NEWSChris O'Dowd's Wife Dawn O'Porter Claims She's 'Always Broke' in Shocking Confession: 'I Work Paycheck to Paycheck'
Dawn O’Porter opened up about living paycheck to paycheck and struggling financially as a working writer.
Aug. 3 2025, Published 10:44 a.m. ET
Dawn O'Porter, the talented author and wife of actor Chris O'Dowd, shares her surprising financial reality despite their high-profile lifestyle.
"I work paycheck to paycheck. I'm always broke," O'Porter, 46, revealed on the Friday, July 25, episode of the "White Wine Question Time" podcast. "My card got declined last week. I'm like, 'What the f--- is happening? When will this end?' I've never felt, like, I'm living [well]."
The struggles are real for O'Porter, who notes that "some years you're doing well, and some years it's just an absolute disaster. That pattern never ends."
Dawn O’Porter admitted she never felt like she was ‘living well.'
The struggles are real for O'Porter, who notes that "some years you're doing well, and some years it's just an absolute disaster. That pattern never ends."
Married to the Bridesmaids star since 2012, O'Porter and O'Dowd, 45, are parents to two children, Art and Valentine, born in 2015 and 2017, respectively.
Dawn O’Porter said she never saw herself or Chris O’Dowd as celebrities despite his fame.
"I've never seen myself as a celebrity ever, even though I'm married to Chris, who is quite a well-known actor. I don't think either of us has ever seen ourselves as celebrities," she shared. "I guess if I was a celebrity, I'd get paid lots of money to do things that aren't necessarily my job or don't really feed what I do, but I don't. My job is writing with the occasional little ad on Instagram to pay the rent."
O'Porter emphasizes her identity as an artist who must persistently "grind" for success. "I just want to write and create great work, and that's it," she explained, adding that she cares little about becoming "a brand" online.
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Dawn O’Porter said writing full time 'saved the day' after leaving her TV career behind.
Looking back on her romance with O'Dowd, O'Porter recalled a time when she was especially "poor."
"My TV career had just gone. I was so poor. I was so upset. I had zero confidence. I didn't know what I was going to do," she reflected. "I'd just met Chris, and he was on this trajectory up. I thought, 'Well, maybe this is just it. I'm just a girlfriend, and that's it.' I went to all these events with him. … I always thought, 'If I was in this position, it would be because I deserve it.'"
Dawn O’Porter recalled being ‘so poor’ when she first started dating Chris O’Dowd.
At the time, O'Dowd was living in Los Angeles, gearing up for his role in Bridesmaids. O'Porter suggested moving back to London so she could "claw back" her career. After returning to the U.K., she began writing a magazine column, which eventually led to a book deal.
"When you find your true voice on the page, it just feels like you landed," O'Porter emphasized. "It's such a liberating, amazing moment. … I come to my desk every day, I do a solid 9 to 5, and I'm so in the zone. I'm very lucky. It saved the day."
