COUPLESJimmy Kimmel's Wife Reveals the Moment She Knew He Wanted to Be Intimate Despite It Being a 'Bad Idea' as Her Boss
Molly McNearney revealed how she knew that Jimmy Kimmel wanted more out of their relationship after eight years of working together.
Aug. 24 2026, Published 6:14 p.m. ET
Jimmy Kimmel's wife, Molly McNearney, opened up about the moment she realized her then-longtime boss wanted to take their relationship to the next level.
"At the time, I was one of our head writers. At one of our writer meetings, someone asked, 'If you can only have five foods the rest of your life, what are they?'" McNearney, 48, said during an appearance on the "Armchair Expert" podcast on Monday, August 24.
Molly McNearney Reveals Moment She Knew Then-Boss Jimmy Kimmel Wanted Romance
Jimmy Kimmel and Molly McNearney tied the knot in 2013.
"And I just rattled off, I remember I said, 'Pizza, gnocchi, crab claws, [a] BLT and chocolate chip cookies,'" she recalled.
At the time, McNearney claimed she had been working on Jimmy Kimmel Live! for eight years. About six months after the writer's meeting, she was invited to Kimmel's home after work to help him on a project.
"He opens up the door and it smells delicious. And he's like, 'I've made some things.' And it was pizza, gnocchi, crab claws, BLT and chocolate chip cookies," she explained. "He had remembered what my favorite foods were and made them all."
'I Was Very Skittish'
After Jimmy Kimmel cooked her favorite foods, Molly McNearney knew he wanted to take their relationship to the next level.
Host Dax Shepard asked her if she immediately registered the late-night TV host's actions as him wanting to "f---."
"Yes and it made me very excited and very nervous," she admitted. "I remember thinking, 'Oh no, this is a bad idea.' ... I was very skittish."
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Jimmy Kimmel and Molly McNearney Tied the Knot in 2013
Molly McNearney knew her life would 'change' if her romance with Jimmy Kimmel didn't work out.
McNearney and Kimmel ultimately found a lasting love connection. The pair tied the knot in 2013 after about four years of dating.
"I just kept thinking statistically this is not going to work out and your life isn’t going to change but mine does," she told listeners. "And that’s what freaked me out. Because I had worked really really hard."
Molly McNearney and Jimmy Kimmel 'Snuck' Around During Early Days of Relationship
Molly McNearney said she was 'nervous' about starting her relationship with Jimmy Kimmel.
During the interview, the couple, who share two children, confessed that they were forced to "sneak" around in the early days of their relationship due to his status as her boss.
"For the first few months, we were very, very quiet about it. I was very nervous about it changing, obviously, the working dynamic. I was in a room full of mostly men," she explained. "And we had a great thing going on in the room and I didn't want it to change. Um, but then it did."
