Photo: Tommaso Boddi/WireImage
After 17 years together,Rebecca RomijnandJerry O’Connell’s union just hit a new peak — at least, as far as they’re concerned.
The two longtimeStar Trekfans are now separately regular cast members of two streaming series in the venerable sci-fi franchise.
“It’s really maybe the sweetest thing that’s happened since, I guess, having kids or our wedding day,” O’Connell, 47, tells PEOPLE alongside his wife, 48, on the red carpet for the second annualStar TrekDay event in Los Angeles on Wednesday.
Along with revealing news about the Paramount+ franchise’s latest installments, the day also served as a celebration of the 55th anniversary of the first network broadcast ofStar Trekon Sept. 8, 1966.
Romijn first joined theStar Trekfamily in 2019 onStar Trek: Discovery, playing Number One, the enigmatic first officer of the U.S.S.Enterprisein the era before Capt. James T. Kirk took command — a role she’ll reprise for the upcoming spin-off seriesStar Trek: Strange New Worlds.
O’Connell was next to beam up in 2020, voicing the brash Commander Jack Ransom for the animated seriesStar Trek: Lower Decks, the second season of which premiered on Paramount+ last month.
But theirTrekroots span further back. “I was a part of the fandom before I even became a part of the family — I was Trekkie as a child,” reveals Romijn. “My mom introduced me to the original series. It was on in reruns, and I watched it every evening with my mom.”
“I have to tell you, I love my family, but I’m the farthest thing from royalty,” admits O’Connell, whose connection toStar Trekspans back to when his close friend andStand By Meco-starWil WheatonjoinedStar Trek: The Next Generationover three decades ago.
“But Rebecca and I being sort of a Starfleet couple — it’s the closest we’ll ever get to royalty!” he adds. “It’s the closest I’ll ever get to really belonging to a movement, a lifestyle. It’s an absolute honor.”
“It’s hilarious: we both play second-in-command on our respective ships. We’re both ‘Number Ones,’ " Romijn says with a laugh.
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The couple, who began dating in 2004 and wed in 2007, are also quietly hoping their sharedTrekfandom will filter down to their 12-year-old twin daughters, Dolly Rebecca Rose and Charlie Tamara Tulip.
“It’s been an education for them, for sure,” admits Romijn. “Because as soon as we launched intoStrange New Worlds, we had the original series on every single night. And so yes, the girls had been sitting there watching it with us and getting to know what’s what, and who’s who, and yeah, they’re fans now.”
source: people.com
