“Wait a minute, I really like this person”: Will Ferrell talks about his journey to true love

Will Ferrell and his wife Viveca Paulin didn’t know how to find true love. In a recent episode of the MeSsy podcast by Christina Applegate and Jamie-Lynn Sigler, the 56-year-old actor told their love story.

Early days and an unfortunate separation

Ferrell revealed that their relationship started out very intensely. “In August we’ll have been married 24 years, but we’ve known each other since the summer of 1991,” he said. “It’s one of those stories: When we first met, we both thought, ‘Wait a minute, I really like this person,’ but it was kind of too much, too fast and at too young an age, the intensity was like, ‘Oh woah.'”

They met at the South Coast Repertory Theater in Costa Mesa while attending a summer conservatory program. They initially loved each other very much, but things moved too fast for them and they were still very young. Eventually they decided to split up and stay friends.

For five years, Ferrell and Paulin were just friends. Eventually, they got back together and started dating again, which led to their long-term marriage. “Maybe that’s the point though, you know, you seem to be best friends when we see each other,” Applegate noted. Ferrell confirmed this, saying it was his luck.

The big news

While filming Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Applegate noticed that Paulin was rarely seen at social events. According to Ferrell, his wife had repeatedly canceled dates due to illness, which made him doubt whether everything was OK in their marriage.

But eventually it became clear what was going on with Paulin. “The reason was that she wasn’t feeling well because she was pregnant with Magnus,” Ferrell explained. They decided to keep it quiet until they were halfway through production and then let people in on the secret.

Applegate recalled: “I remember you two had something that you hadn’t revealed yet. Not just anything, but obviously a pregnancy!”

Currently, Ferrell has three children with his wife Paulin: 20-year-old Magnus, 17-year-old Mattias, and 14-year-old Axel. They’ve had ups and downs on their journey from teen love to a permanent marriage, but that’s their bond. As Applegate described, Ferrell and Paulin are “couple goals across the board.”