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NEED TO KNOW
- Bones premiered on Fox on Sept. 13, 2005
- The crime procedural featured a fan-favorite romance between main characters Dr. Temperance “Bones” Brennan (Emily Deschanel) and Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz)
- In real life, Deschanel has been married to Mythic Quest actor David Hornsby since 2010
A forensic anthropologist and an FBI special agent’s chemistry was at the center of Bones.
While the drama, which premiered on Sept. 13, 2005, featured interesting forensic cases, there was also a long-simmering relationship between the main characters, Dr. Temperance “Bones” Brennan (Emily Deschanel) and Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz).
The storyline kept viewers invested in their will-they-won’t-they romance, but it was something the costars worked hard at off-screen.
“You have to have it be character-driven,” Boreanaz told PEOPLE in August 2024, revealing he and Deschanel studied with an acting coach together on weekends. “You have to be talking over dead forensic bodies, cracking jokes. You have to be in tune with each other. And we created something special.”
“But that’s how we created chemistry,” he continued. “It wasn’t just like, ‘Here are the lines, say them.’ We rewrote a lot of those scenes, we presented them, we played with them inside and out, we added our subtext.”
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Fox show’s premiere, here’s everything to know about the real-life partners of the Bones cast.
Emily Deschanel and David Hornsby
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Deschanel starred as Dr. Temperance “Bones” Brennan on the crime procedural.
In the series, her character was shipped with Seeley Booth (Boreanaz), but away from the cameras, Deschanel has been married to Mythic Quest actor David Hornsby since 2010.
After the couple married, they welcomed their son Henry the following year. In 2015, the couple grew their family again with the birth of another son, Calvin.
Hornsby’s other roles include playing Matthew “Rickety Cricket” Mara on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. He is also a writer and producer for the long-running comedy.
Notably, he appeared on a season 9 episode of Bones, in which he played a priest.
Michaela Conlin and Her Partner
Emma McIntyre/Getty
Michaela Conlin played Brennan’s best friend, forensics specialist Angela Montenegro.
Today, the actress is a mom. She has not been public about the identity of her partner, but the couple have two kids.
According to the actress’ Instagram, they welcomed a son, Charlie, in February 2019, followed by another son, Theodore, in April 2021.
Eric Millegan and Charles Michel
Eric Millegan/Instagram
Eric Millegan portrayed forensic scientist Zack Addy.
Millegan has been married to Charles Michel since June 2012, but the couple have been together since July 1994.
“13 years ago today … Eric Millegan and I, and a couple of our closest friends, took the ‘R’ train downtown to the City Clerks building in lower Manhattan,” Michel wrote on Instagram in June 2025, celebrating their wedding anniversary.
He continued, “Where Eric and I signed a piece of paper issued by the State of New York that officially recognized a partnership that had actually begun some years before on the 4th of July in 1994.”
T.J. Thyne and Christine Lee
TJ Thyne/Instagram
T.J. Thyne played forensic entomologist Jack Hodgins.
Decades after he rose to fame as the witty character, Thyne is engaged to Christine Lee.
The Bones actor proposed to Lee in Bali, as he revealed in a romantic video posted on his Instagram in January 2025.
Tamara Taylor
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Tamara Taylor played Camille “Cam” Saroyan, the head of the forensics division.
Taylor married attorney Miles Cooley in 2007, but they divorced five years later, per TV Guide. It is not known if the actress is currently in a relationship.
In recent years, Taylor has appeared on various TV shows, including Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Law & Order: Organized Crime and Snowfall.
John Francis Daley and Corinne Kingsbury
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John Francis Daley portrayed FBI psychologist Lance Sweets.
Several years after the show ended, the actor married writer and producer Corinne Kingsbury. The couple went on to welcome a son, Basil.
Kingsbury created the 2019 CBS sitcom, Fam, and in a January 2019 TV Insider interview, she spoke about how Daley’s family inspired the series.
“I married my husband [John Francis Daley], and he comes from the most normal background with the most normal parents,” she explained. “He has a very loving upbringing where he is an only child. His parents have been married for 35 years and have dinner every Sunday.”
“I came from a very dysfunctional background. So, when I met his family, I felt like I finally had this perfect family,” Kingsbury added.
John Boyd and Nicole Vicius
Emma McIntyre/Getty
John Boyd played FBI special agent James Aubrey.
In June 2012, Boyd married actress Nicole Vicius at The Dent House in Ojai, Calif. The couple have three kids together, according to Boyd’s Instagram bio.
Boyd has kept his family life mostly out of the spotlight, but has remained busy professionally in recent years. Since 2019, he has been playing another special agent, Stuart Scola, this time on CBS’ FBI.