"First shot at the title": Chad Michael Murray opens up about how he met his wife, Sarah Roemer

After more than two decades in Hollywood, Chad Michael Murray remains one of the most enduring heartthrobs of the early 2000s. From a brooding teen icon in One Tree Hill to leading man in A Cinderella Story and Freaky Friday, the actor has managed to evolve gracefully while keeping his personal life refreshingly grounded. In 2025, he returned to the big screen in Freakier Friday, Disney’s long-awaited sequel that became the year’s highest-grossing comedy.

But while his career has been full of memorable onscreen romances, Murray recently revisited a real-life love story during his appearance on Cosmopolitan’s “Blind Date” interview series. Sitting down for the unscripted conversation, he offered a rare glimpse into his personal world — including how his relationship with wife and actress Sarah Roemer first began. What followed wasn’t just a cute meet-cute; it was the kind of story only Chad Michael Murray could deliver, complete with charm, confidence, and perfect timing.

A bold beginning turned lasting love

During Cosmopolitan’s Blind Date segment, Chad Michael Murray revealed that he and Roemer met while filming the action-thriller series Chosen. At the time, both were busy with their roles and didn’t interact much off-camera. 

“We never dated. We didn’t really talk to each other,” he admitted. 

But something about her lingered in his mind after production wrapped.

“I couldn’t get her off my mind. So I just walked over and said, ‘When your relationship ends — because it will — give me first shot at the title.’ That’s it. And I just left that little nugget and moved on,” Murray shared.

Roemer, who had since ended her previous relationship, reached out to him a few months later. The rest, as Murray put it, “just fell into place.” The two began dating in 2014, and within a year, they quietly married. They’ve since built a family of five, welcoming their third child, a daughter, in August 2023.

Chad Michael Murray also admitted that love hasn’t always come easy for him. During the same conversation, he confessed to feeling “far more insecurities than you could imagine” during his early career, especially in the Cinderella Story era. Yet with Roemer, he found a lasting sense of peace. Last year, celebrating their tenth anniversary, he wrote on Instagram that being with her had been “the best decade” of his life — one he hopes will stretch into “at least 50 more anniversaries.”

Chad Michael Murray’s career explored: From teen idol to seasoned storyteller

Long before delivering memorable romantic lines off-screen, Chad Michael Murray made a career out of them. The actor first rose to fame in the early 2000s through roles on Dawson’s Creek and Gilmore Girls, before landing his defining turn as Lucas Scott on One Tree Hill. His portrayal of the sensitive, introspective high school athlete made him one of the defining faces of millennial TV drama.

On the film side, Murray became a familiar leading man through roles in Freaky Friday opposite Lindsay Lohan, A Cinderella Story with Hilary Duff, and House of Wax alongside Paris Hilton. As his career evolved, he embraced more mature and varied projects, appearing in Agent Carter, Riverdale, Sun Records, and the romantic drama Sullivan’s Crossing. Beyond acting, Murray has also explored storytelling from behind the scenes — penning a graphic novel titled Everlast and co-authoring the adventure romance American Drifter with novelist Heather Graham. 

At 44, Chad Michael Murray continues to prove that Hollywood longevity is about more than leading roles; it’s about reinvention and authenticity. With a thriving creative streak and a family that grounds him, Murray seems to have found what so many of his characters were searching for — real connection, on his own terms.