Meet the Real-Life Loves of the “Scrubs” Cast (Including One Couple Who Met Through Zach Braff)

Skyler Trepel, Emily KrauserWed, September 30, 2026 at 10:45 AM UTC

0

From left: Donald Faison and CaCee Cobb attend the premiere of ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’ at the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles on Dec. 10, 2016; George Valencia and Judy Reyes attend the premiere of ‘La Golda’ at The Crest in L.A. on June 21, 2014Credit: Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic; Michael Bezjian/WireImage -

Scrubs originally aired for nine seasons from 2001 to 2010 before the medical sitcom returned to ABC on Feb. 25, 2026, after a 16-year hiatus

Starring Zach Braff, Donald Faison and Sarah Chalke, season 2 of the revival premieres on Sept. 30, 2026

Faison met his wife, CaCee Cobb, through his real-life best friend and costar Braff

The love lives of the Scrubscast involve meet-cutes even J.D. couldn’t dream up.

The quirky medical sitcom aired for nine seasons from 2001 to 2010 before it returned to ABC after 16 years on Feb. 25, 2026. Season 2 of the revival premeires on Sept. 30, 2026. Scrubs follows the lives of a group of doctors working at Sacred Heart Hospital, primarily through the perspective of Dr. John “J.D.” Dorian (Zach Braff).

He gets through his days with the help of best friends Dr. Christopher Turk (Donald Faison), Nurse Carla Espinosa (Judy Reyes) and Dr. Elliot Reid (Sarah Chalke) — his on-and-off girlfriend who was his ex-wife by the time the reboot kicked off — all while trying to perform under intense pressure from his superiors Dr. Bob Kelso (Ken Jenkins) and Dr. Perry Cox (John C. McGinley).

Just as much as the fantasy sequences, hospital romances play a big part in the beloved comedy’s plotlines. Off-screen, however, many of the O.G. cast members have found love as well.

While Braff is currently single, he helped his best friend and costar Faison find love: The Clueless alum met his future wife CaCee Cobb at Braff’s 30th birthday party in 2005, and they later wed at Braff’s home in December 2012.

Here’s everything to know about the real-life loves of the original Scrubs cast.

01 of 06

Zach Braff

Zach Braff attends the ABC/Hulu’s ‘Scrubs’ season 1 red carpet event at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in L.A. on Feb. 23, 2026Credit: Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty

Though his character was on-and-off coupled up with Elliot in Scrubs for years before the revival revealed that the pair had not only married but divorced, Braff is currently single.

The Garden State star has had a few high-profile romances over the years, including dating Mandy Moore from 2004 to 2006 and model Taylor Bagley from 2009 to 2014. He was in a relationship with Florence Pugh from 2019 until 2022.

Faison would like to change Braff’s single status. “This is a single man who is very, very handsome,” Faison told PEOPLE in November 2025 for the Sexiest Man Alive issue. “Someone out there is going to see this [issue] and be like, ‘What a handsome young man this is!’ ”

As for Braff, he said he’s looking for attraction and banter in a potential partner. “I mean obviously there’s the initial ‘Am I attracted to this person?’ But then I’m so aware that for me now it’s being funny and laughing with the person,” he said. “To me that’s the sexiest thing. Beyond the initial ‘Oh you’re cute,’ is ‘Do we laugh?’ ”

02 of 06

Sarah Chalke

Sarah Chalke attends the ABC/Hulu’s ‘Scrubs’ season 1 red carpet event at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in L.A. on Feb. 23, 2026Credit: Monica Schipper/Getty

Chalke was engaged to entertainment lawyer Jamie Afifi for over a decade.

Afifi popped the question in 2006, and the two remained engaged until 2022, when a rep for Chalke told PEOPLE that they’d “separated some time ago.”

During their relationship, Chalke and Afifi welcomed two children: son Charlie, born on Dec. 24, 2009, and daughter Frances, born on April 28, 2016.

03 of 06

Donald Faison and CaCee Cobb

Donald Faison and Cacee Cobb attend the Baby2Baby Gala, presented by Paul Mitchell, at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood, Calif., on Nov. 12, 2022Credit: Phillip Faraone/Getty

On Scrubs, Faison portrays J.D.’s best friend, and in real life, Braff played a part in Faison meeting his wife: He and Cobb connected at Braff’s 30th birthday party in 2005.

The pair got engaged in August 2011 before tying the knot on Dec. 15, 2012, at Braff’s home. Braff served as a groomsman, while one of the bridesmaids was Jessica Simpson, Cobb’s BFF, whom she previously worked for as a personal assistant.

Advertisement

Since then, Faison and Cobb have welcomed two children together: Rocco, born in August 2013, and Wilder, born in April 2015. Faison is also a dad to four children from previous relationships: son Kobe and twins Dade and Kaya with late ex-wife Lisa Askey, and an older son Sean, whom he shares with ex-girlfriend Audrey Ince.

In September 2019, Faison told PEOPLE that he loves being a father but misses “being able to go anywhere I wanted to go with my wife and not [having] to worry about a babysitter.”

04 of 06

Judy Reyes and George Valencia

Judy Reyes and George Valencia share a selfie on Instagram on Dec. 8, 2023Credit: Judy Reyes/Instagram

Reyes’ Carla Espinosa marries Turk on Scrubs, but in real life, she’s in a long-term relationship with director George Valencia. They have one child, whom they welcomed on Nov. 27, 2009.

The couple co-founded the nonprofit Sound of Gol Foundation. Valencia told The Guardian in October 2024 that their mission is to “educate and empower the Latina woman, so they can educate and empower the Latina girl.” Through a partnership with the U.K.’s Watford FC Women, the organization launched LA Watford Women’s FC in May 2026.

The pair also worked together on the 2026 stage production Freestyle: A Love Story, which was created and directed by Valencia and executive produced by Reyes, per the Los Angeles Times.

The Hollywood duo still finds time to celebrate each other. When marking Valencia’s 50th birthday in December 2022, Reyes shared a photo of him in sunglasses on Instagram, writing in the caption, “Happy 50th to my ride or die, my right hand man, my baby daddy, the love of my life, my best friend. I love you G$. ♥️🤎♥️🤎.”

05 of 06

John C. McGinley and Nichole McGinley

John C. McGinley and Nichole McGinley attend the Global Down Syndrome Foundation’s 18th annual Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show at the Sheraton Downtown Denver Hotel in Denver on Oct. 18, 2025Credit: Tom Cooper/Getty

McGinley portrays Dr. Perry Cox, the sarcastic, cynical unwilling mentor to J.D. who’s “married but not married” to the equally sardonic Jordan Sullivan (Christa Miller). In real life, John is married to yoga teacher and birthing doula Nichole McGinley.

The couple first met in 2004 thanks to McGinley’s son Max, who has Down syndrome. (The actor and his first wife, Lauren Lambert, welcomed their only child together on Aug. 31, 1997.)

“I come back [to the beach], and Max is sitting in this lady’s lap, and I’m like, ‘Oh boy.’ Because at the time we were working on a personal space … I asked the woman, I said, ‘Are you okay with this?’ ” McGinley told PEOPLE in October 2025.

He continued, “And she goes, ‘You have no idea how much I need this.’ I’m like, ‘Great, who are you? And she had [a] poncho on, and I didn’t know she was this beautiful siren. And she takes the poncho off, and she goes, ‘I’m Nichole, I live around here.’ ”

“I think I thought I had a notion of what love looked like and I didn’t. I didn’t have a clue until Maxie came along. He introduced me to love, and he introduced me to my wife,” McGinley added.

John and Nichole have since welcomed two daughters together: Billie and Kate.

06 of 06

Ken Jenkins and Katharine Houghton

Katherine Houghton and Ken Jenkins celebrate the 100th episode of ‘Scrubs’ at the Cabana Club in L.A. on Jan. 14, 2006Credit: Patrick McMullan/Patrick McMullan via Getty

A legacy cast member of the original series, Jenkins is known for his role as the hard-nosed chief of medicine, Dr. Kelso. (The Ohio native stepped back from acting in 2019 and doesn’t appear on season 1 of the reboot.)

In his personal life, however, he goes by “husband” to actress and playwright Katharine Houghton, whom he’s been married to since January 1970. The actor has three children from a previous marriage, including Tony Award-nominated actor Daniel Jenkins.

Houghton has been a successful actress for decades, earning a 1967 Golden Globe nomination for her performance as Joanna “Joey” Drayton in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner alongside her aunt, Katharine Hepburn.

on People

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”