Meet the Real-Life Loves of “The King of Queens” Cast (Including the Couple Who Played Husband and Wife on the Show!)

The King of Queens is based on heartwarming (and often hilarious) relationships, but the cast has been lucky in love off-screen, too.

Centered on the everyday lives of married couple Doug and Carrie Heffernan (Kevin James and Leah Remini), the series’ stars have a unique bond that translates to real life.

“There is nobody I have worked with or ever will work with that will match what she did,” James told TV Insider in September 2024. “There’s nothing like what I had with Leah in that way. That comfort and laughing my ass off just the whole time.”

In October 2025, the pair posted a hilarious video in which Remini jokingly scolded James for referring to his wife of more than 20 years, Steffiana de la Cruz, as his spouse. “Just wanted to shoot a quick video with me and my beautiful wife,” he says in the clip, drawing de la Cruz in close before Remini walks up and playfully slaps his cheek.

“Hey. I’m your wife. What’s my name?” she asks before James begrudgingly responds, “Carrie.”

Here’s everything to know about the real-life loves of The King of Queens cast.

01 of 08

Kevin James and Steffiana de la Cruz

James met de la Cruz on a blind date in 2001.

Two years later in October 2003, the pair got engaged. The couple married on June 19, 2004, with a guest list that included Ray Romano and Clint Eastwood, plus a buffet of food court favorites.

“We did, like, McDonald’s, we did like, pizza, we did Chinese,” James said during a November 2024 appearance on The Ellen Show. “I did a lot of dancing.”

One year after getting hitched, James and de la Cruz became parents, welcoming the first of four children, Sienna-Marie James, on Sept. 30, 2005. She was followed by daughter Shea Joelle James, born on June 14, 2007, son Kannon Valentine James, who arrived on April 14, 2011, and Sistine Sabella James in January 2015.

James shared a sweet anniversary tribute to his longtime love in June 2023, writing, “19 years… 4 kids… and a lot of peanut butter and jelly… You are my world 🌎 Deo Gratias 🙏❤️🥰 LOVE U.”

In his January 2024 Irregardless special, James said de la Cruz is his “balance.”

“We’ve been together, like, 20 years … She knows everything about me, I know everything about her, we don’t need to talk anymore,” he joked. “We can finish out the rest of our life with gestures, that’s it!”

02 of 08

Leah Remini

Remini was married for nearly three decades before splitting from her real-life husband, Angelo Pagán, in August 2024.

“This decision came after a lot of thought and care, and as hard as divorce is … we know it’s what’s best for us,” the pair wrote via Instagram at the time, adding, “We both changed, as people do, and we got used to playing roles that didn’t fit us anymore. Our bond is still strong—it’s just evolved into something different.”

During their marriage, they welcomed a daughter named Sofia Bella Pagán on June 16, 2004. In their statement, Remini and Pagán wrote that they would continue “celebrating holidays together, watching our favorite tv shows together, and gathering as a family.”

Remini and Pagán settled their uncontested divorce in October 2024. The two remain amicable, revealing that they spend “most Sundays” watching football together.

“Some things never change,” they shared via a joint post the following month.

03 of 08

Victor and Zia Williams

Victor Williams, who plays Doug’s best friend Deacon Palmer on the show, is married to wife Zia Williams.

Victor keeps his personal life relatively private, though he shares hints of his family on social media from time to time. In September 2022, he credited Zia with a photo she took of him glued to his screen.

“Two minutes after telling wifey that I wouldn’t look at my phone during our brunch date,” he captioned the shot.

Victor has also posted about his teenage daughter and son.

Most recently, Victor and Zia attended the New York premiere of Victor’s film The Home with Pete Davidson in July 2025.

04 of 08

Merrin Dungey and Kevin Ryder

Merrin Dungey, a.k.a. Williams’ fictional wife Kelly Palmer, found her happily ever after with husband Kevin Ryder, whom she began dating in 2021.

She announced their engagement via Instagram two years later, showing off a ring with a pink stone in February 2023. On Dec. 31, 2023, the pair made things official.

“Love Never Felt So Good,” Dungey wrote on a slideshow of photos from their wedding day.

According to a January 2024 Instagram post shared by Dungey, she and Ryder met years prior in 2015 when she appeared as a guest on his KROQ-FM Kevin and Bean radio show.

She shared a joint anniversary tribute to her husband in December 2024.

“Happy One Year Anniversary to my favorite. Every day with you is better than the next,” Dungey wrote.

The actress shares two daughters with ex-husband Matthew Drake.

05 of 08

Patton Oswalt and Meredith Salenger

Patton Oswalt found true love not once, but twice in his life.

The Ratatouille actor was first married to Michelle McNamara, whom he met at a comedy club in 2002 following one of his sets, per the Wednesday Journal.

Tragically, the crime writer, with whom Oswalt shared daughter Alice Rigney, died in her sleep at 46 years old in April 2016 from a combination of prescription medications and an undiagnosed heart condition.

While Oswalt went through a period of “darkness” following McNamara’s death, he met wife Meredith Salenger online through their mutual friend, Goonies star Martha Plimpton, in 2017.

Oswalt later told Jimmy Kimmel that he and Salenger connected over a missed dinner party. “[Martha] … invited both of us but we never met – I couldn’t go because of some travel,” he said during a November 2017 appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. “And Meredith messages me the next day and says ‘You missed some amazing lasagna last night, dude.’ ”

According to Oswalt, he was “head over heels” by the time they actually met in person. “It was very Victorian-like, exchanging letters kind of romance,” he said. “Every night we would write about life, politics, books, it was all this deep stuff.”

The couple got engaged in July 2017 and married the following November at Jim Henson Studios in Los Angeles, with Alice serving as their flower girl.

“I’ve only ever felt that level of joy once before in my life, and it was so profound and perfect it felt greedy to ever wish for it again,” he told PEOPLE at the time. “But I did, so now all I can do is show Meredith a level of gratitude and love that’s greater than the joy she’s brought me and my daughter Alice.”

He added: “This is a new level of joy, and a new life.”

He has also continued to honor McNamara, sharing sweet tributes for the anniversaries of her death, her would-be birthdays and celebrating her posthumous accomplishment of hitting No. 1 on The New York Times bestseller list.

06 of 08

Gary and Jackyline Valentine

James’ older brother Gary Valentine played Doug’s perpetually single cousin Danny on the show. However, he has a longtime partner in wife Jackyline Valentine.

The two got married on Sept. 10, 2011, per Instagram.

“Happy Anniversary to my love. I think it’s 54 years. Unless I’m off by 40,” he joked in a 2025 anniversary post, adding, “Still love you.”

Though they largely keep their personal life out of the public eye, Gary lists himself as a “father” in his Instagram bio, while Jackyline’s says “Mama.”

07 of 08

Nicole Sullivan and Jason Packham

Nicole Sullivan, who The King of Queens fans will recognize as Holly Shumpert, actually met husband Jason Packham on the set of the show.

“He was Kevin James’ assistant,” she revealed to Smashing Interviews in September 2010.

They went on their first date on Feb. 12, 2004, getting married two years later on May 15, 2006. Together, the couple have welcomed two sons: Dashel Pearce, who was born on May 12, 2007, and Beckett Edwards, who arrived on Aug. 31, 2009.

Sullivan took time out to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their first date in February 2024, writing via Instagram, “20 years! With this guy by my side. … It’s been a ride. A real mother hecker of a wild ride. But I wouldn’t trade him or us for anything in the world.  Love u Bubz.”

In May 2024, the parents of two spent their 18th wedding anniversary hanging out together on the couch and watching American Idol. “Not fancy—but it works,” Sullivan wrote on Instagram. “Just like us.”

08 of 08

Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara

As Arthur Spooner, Jerry Stiller may have spent much of his golden years living with Carrie and Doug, but in real life, he shared a lifetime of love with wife Anne Meara, who also played his bride on The King of Queens.

The pair met in 1953, and by 1954, they had gotten married. They became a professional pair, working together under the comedy name Stiller & Meara in the 1960s.

“It occurred to us that we were an unlikely couple,” Stiller explained to PEOPLE in 1977, noting their contrasting features, backgrounds and personalities. “People would say to Anne, ‘Heh, you’re married to him?’ I thought we could use it.”

They split up their act in the 1970s, but remained together as a couple. “I love Anne, but if I had depended on her in my professional life, I would have lost her as a wife,” Stiller told PEOPLE. “We felt like two guys.”

The pair were married for 61 years and welcomed two children, Amy and Ben Stiller, together, before Meara died on May 23, 2015. When Jerry died in May 2020, Ben said that he felt like his parents had a chance to reunite.

“They found each other and they were there for each other,” he told Today. “Not to get too sappy, but I feel like they’re connected again.”

In October 2025, their legacy resurfaced through Ben’s documentary Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost.

Read the original article on People