Matthew Rhys Reveals How NYPD Accidentally Outed His Secret Relationship with Keri Russell

Matthew Rhys recounted a humorous yet unexpected turn of events on Tuesday’s edition of Late Night With Seth Meyers that led to the accidental public outing of his then-secret relationship with Keri Russell, his co-star from The Americans.

Russell and Rhys have been together since 2014, the same year The Americans premiered on FX. The show ran for six seasons. During the early stages of their romance, the couple attempted to keep their relationship private, particularly from the cast and crew. Their efforts were thwarted, however, when an intruder broke into their New York City apartment.

An Unplanned and Terrifying Revelation

Rhys described the incident to Meyers, recalling the unexpected disruption:

“It was very unplanned. It was quite terrifying, actually. We were together in an apartment, and she woke me up and said, ‘I think there’s someone in the apartment.’ I said, ‘There’s no one in the apartment,’ and then I heard someone saying something. I went, ‘Oh, there’s someone in the apartment!’”

He continued, laughing:

“It was early days, and I thought, ‘Whatever I do next, might define the way she regards me for the rest of my life.’ So I picked up a [fire] poker, instead of locking ourselves in the bathroom, calling 911, which we should do. I went, ‘You stay here, I shall go out.’ And I think my classically trained pipes made them flee, thankfully. So they fled. Anyway, they caught them very quickly, apprehended them.”

The NYPD’s Unintended Role in Outing the Couple

After Russell filed a police report and the intruder was caught, the District Attorney’s office reached out with an unusual request. They wanted to return the couple’s belongings as part of a photo-op on the set of The Americans.

“They were like, ‘Oh, we’d love to bring you your things back and present them to you on set and do a photograph for the DA [with] the NYPD officers who caught them,’” Rhys explained.

The NYPD’s persistence led to an awkward exchange:

“She was like, ‘No, no, no, that’s all right! I’ll just come to a precinct to pick them up.’ He was like, ‘No, we’ll come to set, and we’ll take a photograph and present them to you.’ And she was like, ‘Please, please don’t.’

“They very kindly — and God bless them and thank you for their service — came to set, held up a bag and went, ‘We caught them, and here’s her bag!’ And then the young PA who was next to me and the AD went, ‘No, no, that’s Matthew’s bag!’ And I was like, ‘Shut up!’” Rhys continued.

“They took [something out of the bag], like, ‘Here’s her watch!’ And [the PA was like] like, ‘No, no! That’s Matthew’s watch!’ I was like, ‘SHUT! UP!’”

Rhys concluded with a smile:

“Lo, it came to pass that we were together. Everyone [knew], one clean sweep. Didn’t have to hire a publicist. It was great.”

The story, shared in full detail, highlights the unexpected and often humorous ways relationships can be revealed.