among the people who came. Instead of giving them gifts, the couple asked their guests to give to charity instead.
After the wedding, the couple went on their honeymoon to Portofino, Italy.
McNearney talked about his relationship with Kimmel in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. He joked that Kimmel was “the best wife you could ask for.”
“When we started dating, I would go back and forth between my place and his,” McNearney said. “My things are at home, and I like having my own space. One time, he was in the bathroom for a long time, and I figured something was going on inside of him.”
The head of production also said, “A few days later, he gave me a big box with two of everything in my makeup and Dopp kit. He saw that I was carrying things back and forth and wanted me to feel at home in his place. He spent that hour and a half in the bathroom going through everything in my bag, including every lotion, razor, deodorant, shampoo, and piece of makeup.”
She has two kids with Kimmel
They have two kids: a daughter named Jane and a son named William “Billy” John. Katie and Kevin are the children of the late-night host’s first marriage.
After her first child, Jane, was born, McNearney made jokes on Twitter about how hard it was for her to give birth. “Kids, don’t do drugs. Until you get pregnant. Then do them ALL, “the mother-to-be wrote.
Billy, the couple’s son, was born with a heart defect and had to have three heart surgeries right after he was born. Kimmel has been very honest on his show about what happened, and in 2017 he praised McNearney for being “so strong, level-headed, positive, and loving” during the worst nightmare a new mother could face.
In 2018, Kimmel paid tribute to McNearney on Instagram on Mother’s Day by posting a picture of their children.
“Happy #MothersDay to all moms, but especially to my wife Molly. You are even more beautiful with weird little people clinging to you,” he wrote.
She is open about her son’s health challenges
McNearney is also very honest about the health problems of her son Billy. The mother of two talked about it on Anna Faris’ podcast Unqualified. She said, “Kids are so strong. He had open-heart surgery on Monday, and we were back home by Friday.”
When Billy had surgery and Kimmel went back to work, McNearney wasn’t ready for his emotional speech about their son.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, McNearney said, “So, there I was, breastfeeding Billy in my living room while my mom sat next to me and we watched.” “I cried all the way through it. I couldn’t believe how much courage it took to tell that story a week after it happened. That wasn’t necessary.”
She said, “Our family has great health care, so he didn’t have anything to gain by lying about it. He did it for the other people we met in that hospital. When he got home that night, I gave him a big hug and wouldn’t let go.”
She gave away Kimmel’s possessions on TV
McNearney has been on Jimmy Kimmel Live! several times where she gives away things that she has been trying to get Kimmel to get rid of.
In the first segment, McNearney gave away a set of golf clubs owned by Kimmel’s manager and a pair of running shoes that looked like the American flag.
When he began the segment, Kimmel said, “You know marriage isn’t easy.” “One of the main things that cause me and my wife to fight is about stuff. She doesn’t like mine. She likes hers, but she wants me to throw out everything I have. So much so that we’ve made that a recurring nightmare on the show.”
She and Kimmel have joint charity interests
The two have been known for helping others. In 2020, the couple said they would match up to $25,000 in donations to the St. Joseph’s Center in Los Angeles.
Kimmel wrote at the time on Instagram, “Let’s make sure every kid gets gifts this year.”
Kimmel also helps the Alex’s Lemonade Stand organization. In 2015, he talked to PEOPLE about why he helped the charity for cancer research. “I’ve had many relatives die of cancer,” he said, “but it’s more about the possibility of that happening and being a parent and seeing these people who decided that instead of being devastated by the loss of their daughter to cancer—which, of course, they were—they would do something to help others in memory of their daughter.”
