When Stephen Colbert first laid eyes on Evelyn “Evie” McGee, he instantly knew she was the one. The late-night host shared this sweet moment during an interview on TODAY on Sept. 19, saying, “A little voice in my head said, ‘There’s your wife. You’re going to marry her.’”
Stephen, now 60, and Evie, 61, sat down with TODAY‘s Craig Melvin to talk about their new cookbook, Does This Taste Funny? Recipes Our Family Loves. But along the way, they also shared the charming story of how they met—and it’s just as cute as you’d imagine.
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While the Colberts may have had a blast working on their cookbook, they admitted things weren’t always so smooth in the kitchen early on in their marriage.
“Stephen can be bossy. I know everyone will be really surprised about that,” Evie joked with TODAY hosts Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager.
“When we first got married, he was a little bit of, ‘You do this, you do that.’ And I thought, ‘I don’t want someone telling me what to do!’”
Stephen quickly defended himself, recalling an incident involving kitchen tools. “I jumped into a pan massacre… and this one is scraping the bottom of a non-stick pan with a metal spoon. I just handed her a wooden spoon,” he said, to which Evie chimed in, “In a very patronizing way.”
Apparently, that incident was so memorable that they didn’t cook together for another 27 years! But today, with over 30 years of marriage under their belts, they’ve clearly found their groove—both in and out of the kitchen.
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Their Meet-Cute Moment
The couple’s first meeting is as serendipitous as it gets. During their interview, Stephen revealed that he was at a crossroads after receiving a marriage ultimatum from a former girlfriend. Unsure of his next move, he went home to South Carolina to think it over.
After talking it out with his mom, who wasn’t sold on his uncertainty, she took him to the theater. That’s where Stephen saw Evie for the first time. “A little voice in my head said, ‘There’s your wife. You’re going to marry her,’” he recalled.
As for Evie, she was charmed by Stephen’s bond with his mom. “I looked at this very handsome man coming into the theater, and my first thought was, ‘He loves his mother,’” she shared, adding that they had grown up one street apart, but she didn’t recognize him at first.
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The First Date That Almost Didn’t Happen
Their first date came later, the day after Christmas. Evie remembers being struck by Stephen’s quirky sense of humor right from the start.
During dinner, Stephen recounted a dream he had about a specific item on the restaurant’s menu. Evie thought, “He’s either really, really crazy or really interesting.”
Luckily, Stephen turned out to be the latter. The couple married in October 1993, and they’ve been making each other laugh ever since.
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A Wedding Day to Remember
The Colberts shared fond memories from their wedding day in 1993, marking their 30th anniversary in 2023. When asked what she remembered most, Evie quipped, “How nervous you were.”
Stephen confessed, “It didn’t occur to me that I was getting married until a couple of hours before I got to the church,” but once he saw Evie in her wedding dress, everything clicked.
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Decades of Love and Listening
When reflecting on their relationship, Evie credited Stephen’s listening skills as one of the most romantic things about him. “He’s a good listener,” she said. “That makes someone very romantic if they can really listen to you.”
As for Stephen? He finds everything about Evie romantic. “How many do you want? That is hard, because everything about Evie is romantic,” he said with a smile.
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Evie McGee Colbert: A Talented Producer and Actor
Evie is more than just Stephen’s supportive wife—she’s an accomplished producer and actor in her own right.
As vice president of Spartina Productions, a production company founded by Stephen, she’s played an integral role behind the scenes.
Evie has also worked extensively in non-profit theater and is a founding board member of the Montclair Film Festival.
Though producing is her main focus, she’s dabbled in acting, appearing in Strangers with Candy and even snagging a cameo in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.
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A Lifetime of Laughter and Love
Over the years, Evie has made several appearances on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, often popping by to read funny greeting cards for her husband’s “First Drafts” segment.
Through it all, the couple has shared their love, laughter, and occasional kitchen spat with the world, making them a fan favorite both on and off the screen.
And after all these years, it’s clear—they still make quite the team.
This heartwarming love story proves that sometimes, when you know, you just know.