Meet the Real-Life Loves of Hallmark’sHoliday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love StoryCast (Including the Pair Who Got Engaged After Working Together on Set!)

Mar. 15, 2025

Hunter King and Chris Copier at a New York Rangers Hockey game at Madison Square Garden ; Rachelle Carson and Ed Begley Jr. attend the Los Angeles Premiere of “Strange Darling” at DGA Theater Complex on August 19, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.Photo:Hunter King/ Instagram ; Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Hunter King/ Instagram ; Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Storyis bringing together sports and romance just in time for the holiday season, but the real-life cast has found love off-screen, too.

This year, Hallmark partnered with theKansas City Chiefsfor the NFL-focused movieHoliday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story, which premiered on Nov. 30. The festive film starsHunter Kingas Alana Higman, who comes from a long line of diehard Chiefs fans, andTyler Hynesas Derrick, the director of fan engagement for the team.

The film follows King’s character asshe tries to win the team’s “Fan of the Year” contestfor her family. Along the way, she meets Hynes’ character, and naturally, sparks fly between the two.

Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Storywill also feature a cameofrom Chiefs tight endTravis Kelce’s mom,Donna Kelce. The matriarch plays the manager of a barbeque restaurant, also named Donna, who witnesses Alana and Derrick’s connection blossom.

In addition to the romance on-screen during the film, love was in the air behind the scenes, too. King worked on the movie with her then-boyfriend, crew member Chris Copier, who became her fiancé when he proposed to the actress in October 2024.

Here’s everything to know about the real-life partners of theHoliday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Storycast.

Hunter King and Chris Copier

Hunter King and Chris Copier on the Hallmark Channel’s Christmas Cruise.Hunter King/ Instagram

Hunter King/ Instagram

Hunter King plays Alana Higman, a lifelong superfan of the Chiefs.

Outside of her latest role, King has plenty to celebrate, includingher engagement to Chris Copierin October 2024, calling it the “best day of my life.”

The actress first shared a glimpse into their relationship in January 2024, including a snap of Copier inher 2023 round-up poston social media.

Just Jaredreported that the couple initially met in 2022 on the set of the movieGive Me Your Eyes, which starred King and featured Copier as the assistant director.

They were on set together again duringHoliday Touchdown,with her fiancé serving as the second-second assistant director on the movie.

Tyler Hynes

Tyler Hynes attends Hallmark Media’s 15th Anniversary of Countdown To Christmas event at Blue Hill at Stone Barns on October 17, 2024 in Tarrytown, New York.Dave Kotinsky/Getty

Dave Kotinsky/Getty

Tyler Hynes may find love on-screen inHoliday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Storyas Derrick, the director of fan engagement for the Chiefs,but he keeps a low profile when it comes to his personal life, including his relationships.

“I think I like when things go the way they’re supposed to, and if you don’t quite know how that evening is going to go down, I think that’s all the more fun, and it feels like it becomes something organic to the situation and to the person that you’re across from," he explained.

Hynes continued, “Just listening to [them] … and knowing who they are and perhaps finding something that might tickle us in this new circumstance we find ourselves in, and our individual personalities.”

Ed Begley Jr. and Rachelle Carson

Jesse Grant/Getty

Ed Begley Jr. stars as King’s grandfather in the Hallmark holiday movie. In real life, he has been married to actress Rachelle Carson since 2000.

The pair toldAbilitymagazinein 2006 that after initially meeting through friends a few years earlier and not connecting, they crossed paths again in 1993 at an environmental event. Carson said it “was still a surprise that we hit it off,” with Begley Jr. calling it “an accident” before adding, “And we’re still together, 13 years later.”

As a couple, they’ve appeared in the reality television seriesLiving with Ed,which ran for three seasons from 2007 to 2009 and followed the actor’s journey of living life with a small carbon footprint. They also starred in the web seriesOn Begley Street,which followed the family as they built a sustainable home in Los Angeles.

Like her husband, Carson is an actress who has appeared in several shows, includingBetter Call SaulandCobra Kai. Away from the cameras,she’s passionate about the environment. They’ve been spotted on the red carpet over the years, including at theEnvironmental Media Association Awardsin January 2024.

Begley Jr. and Carson are parents to a daughter, Hayden. The actor also had two children with his first wife, Ingrid Taylor: daughter Amanda and son Nicholas.

Mary Elizabeth McDonough and her husband, Don

Mary Elizabeth McDonough and husband Don attend a watch party for ‘Christmas on Honeysuckle Lane’, a film based on Mary’s book ‘The House on Honeysuckle Lane’.Mary Elizabeth McDonough/ Instagram

Mary Elizabeth McDonough/ Instagram

Mary Elizabeth McDonough wed her husband, Don, on June 4, 2011.

TheWaltonsstar announced the news on social media alongside a photo of them on their wedding day.

In a post onFacebook, she wrote, “Ok so after a long engagement, it was time. Jumped the broom Saturday! I am filled with gratitude, love and joy!”

McDonough has not shared much about her romance with Don, writing onFacebookin 2013 that he is a “very private” person.

Christine Ebersole and Bill Moloney

Christine Ebersole and husband Bill Moloney during “Steel Magnolias” Opening Night on Broadway After Party Inside at Tavern on the Green in New York City.Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic

Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic

Christine Ebersole has been married to her husband, musician-turned-artist Bill Moloney, since August 1988, per theChicago Tribune.

Despite knowing Moloney previously, the couple had a whirlwind romance, only beginning their relationship in February 1988, just months before their wedding.

At the time, the newspaper reported that Moloney was a musician who arranged tunes for the sitcomThe Cavanaughs, on which Ebersole was a lead.

According to thePalm Beach Daily News, Moloney eventually turned to a different kind of art form: paintings and collages.

Ebersole and Moloney are parents to three children, whomthey welcomed via adoption: Elijah, Mae Mae and Aron.

Diedrich Bader and Dulcy Rogers

Diedrich Bader and Dulcy Rogers attend the 31st Annual White House Correspondents' Garden Brunch at Beall-Washington House on April 27, 2024 in Washington, DC.Paul Morigi/Getty

Paul Morigi/Getty

Diedrich Bader and his wife, actress Dulcy Rogers, have been married since the late ’90s.

TheAmerican Housewifestar toldThe Washington Timesin September 2000 that he and Rogers originally met on the set of a movie six years prior, in which they played a husband and wife.

In 1998, he and Rogers starred opposite each other again, this time in a stage production ofPerfect Weddingat Westport Country Playhouse in Connecticut, perPlaybill.

The couple are parents to two children: son Sebastian and daughterOndine.

Megyn Price and Edward Cotner

Megyn Price, Grace Price and Edward Cotner attend P.S. ARTS presents Express Yourself 2014 with sponsors OneWest Bank and Jaguar Land Rover at Barker Hangar on November 16, 2014 in Santa Monica, California.Michael Buckner/Getty

Michael Buckner/Getty

Megyn Price married her husband, Edward Cotner, in 2001, according to theLos Angeles Times.

Not much is known about theRules of Engagementstar’s husband, but she told the outlet in September 2002 that he was a doctor, which made it difficult to go on vacation due to their conflicting work schedules.

Price and Cotner welcomed their first child together, daughter Grace, in July 2007, according to theChicago Tribune.

The family of three made rare appearances together on the red carpet when Grace was younger, including at the 14th Anniversary of the P.S. Arts Express Yourself Gala in November 2012, as well as at the same event two years later in November 2014.

source: people.com