Lindsay Mendez and J. Alex Brinson traded the All Rise courtroom for a happily ever after.
Mendez and Brinson played Sara and Luke, respectively, on the CBS legal drama upon its 2019 premiere. Three years later, they struck up a real-life romance.
“Get yourself a partner in this life that loves and celebrates you. This man has been my rock and my champion through this entire Merrily [We Roll Along] experience,” Mendez gushed of Brinson via Instagram in October 2023. “I don’t think I could play Mary Flynn and feel all of that pain without having the love of this sweet man to come home to each night.”
She added at the time, “Thank you is not good enough. You’re the absolute greatest. Worth the wait. Meant to be. My hero.”
Sometimes falling in love onstage can lead to an epic offstage romance — just ask Leslie Odom Jr. and Nicolette Robinson, who met during a production of Once on This Island. “Les was responsible for helping me figure out all of my blocking,” Robinson told Broadway.com in October 2018, explaining that she was asked to […]
Mendez, who won a Tony Award for her 2018 role in the revival of Carousel, began her run in Broadway’s Merrily in 2023. Amid the run, she and Brinson learned they were expecting their first baby together. (Mendez also shares daughter Lucy with a past partner.)
“I’m so grateful for the unrelenting support of my @merrilyonbway producers and company,” Mendez wrote via Instagram in March 2024. “Together, they have made it so that I can happily work safely, all while growing this true Broadway baby. So, I will be continuing with the show, and finish the run on July 7th with my incredible cast.”
Mendez and Brinson wed one month later. Keep scrolling for their entire relationship timeline:
September 2019
Mendez and Brinson were both cast on All Rise, a legal drama set in Los Angeles. The show was canceled by CBS after two seasons before OWN picked it up for a third and final season. Mendez and Brinson’s characters, however, did not play love interests. Brinson’s Luke was the on-off boyfriend of Emily Lopez (Jessica Camacho), who was close pals with Mendez’s Sara.
June 2022
The pair started dating three years later.
September 2023
As Mendez began her run in Merrily, Brinson was her No. 1 fan.
“1st Broadway Preview!!!!!!!! I LOVE YOU! Congrats Queen!!!!” he gushed via Instagram, sharing a video of Mendez and costars Daniel Radcliffe and Jonathan Groff taking their bows.
December 2023
Mendez subtly confirmed that Brinson had proposed over Christmas, sharing a holiday photo with her diamond ring on display.
March 2024
Mendez announced her pregnancy with an Instagram photo of four matching pairs of sneakers.
“Our family band is expanding! And we are bursting with joy!” she wrote via Instagram. “J and I can’t wait to make Lucy a big sister and welcome our new baby this fall.”
April 2024
Mendez and Brinson wed one month later in New York City’s Central Park with Groff officiating the ceremony. Radcliffe, for his part, was the ring bearer.
“It was really nerve-wracking because, until the day before [the wedding], I wasn’t the ring bearer, then Lindsay thought it would be funny because I’m the ring bearer in the show,” Radcliffe quipped to Variety the following May. “I was like ‘Oh, man, now I’ve got responsibility at this wedding, and I have to not screw it up. I have to not drop the rings in Central Park and lose them.’”
Despite Radcliffe’s fears, the wedding went off without a hitch.