Mary Steenburgen had almost 'given up' on love. Then she met Ted Danson.

File this one under 'couples you probably forget existed but are perfection'.

Comedy actors Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen's love story spans more than four decades, evolving from a chance meeting to becoming one of Hollywood's most enduring marriages.

The Good Place actor and Step Brothers actress share a love story that sounds like it was pulled from the script of a rom-com. Let's get into it.

Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen's first meeting.

Their paths initially crossed in 1983 when Danson auditioned to play Steenburgen's husband in Cross Creek. But it wasn't the right time for them.

Both were married to other people, and Danson didn't get the part, something he later described to People Magazine as "a miracle" in hindsight.

"I was a hot mess back then," Danson joked. Steenburgen added, "I was married. He was married. That was not our moment."

Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen at the 1996 Golden Globe Awards. Image: Getty.

Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen's love story would begin 10 years later.

Then a decade later in 1993, destiny brought them together again on the set of Pontiac Moon.

Despite both having sworn off relationships at the time, their connection was undeniable. Danson had recently ended his relationship with Whoopi Goldberg and was finalising his divorce from Casey Coates, while Steenburgen had divorced Malcolm McDowell.

By then, Mary was 40 and Ted was 45.

They started out developing their friendship. "I wasn't ready for anything like a relationship," Steenburgen told People. "We just kept working together and becoming better and better friends."

Their friendship blossomed into romance during a canoe trip with friends in Mendocino, California, with both returning from the trip completely smitten.

In a 2013 interview, the actress revealed she had almost 'given up' on love when she and Danson fell for one another.

"I had actually, before I met him, gotten a little cynical about love," she told CBS This Morning. "I thought infatuation was about as far as it went, and then I met him. He's the real deal for me. He's definitely heaven-sent."

On October 7, 1995, they tied the knot on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. The ceremony was a fancy affair and was attended by then-President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton, with Clinton giving a speech at the rehearsal dinner.

Their marriage blended together their children from previous relationships: Danson's daughters, Kate and Alexis, and Steenburgen's children, Charlie and Lilly.

At their wedding, Danson's daughter Kate and Steenburgen's daughter Lily were bridesmaids, while Danson's youngest, Alexis, was the flower girl and Steenburgen's son Charlie was the ring bearer.

"He is a result of dreams I had when I was young," Mary Steenburgen has said of her husband.

Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen's relationship in movies and TV.

After their marriage, they co-starred in the 1996 miniseries Gulliver's Travels, with Danson as Dr. Lemuel Gulliver and Steenburgen as his wife Mary.

The couple then appeared together in the 2004 romantic comedy It Must Be Love, playing a married couple rediscovering their love during a snowstorm.

In Curb Your Enthusiasm, the couple once again played a married twosome. The actors hilariously panicked when their characters were set to divorce.

"I go, 'Wait, that's the story? That you and I are divorced?' And he goes, 'Yeah.' I go, 'Ted, it's our names. We're playing two characters that happen to have the same names as us.'," Steenburgen joked on the The Jess Cagle Show.

The couple had to ensure friends and family that art was not imitating art.

"By the end of the night when it aired, it was trending online," Danson said. "It was very strange."

Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen's lasting romance.

In 2018, as part of People's Sexiest, Steenburgen spoke of Danson's strengths as a husband.

"This is a marriage where the man in the marriage is secure in both his kindness and tenderness, but also in his strength," she told the magazine.

"I definitely feel that he is the result of almost like dreams I had when I was young about someone I would want to spend my life with, and I really cherish that and I think neither of us take each other for granted."

In a sweet interview on The Kelly Clarkson Show in 2021, Danson revealed they abide by a 'two-week rule' to allow their busy shooting schedules to work with their marriage.

Revealing they never went longer than two weeks apart, he joked now he could hardly go more than 24 hours away from Steenburgen.

"It's like I've turned helpless, to be honest," he told the host.

Our favourite celebrity couple! Image: Getty.

This weekend, Danson was honoured with the Carol Burnett Award for his contributions to television over his long career at the Golden Globes.

Handed out at the Golden Gala on Friday night, before the ceremony on Sunday, Danson was presented his award by Steenburgen.

She admitted she'd had a crush on him since she first saw him on-screen in commercials in the 1980s, and then again as Sam Malone in Cheers. She assumed he'd be "a slick Hollywood type" in real life.

"How wrong I was," she said. "Slick guys don't say 'gosh-a-rooney' after making love," she said, adding quickly "I'd like to apologise to my granddaughters now."

Her speech also paid tribute to his impressive career — which, this year, included a new hit Netflix series Man On The Inside — and his conservation efforts.

The couple will attend the 2025 Golden Globe Awards on Sunday, following his impressive honour. Ugh! We love them so much.

Feature Image: Getty.