Melanie Lynskey Says Husband Jason Ritter Sacrifices Roles To Support Her Career

By Emily Richardson | Celebrity | April 25, 2024 |

By Emily Richardson | Celebrity | April 25, 2024 |

After their appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show last year, Melanie Lynskey and Jason Ritter became my new favorite Hollywood couple. Sorry, Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons, ya got demoted! That was the interview where Drew asked about their “love story”, and Jason shared that he’d been dealing with alcoholism when he first met Melanie. The actor didn’t feel like he deserved to be with his “incredible” now-wife, and it took a full year of sobriety for him to believe he could be “the one for her.” The story brought me to tears, and very few things do (the end of The Iron Giant, anything to do with rescue cats, the part in Atonement where Keira Knightley drowns).

Anywho, here’s another story where Jason comes off as a mensch. In a new interview with PEOPLE, Melanie talks about how she and Jason balance their two careers, raise their 5-year-old daughter, and support each other’s dreams:

“He’s the most supportive person in the world. The last few years, we’ve had this role of, like, whoever’s job makes the most sense, whether it’s the most exciting career-wise or it’s more money, we would prioritize the one that was going to help move the person’s career forward.”

Melanie says this has come at the expense of Jason’s career, as he’s been “getting offered stuff all the time” and has been passing on those offers to support his wife: “It’s like genuinely sacrificing.”

When Melanie got the offer to appear on The Last of Us right after filming Candy and Yellowjackets, Jason urged her to take the part:

“He was like, ‘There’s no way you’re not going to do The Last of Us. You have to do it,’” Lynskey says. “So it was months and months and months that he was just being a dad and hanging out with me, and I’m so, so, so grateful to him. I think a lot of men don’t have that kind of self-esteem and that respect for their partner. I’m grateful that I have someone who does.”

Fun fact: Jason appeared on The Last of Us as a mushroom-faced zombie. Melanie’s character got to shoot at him during the Episode 5 horde attack scene.

Here are Jason and Melanie’s Instagram posts from Valentine’s Day:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jason Ritter (@jason_ritter)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Melanie Lynskey (@msmelanielynskey)

Ugh, thank god I’m not single. These posts would make me wanna walk into the sea.