Who Is Tom Ellis' Wife? All About Meaghan Oppenheimer

Mar. 15, 2025

Michael Buckner/Variety/Getty

Luciferfans all know lead actorTom Ellis, but many might not know that his wife, Meaghan Oppenheimer, is an accomplished figure in Hollywood as well.

Born in Oklahoma, Oppenheimer first broke into the entertainment industry with her indie short filmHot Messin 2010. Around the same time, Ellis was making a name for himself in the United Kingdom in the comedy seriesMiranda.

A year after Ellis' divorce fromEastEndersactress Tamzin Outhwaite in 2014, the actor met Oppenheimer and the two began dating.

In a 2021 interview withThe Guardian, Ellis admitted that he accidentally told Oppenheimer he loved her very early on in their relationship. “I actually said it to my wife Meaghan on our second date," the actor said. “It just slipped out. But it came to be.”

The pair got engaged in 2017 and married two years later. In 2023, just hours before the SAG-AFTRA strike ended, Ellis and Oppenheimer welcomed a daughter named Dolly Ellis-Oppenheimer.

Since their relationship began, Oppenheimer has continued to gain even more prominence in Hollywood as a screenwriter and showrunner — most notably for her hit Hulu seriesTell Me Lies.

The couple have also decided to work together on a show. In January 2023, it was announced that Ellis and Oppenheimer would be collaborating on a series calledSecond Wife, starring Ellis andEmma Roberts.

So, who is Tom Ellis' wife? Here is everything to know about Meaghan Oppenheimer and her relationship with the actor.

She is a successful screenwriter

Tom Ellis and his wife Meaghan Oppenheimer at the Mayor of London’s Creative Industries Reception on May 11, 2022.Owen Kolasinski/BFA.com/Shutterstock

Owen Kolasinski/BFA.com/Shutterstock

Oppenheimer has been a prominent screenwriter for almost a decade. Her first big break came the same year she started dating Ellis — in 2015, she wrote an episode for the first season ofFear the Walking Deadand penned the script for the indie dramaWe Are Your Friends, which starredZac Efron.

In 2018, Oppenheimer created and wrote the Facebook Watch showQueen America. The series starredCatherine Zeta-Jonesas a former pageant queen who was hired to help train young contestants.

But Oppenheimer’s biggest success so far is her Hulu dramaTell Me Lies. Based on the 2018 novel of the same name, the show centered around a turbulent and toxic love affair between two college students.

In a 2022 interview withScreenRant, Oppenheimer said that her script even got the blessing from the novel’s writer. “Carola, the author, who’s wonderful, she was so on board,” she said. “I would have been a lot more nervous if that wasn’t the case.”

She revealed their engagement in 2017

Tom Ellis and his fiancée Meaghan Oppenheimer announce their engagement on Instagram.Meaghan Oppenheimer Instagram

Meaghan Oppenheimer Instagram

Ellis and Oppenheimer began dating in 2015 and on March 26, 2017, she posted aphoto on Instagramof her holding Ellis’ mouth shut. The image showed a ring on her finger with the caption, “does this ring make me look fat??” revealing the couple’s engagement.

The big day also happened to be Oppenheimer’s birthday. Ellisposted on Instagram, too, with a picture of a birthday cake that read “Happy Birthday Meaghan” in frosting.

They got married in 2019

Tom Ellis and his wife Meaghan Oppenheimer arrive at the American Friends Of Covent Garden 50th Anniversary Celebration on July 10, 2019 in Beverly Hills, California.Gregg DeGuire/Getty

Gregg DeGuire/Getty

Two years after their engagement,Ellis and Oppenheimer got marriedin June 2019. On top of their families attending the ceremony, the wedding also included many of Ellis’Lucifercostars, including Lauren German,Lesley-Ann Brandt, D. B. Woodside,Aimee Garcia, Kevin Alejandro andRachael Harris.

At the wedding, Garcia even snapped a group photo of the cast and posted it onher Instagramwith the caption, “I adore these people so much.”

A month before the wedding, Ellis and Oppenheimer asked guests to donate to the nonprofit Planned Parenthood instead of buying wedding gifts. The groom-to-be posted onX (formerly Twitter), “Thank you to all the people that have been asking about wedding gifts or charitable donations for my upcoming nuptials with @MoppyOpps that is so kind. If you would like to make a donation to @PPFA #plannedparenthood we would be very grateful.”

She and Ellis share one child

“Our daughter Dolly Ellis-Oppenheimer was born on November 8th,” she wrote. “And within five hours of being alive, she single-handedly ended the SAG strike. We love her. Huge thank you to our amazing surrogate.”

Ellis posted an image onhis Instagramwith the same caption, showing him and Oppenheimer standing over their newborn in her hospital crib. Dolly has three sisters — Marnie and Florence, whom Ellis had with Outhwaite, and Nora, whom Ellis had with a former partner.

She used her own life to help influenceTell Me Lies

Tom Ellis' wife Meaghan Oppenheimer attends The Bible at the Box on April 7, 2009 in New York City.SHAUN MADER/Patrick McMullan/Getty

SHAUN MADER/Patrick McMullan/Getty

Oppenheimer’s hit seriesTell Me Liesfocuses heavily on a toxic and sometimes abusive relationship. When speaking toForbesin 2022, Oppenheimer said she incorporated many personal experiences into the show. “Dating is hard; it’s hell. I went through hell. I have been a Lucy in the past,” she said, referencing the series' main character.

The showrunner then opened up about her first relationship, which she admitted was incredibly toxic and helpful in writing her script. “There was dark energy around this relationship that changed me for several years, but I didn’t realize it," Oppenheimer said. “I thought it was normal behavior from a man, and it took me so long to learn that it was ridiculous to accept that kind of behavior.”

That same year, Oppenheimer toldDeciderthat one of the show’s greatest strengths was its relatability with so many viewers. “I think there are so many relationships like this, and we just aren’t honest about them,” she told the publication. “We try to make our own lives sound better to friends, especially when we’re younger … I’m hoping that people will watch it and maybe recognize things that they’re accepting in their own lives and shouldn’t be.”

Tell Me Lieswas renewed for a second season in November 2022, andEllis joined the castto play Oliver — a sexy professor with a “cold” demeanor who has an affair with a student.

“They didn’t [make me audition], thankfully,” he told PEOPLE in September 2024. “I think Meaghan’s seen enough of my stuff to realize that I’m probably capable of doing it.”

In a separate interview with PEOPLE, Oppenheimer added: “We really weirdlywork very, very well together. I think it’s funnier for other people because — spoiler — everyone is naked on our show and he is as well. And I think some people at first were like, ‘Is this weird for you guys?’ And it’s so not weird for us.”

She is making a show with Ellis

Tom Ellis and his wife Meaghan Oppenheimer at Hulu’s ‘Tell Me Lies’ Screening Event on September 8, 2022.Frank Micelotta/PictureGroup for Hulu/Shutterstock

Frank Micelotta/PictureGroup for Hulu/Shutterstock

Thanks to the success ofTell Me Lies, Oppenheimer got the green light to begin work on another series for Hulu calledSecond Wife,perVariety.

Ellis posted about the news onInstagramand wrote, “Im so so excited about teaming up with the ridiculously talented love of my life @moppyoppenheimer.”

source: people.com