Keri Russell has shed some light on why her longtime partner Matthew Rhys did not mention her in his 2026 Emmy Awards acceptance speech.
“I looked at him like a few days before, and I said, ‘Okay, well, can you articulate what you’re most nervous about?'” Russell, 50 revealed on the Thursday, October 8, episode of the “Dear Chelsea” podcast. “And he’s like, ‘Yeah, having to speak.’ And I said, ‘Totally.’ And I said, ‘Take me off your plate. Like, you don’t have to thank me. I know you love me.’”
Rhys, 51, made history at the 2026 Emmys when he became the first man to win Lead Actor Awards in all three major categories — comedy, drama and limited series. (Legendary actress Barbara Stanwyck previously achieved the same record at the Emmys.)
The Welsh star first won the Outstanding Lead Actor prize for his drama series The Americans back in 2018. At the 2026 Emmys, he took home the equivalent awards for comedy Widow’s Bay and limited series The Beast in Me on the same night.
Matthew Rhys Makes History at 2026 Emmy Awards With 2nd Win of the Night
Rhys seemed to be flustered as he accepted the Emmy for Widow’s Bay, though he remembered to thank numerous collaborators, his parents, his sister and his home country.
“To the great and good people of Wales, who were as much a nurturer as anyone else, we are a small but mighty nation. This is incredible,” he said during his speech.
Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell arrive for the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards. Frederic J. Brown / AFP / Getty ImagesSome viewers later picked up on Rhys failing to mention or thank Russell as he stood on the stage at the Peacock Theater.
“I didn’t really prepare anything, which is why I vomited that speech,” he told E! News backstage at the gala.
While speaking to Chelsea Handler on her latest podcast, Russell confirmed that she asked Rhys to leave her out of his speech so he could thank his coworkers.
Matthew Rhys is congratulated by Keri Russell at Netflix’s 2026 Emmy Celebration. Gonzalo Marroquin/Getty Images for Netflix“People still give him a hard time because he didn’t say their name [when he won for The Americans],” Russell revealed. “Like, it’s so crazy. People get nuts. It’s stupid and it’s also lame.”
She added, “We kind of said to each other, we don’t have to thank each other. … Like to go back to your thing, this is for the business people. Like, thank whoever you want to thank.”
Russell was also nominated at the Emmys this year in the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series category for her performance on The Diplomat, though she ultimately lost to Pluribus‘ Rhea Seehorn.
Rhys and Russell got together while they were playing Soviet sleeper agents on the acclaimed political thriller The Americans — yet this wasn’t the first time they crossed paths.
On a 2023 Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen episode, Rhys revealed that he got Russell’s number at a kickball party hosted by Jennifer Grey more than 20 years ago.
Emmy Awards 2026 Winners List
“She gave it to me, and this is where this all falls apart. I have no memory of this because I was very inebriated, but I left a very inebriated message on her answering machine,” he declared.
Russell went on to marry her now ex-husband Shane Deary, with whom she shares 19-year-old son River and 13-year-old daughter Willa Lou. (Russell and Deary split in 2013 and finalized their divorce the following year.)
Per Rhys, he and Russell managed to hide their romance on the set of The Americans for “about a solid year” before coworkers figured out they were sneaking off together.
“It’s those sneaky PAs who get onto it,” he joked. “They have headsets. It was like, ‘They’re both in the trailer.’ I’m like, ‘Shut up!’”
Russell and Rhys subsequently welcomed son Sam in May 2016.
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