Relationships
Annie Murphy's Real-Life Relationship Is Even Cuter Than Alexis & Ted's

by Candice Jalili
George Pimentel/WireImage/Getty Images

Unlike Alexis Rose's relationship with a sultan's nephew that totally worked for, like, half a regime change, or her love affair with Schitt's Creek's resident vet Ted Mullens, less is known about Annie Murphy and Menno Versteeg's relationship timeline. The Schitt's Creek star and the frontman for Canadian indie rock band Hollerado tend to stay out of the spotlight. But from what they have shared with fans, it's clear they're adorably in love and very committed.

While they haven't revealed exactly when or how they met, they're both from Ottawa and have been together for at least a decade. They got married in 2011 and have both been vocal supporters of each other's careers. They've had highs (award shows!) and lows (a house fire). And as for Murphy's iconic performance of "A Little Bit Alexis" on Schitt's Creek? Well, guess what — Versteeg co-wrote it.

Here's what else you should know about this couple:

Sometime in 2010: She helped write "Good Day at the Races."

In a 2020 interview with Elle, Versteeg gave some insight on what their relationship was like before Murphy was on Schitt's Creek.

"When you're married to someone who's in a band, it's a very specific type of relationship. For the first half of Hollerado’s career, Annie was a struggling actress — she would get the odd commercial or bit part here and there, but she had a lot of time off. So she would often come on tour with the band, and that would involve sometimes coming onstage to sing with us. We ended up writing songs together — she wrote half the lyrics to one of the more well-known Hollerado songs, 'Good Day At The Races.'"

August 2011: They got married.

Murphy and Versteeg tied the knot on Aug. 20, 2011.

May 2013: A fire burned down their apartment.

In May 2013, a fire burned down Murphy and Versteeg's apartment in downtown Toronto. Luckily, nobody was injured. In fact, Versteeg told The Huffington Post that the largest losses were a house plant "that was a good buddy of" his, a teddy bear Murphy had owned for years, and an autographed Michael Jackson photo from his bad tour.

Though The Huffington Post reported at the time that it would take "almost two months" to reconstruct their home, Versteeg said, "We're fine, I don't want to make a big deal about it."

December 2014: Vesteeg was *very* excited for 'Schitt's Creek.'

Schitt's Creek first premiered in January of 2015. Versteeg was so excited for his wife's new show that he decided to post a picture of himself humping a poster featuring her promoting the show. He posted the (amazing) shot to Instagram alongside the caption, "Having a great Wednesday! #humpday."

March 2015: They went to an award show together.

Versteeg documented the monumental occasion by posting a picture of Murphy sitting alongside Dan and Eugene Levy. He captioned the post:

Just got home from the first actors awards show that I have ever been to. I had a lot of fun, but it turns out they don't let you sneak in drinks in water bottles like they do at musician award shows. Good thing I had these three smiley dudes sitting a few seats away.
September 2015: They skinny-dipped in the Atlantic.

And there's picture proof! Versteeg posted a ~tasteful~ shot of them post-skinny dip alongside the caption:

Today we jumped butt assed naked into the Atlantic Ocean from the coast of the Aran Islands. It was freezing. There was some jellyfish but I wasn't worried about them stinging me in the junk because it had completely disappeared.
October 2015: He was by her side when she got Lasik.

Versteeg posted a photo of his recovering wife lying on their couch alongside the caption:

My best bud Ray Charles just got laser eye surgery so I transformed our apartment into full "8 am on a Sunday morning sketch-bag" mode. #blinds#shades#couch#dialabottloftea
January 2016: She gave him the best happy birthday wish.

In honor of her husband's birthday, Murphy posted a shot of him snacking on salami in the back of a limo and appropriately captioned it: "Happy birthday to my @mennovers. May you never stop eating salami in the back of a limo. Xo."

April 2016: A 'Schitt's Creek' DVD brought him to tears.

Remember DVD? Yeah, that was still sort of a thing back in 2016. And just the sheer sight of the Season 2 Schitt's Creek DVD brought Versteeg to tears.

In April of 2016, he posted a picture of Murphy holding the DVD alongside the sweet caption:

This is the first time I've had tears in my eyes just from looking at a dvd since they released season 1 on dvd.
January 2017: They really showed up for each other with the PR.

First, on Jan. 5, Versteeg supported Murphy by posting a picture of her posing alongside a bus stop poster promoting the third season of Schitt's Creek alongside the caption:

This makes me very happy. (Annie if you don't post about the new hollerado single tomorrow I'm deleting this FOREVER!)

Luckily he did not have to delete the post because Murphy pulled through on Jan. 6 by posting an image of the new Hollerado album with this sweet caption:

My best buds @hollerado released their new single today and I am a proud papa. If you're in the mood to feel hopeful and triumphant, go find it on the iTunes or fiddle with your radio tuner until you find something that sounds hopeful and triumphant.
February 2017: They made out in a Starbucks.

This isn't really that important, but I love their love! Murphy posted the make-out shot on Feb. 8 alongside the caption, "Just living my gross truth in the grossest picture ever taken."

March 2017: Versteeg penned a love letter to Murphy and all women.

In honor of International Women's Day on March 8, Versteeg posted a photo of Murphy alongside this adorably sappy caption:

Even when I am across a giant ocean you give me strength when I am weak. You give me direction when I am lost and inspire me through your kindness and humanity. Thank you Annie, and all of the other bad-ass women out there. I hope you go to sleep each night knowing that this world was better off that day because you were part of it.
December 2017: He celebrated her birthday.

On Nov. 24, alongside a picture of Murphy rocking a T-shirt that features the illustration of a finger being pulled, Versteeg wrote:

Happy birthday Annie; inventor, astronomer, believer in light. May your next year be filled with even more joy and “pull my finger” apparel than the last.
Sometime in 2018: They co-created the "A Little Bit Alexis" theme song.

Any true Schitt's Creek fan knows about Alexis Schitt's failed reality show, A Little Bit Alexis. The show's creator Dan Levy said he even knew she had a reality show before the show was actually made. "From the first few days my dad and I spent brainstorming about what the show could be, I had come up with this little detail from Alexis’s past: She had a very short-lived, critically reviewed reality show called A Little Bit Alexis," Levy told Elle in a 2020 interview. "It’s one of those things you write down as context for the character without knowing whether it’ll make it into the show. Four seasons later, Alexis auditioning for Cabaret felt like the perfect opportunity to hear the title track."

Murphy was excited to see it in the script and decided she'd try to write it with Versteeg and Hollerado bandmate Nick Boyd. "Once I got the green light, of course I was like, 'Oh f*ck. OK, resources, resources,'" she recalled. "So I found my two dear musician people, and told them, 'Well, I just got myself into a predicament.'"

Luckily, Versteeg was down. "I remember very clearly the moment Annie described it to me, the whole scene and what it needed to be and the backstory of the song," he added. "Earlier that same day, I’d been in some chain fashion store and 'Work Bitch' by Britney Spears was on. The second she told me, I knew I wanted to rip off the feel of that song. We set out to make a song you want to do spin class to."

Murphy continued, "We went into my friend Nick's studio, and we listened to 'Work Bitch' so many times our ears started to bleed, but in the best way. We also listened to 'Stars Are Blind' and a bunch of Paris Hilton stuff. And then Nick and Menno got to work on the melody, and I started writing the lyrics, and we all got on a roll."

The final result was incredible:

January 2018: He makes it clear he's her biggest fan.

On Jan. 9, 2018, alongside yet another cute bus stop poster shot, Versteeg wrote:

Not sure if it was the snow or the winter clothes that were throwing you off, but this is the closest you came to doing a half decent “Alexis” in this years bus stop photoshoot. That’s ok though cuz season 4 starts tonight and it’s the best one yet and you are incredible and I am so proud of you it makes me wanna yell woot in a crowded restaurant. 😘😘😘😘😘😘🤙🏻🤙🏻🤙🏻🤙🏻🤙🏻
March 2018: They manage to bring alcohol in a water bottle to an acting award show.

Remember when he thought they couldn't do that back in 2015? Times have changed!

On March 11, 2018, Versteeg posted a picture of Murphy drinking wine out of a plastic water bottle at the Canadian Screen Awards and paired it with this caption:

You lose in your category to Catherine O’Hara every year at the CSA’s, but also you win the whole damn thing as far as I’m concerned. #wineinawaterbottle So proud of you Annie 😘😘🕺🏼🕺🏼🕺🏼🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻😘😘😘
June 2019: She made it clear she's also a huge fan of his.

When Hollerado retired, Murphy commemorated the milestone by posting a picture of the band alongside this extremely sweet caption:

After 15 years of music and the grandest adventures, my best friends @hollerado are releasing their final album, Retaliation Vacation, and are zipping up their leisure suits for retirement..Not only have they brought incredible music into the world, they have demonstrated time and time again that life is best lived outside the box. They’ve left a trail of joy, and colour, and concerning smells in their wake, and I’m the woman I am today because I got to tag along for the ride. Thank you, you bunch of goinks. I love you very, very much.
April 2020: He gave an emotional recap of her career thus far.

On April 7, alongside — you guessed it — yet another bus stop poster photo shoot, Versteeg wrote a tear-jerker of a caption:

Remember when you went to 1000 auditions and never got a role and then you told your first manager that you wanted to audition for some comedy and he said “only if you went to comedy lessons first”. And remember how you cried for the rest of the day and wanted so badly to give up but you didn’t and a few days later you got an audition for a little show from Canada with a silly name. There are no words to express the joy and hope that you and your brilliant cast mates and crew have brought into this world. I’d argue that these last 6 seasons were some pretty decent comedy lessons. In a time that this planet needs to believe in humanity more than ever, thanks for f*cking bringing it you bad ass betch. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
July 2020: He was absolutely pumped for her Emmy nomination.

On July 28, Versteeg made his excitement for his wife's Best Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series Emmy nomination clear by posting a series of pictures of her wearing the same dress alongside the caption:

And you thought the most exciting thing that would happen this summer was this cardboard box full of earthworms. Clearly you rule at acting, as these pictures are proof that you are nothing like Alexis in real life. Taken on three different days. Same outfit!! Congratulations on your very first Emmy nom. ❤️🦋❤️🦋❤️🦋❤️🦋❤️🦋😘you truly truly deserve it and I couldn’t be more proud of you. (p.s @instadanjlevy is gonna be SO STOKED when you tell him you are wearing Value Village to the red carpet)
September 2020: He was even more pumped for her Emmy win.

You can only imagine how amped he was when she actually won said Emmy. Alongside a picture of Murphy holding a sign that read, "Hey Trump: You’ve got 99 problems and this b*tch is one," Versteeg wrote:

I know how public speaking always made you nervous. And I know how hard you work. And tonight you accepted a crazy award you never expected in your wildest dreams. And tonight you spoke to America from your heart, with humility, honesty and love. Here’s a pic of the other thing your Emmy winning speech was also saying. Keep going. ❤️

ICYMI: Here's Murphy's Emmy winning speech: