'Friday Night Lights' Cast’s Dating Histories: Minka Kelly, More (2025)

Friday Night Lights focused on the ups and downs of high school football players in the fictional town of Dillion, Texas, from their classes to their dating lives. In real life, Zach Gilford, Minka Kelly and more cast members have managed to find love after appearing on the show, which originally aired from 2006 to 2011.Jesse Plemons, who portrayed Landry Clarke, sparked romance rumors with Kristen Dunst after they started working together on Fargo in 2015."It was a gift," Plemons gushed about working with the Melancholia star during an appearance at PaleyFest in 2015. "I loved Kirsten's work for a long time, and I was really excited once I'd met her, and she's a great person, and we're both actors that just … have fun with the material."One year later, the duo — who played married high school sweethearts on the FX series — took their relationship to the next level off screen. Although Plemons and Dunst prefer to keep their romance private, the Breaking Bad alum opened up about the early stages of their relationship in September 2020."I knew that she would be in my life for a long time," Plemons told The New York Times as the Interview With a Vampire star discussed her admiration for her fiancé's work ethic.Keep scrolling to learn more about the Friday Night Lights cast and their love lives:

The Nashville alum was married to John Britton from 1991 until 1995. She adopted son Eyob from Ethiopia in November 2011, when he was 9 months old. The White Lotus alum confirmed in January 2023 that she’d been dating This Is Us writer David E. Windsor since November 2019.

Chandler, who played beloved father figure Coach Taylor on the sports drama, married Kathryn Macquarrie in 1995. They share daughters Sydney and Sawyer.

The Prom star previously preferred to keep her romantic life private — but she has recently been linked to Chris Skinner.

Kitsch has also chosen not to share much about his offscreen love life, but he does enjoy using his social media to show fans his travel adventures and photography. Over the years, he's been linked to Rachel McAdams, Minka Kelly and Jessica White.

Gilford tied the knot with actress Kiele Sanchez in December 2012 after two years of dating. The couple worked together on the pilot for The Matadors and shared the screen in The Purge: Anarchy.

In August 2015, the duo announced that they were expecting a son, but Sanchez suffered a miscarriage several months later. Their daughter, Zeppelin Adele, arrived via surrogate two years later and they later welcomed son Revel. Gilford reportedly filed for divorce in April 2025 after 12 years of marriage.

Kelly was linked to Chris Evans in 2007 and they were together more seriously from 2012 to 2013. The Roommate star later dated Derek Jeter from 2008 to 2011 and Jesse Williams from 2017 to 2018, and was briefly linked to Kitsch while working on Friday Night Lights.

In September 2020, Us Weekly confirmed that Kelly was dating Trevor Noah. After a brief breakup in May 2021, Us exclusively confirmed that the pair rekindled their romance. One year later, Us confirmed that the pair had split again. Kelly moved on with Imagine Dragons’ Dan Reynolds in late 2022.

After meeting casting director Kelsey Mayfield on the set of Friday Night Lights, the twosome tied the knot in 2013. They welcomed their son, McCoy, in 2015 and their daughter, Clover, in 2017.

Plemons and his Fargo costarstarted dating in 2016 and got engaged one year later. The couple welcomed their son, Ennis, in 2018 and later confirmed that they were expecting again in March 2021. Baby No. 2 quietly arrived later that year. The pair were both nominated at the 2022 Academy Awards for their respective roles in The Power of the Dog. In July 2022, Dunst's rep confirmed the couple had tied the knot.

Palicki was previously engaged to stuntman Jackson Spidel in 2014. After working together on The Orville, she moved on with Scott Grimes. They announced their engaged in January 2019 and tied the knot four months later. In July 2019, Palicki filed for divorce and later requested to dismiss the filing. She filed for divorce again the following year.

Jordan was previously linked to model Cindy Bruna, actress Kiki Layne and YouTuber Catherine Paiz. The Black Panther actor sparked romance rumors with Harvey in late 2020. Harvey confirmed their romance in January 2021. Us confirmed in June 2022 that Jordan and Harvey split.

Smollett married musician Josiah Bell in 2010. They welcomed son Hunter in 2016. The Birds of Prey actress filed for divorce in March 2020 after 10 years together.

Leland shares two daughters, Thea and Leah, with his wife, Freda Ramsey.

Lauria married musician Michelle Armstrong in 2006.

In this article