Actor Tim Daly has been discreetly dating his Madam Secretary costar Tea Leoni since the summer. Leoni also plays his on-screen wife in the CBS political drama.
The couple was first spotted together over the July 4th holiday, as Daly, 58, performed Red at the Dorset Theatre in Dorset, Vermont.
Leoni, 49, finalized her divorce from X-Files and Californication star David Duchovny in August, citing “an irretrievable breakdown.” The two had been married for 17 years, though had been separated since 2011.
Daly himself divorced his ex-wife of 26 years, Amy Van Nostrand, in 2010.
Madam Secretary premiered on September 21 to solid reviews, and has steadily risen in ratings. Leoni portrays a former CIA analyst turned college professor who is tapped by the president to become Secretary of State.
US Weekly Tea Leoni Dating Madam Secretary Costar Tim Daly: Their Chemistry Is "Electrifying": http://t.co/eyYIZYYP0a
— VANESSA 'QB MARTINEZ (@thebestgossip) December 3, 2014
Commenting on her character Elizabeth Faulkner McCord, Leoni told E! in July, “There was something – I adored her. I adored her by page two, there’s no sarcasm to her. Sarcasm is too slow. I want to wake up and be her every day.”
The former The Naked Truth star added, “I think in a lot of ways it’s inspiring to see women that we want to see. I think when I sort of set out to do this gal, I thought, ‘Who do I want in office?’ That’s been guiding my choices.”
On the show, Daly plays Henry McCord, a Georgetown ethics professor, prior NSA spy and pilot within the United States Marine Corps.
The on-screen and off-screen couple discusses Madam Secretary:
Commenting on his new girlfriend, who incidentally attended the same Vermont high school as he did, Daly said, “She’s not a whiner. She wants to work hard and she wants to have fun.”
The former Private Practice star added, “We get along really, really well. We have a really good time. I’ve gotten along with plenty of people, but the chemistry sucked. And I’ve hated people where the chemistry is great. It’s much better if you get along and the chemistry is good. That’s perfect.”
