Who Is Bryce Dallas Howard's Husband? All About Actor Seth Gabel

Bryce Dallas Howard and Seth Gabel’s love story feels like a modern-day fairy tale.

The pair met at New York University Tisch School of the Arts in 2001, where they were both studying acting. Their first coffee shop date kicked off an over two-decade relationship, marked by their wedding in 2006. According to the Jurassic Park star, she knew immediately he was meant for her.

In an anniversary Instagram tribute post in 2023, Dallas Howard revealed that they didn't make plans and it was their "best anniversary yet." She added, "We reminisced, we took a walk, we watched episodes of our favorite show from the earliest days of our relationship (“Nigella Bites”)."

Dallas Howard added, "I love you Seth Gabel — thanks for going on that date 22 years ago. I still own the sweater I wore that night because I JUST KNEW.⁣”

So, who is Bryce Dallas Howard’s husband? Here's everything to know about Seth Gabel and his relationship with the actress.

Gabel is an actor

Like his wife, Gabel is also a working actor. He has appeared in shows like Sex and the City, Salem, Big Sky, American Horror Story and more.

In a 2012 interview with Anthem Magazine, Gabel revealed his passion for acting began as a child.

“When I was 11, my friend Josh Gad — he’s also an actor now — asked me to check out an acting camp with him, just to try it out for a day,” he said. “I loved being there. I spent the summer there and starred in a couple of plays. I started to fall in love with the process of acting."

He continued attending camp for years and eventually enrolled in the Tisch School of Arts at New York University. His passion for acting has grown throughout the years.

“I remember my first play, a Western, and trying to figure out how to sound like a cowboy. It was going well and I could feel myself transforming into someone else,” Gabel said. “I loved that I could bring something from myself to that kind of character and gain insight. That’s the part of the acting process that I’m really hooked on. You can learn a lot about yourself from that experience.”

Gabel is childhood friends with actor, Josh Gad

The couple are surrounded by big time entertainment talent. Outside of Dallas Howard’s famous father, Frozen’s Josh Gad has been friends with Gabel since childhood. The two grew up together in Florida, and their friendship has continued to grow over the years.

In a 2014 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Gabel shared that Gad is the godfather of Dallas Howard and Gabel's children.

“I’ve known Josh Gad since kindergarten. We’ve been best friends since then. He got me into acting…It was so trippy, because I took my son to see Frozen and was explaining, Josh is his godfather, and so I was explaining your godfather is the voice of Olaf. He was just so starstruck by it,” he detailed.

Dallas Howard and Gabel met at New York University

The couple studied at NYU, and according to Dallas Howard, it was love at first sight — at least on her end.

“The second I saw him on campus at New York University I broke into hives,” she told The Guardian in 2011. “That night I wrote in my journal: ‘Today I met the man that I'm going to marry.’ It was love at first sight — but not for him."

Dallas Howard continued, "I pursued him for months and months, and there was no interest. Then I called him at an insane hour of the night and asked him out for coffee. He agreed, we went out and he called one of our friends afterwards and said: ‘The tables have turned. I am so nervous she doesn't like me anymore and I really like her!’ ”

Dallas Howard and Gabel married in 2006

Five years later, the couple married in Greenwich, Connecticut.

While the pair haven't revealed many details from the day, she has shared photos of her Zac Posen wedding gown in the past.

Gabel has learned important lessons from his father-in-law, Ron Howard

Gabel credited Academy Award-winning filmmaker and father-in-law Ron Howard with some of the best advice he has ever received in a 2017 interview with Larry King.

The advice came from his actions rather than words. “Just by example, my father-in-law Ron,” Gabel shared. “Just him being a good person.”

Beyond his kind example, the Salem star also learned the importance of humility. “I very quickly learned there’s no point in having an ego in this business,” Gabel said.

Dallas Howard and Gabel share two children

The pair have two children, a son, Theodore Norman and a daughter, Beatrice Jean. The Twilight alum grew up with a famous father, and she decided she wanted to give her children the same low-key upbringing her parents prioritized.

“What my parents did that was great was they exposed all of us to movie sets and making movies and the crew,” she told PEOPLE in 2020, “We had a very deep understanding of the kind of work that my dad did."

However, she wasn’t exposed to the glamor present in Hollywood. “We were completely sheltered from that,” she added, “I think that that was a good call.”

Dallas Howard and Gabel moved from the East Coast to Los Angeles

Dallas Howard and Gabel have ties to the East Coast, and they lived there with their family for years.

In 2022, the family relocated to Los Angeles. At the time, the Spiderman actress hired her family friend, Claire Thomas, to decorate their new home.

“Seth calls Claire ‘the bippity boppity boo lady,’ ” Howard told Architectural Digest, referring to Cinderella’s fairy godmother, “She’s just one of those creative people who has ideas and makes them happen.”

They are "die-hard" Star Wars and Star Trek fans

The couple’s L.A. home is full of references to their favorite films and destinations. Their guest bedroom is filled with pictures of tulips in homage to their love of Amsterdam, and the wallpaper in their dining room is reminiscent of the mystical forest in the movie My Neighbor Totoro, one of Dallas Howard’s favorite films.

Dallas Howard and Gabel love both Star Wars and Star Trek, and in their 2022 interview with Architectural Digest, they described themselves as “die-hard fans.” Their home’s rear facade shows a mural with two suns rising from the horizon, and their kitchen includes a Baby Yoda garlic holder.