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Cinemablend
Cinemablend
Entertainment
Sarah El-Mahmoud

Milo Ventimiglia Explains The Fun Connection His Wife's Name Has To Gilmore Girls, And I Love This For Them

Milo Ventimiglia as Jess in Gilmore Girls.

Sorry gals and gays, Milo Ventimiglia is officially taken!! The actor whose career took off after starring in Gilmore Girls recently got married to Hawaiian model Jarah Mariano, and yes, he’s become aware of the clear connection between his wife’s name and his famed TV character Jess. 

When Ventimiglia spoke about his marriage on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, which took place last year after a private ceremony the couple have kept under wraps, he reacted to the fact that his life partner’s maiden name coincidentally ties in with Gilmore Girls. As he shared: 

Jess Mariano, it's how it goes you know, it's a very easy connection to make.

Not only do they share the same last name, Jarah Mariano’s name has the same initials as Milo Ventimiglia’s Gilmore Girls character Jess Mariano. The couple, who have reportedly been together since 2022, both grew up in Orange County, California as well. When asked about when he caught on the connection, here’s what the This Is Us star said: 

I think once people started to know her name in connection to my name, and my name in connection to her name, and I'm like 'Oh man, that's right, that used to be my name.'

While it sounds like Milo Ventimiglia didn’t realize it himself right away, the other people in his life who are Gilmore Girls fans made sure to let him know. Jarah Mariano is an American model who has appeared on the likes of Sports Illustrated and Victoria’s Secret along with ads for Abercrombie & Fitch, Armani Exchange, Old Navy, Levi’s and PacSun, among other major brands. Mariano is of Korean and Hawaiian descent. 

Milo Ventimiglia spoke about his recent life milestone while guesting on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Check out the interview on YouTube

In a fun segment during the appearance, Milo Ventimiglia was asked if he was aware of the internet's reaction to him being married. While he realized there might be a “few broken hearts” on the subject, he was surprised with some hilarious tweets on the subject. 

Of course, Milo Ventimiglia’s fame doesn’t only lie with the Gilmore Girls fandom. The actor also starred in NBC’s Heroes, but has admitted there was a dry spell in Hollywood for him after the series was canceled, which had him contemplating leaving the business. Ventimiglia found himself a major resurgence of popularity when he joined the cast of This Is Us, which he was part of for six seasons. The actor recently returned to network TV with The Company You Keep

Now, as for what Milo Ventimiglia was actually on the talk show for, he was there to promote his new movie, Land of Bad, where he stars alongside Russell Crowe as well as Liam and Luke Hemsworth. The action thriller is about a lone Air Force drone pilot who must survive amidst his Delta Force team being ambushed. 

You can check out Ventimiglia in Land of Bad, set to be released on the 2024 movie schedule this February 16, 2024. And of course, you can always binge-watch the actor in Gilmore Girls and This Is Us with a Netflix subscription

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