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Before Max Greenfield <\/strong>became everyone\u2019s favorite lovable weirdo Schmidt on New Girl, he was a struggling actor with future wife Tess Sanchez<\/strong> in his corner.<\/p>\n The two met at a club in Los Angeles in 2003, when he was out of work and she was just at the start of her career in casting. \u201cWe just sort of locked eyes across the room, like, \u2018Why are you staring at me?\u2019\u201d Sanchez shared on the podcast Broad Ideas With Rachel Bilson<\/a>.<\/p>\n Eventually, she approached him. \u201cI was like, \u2018Are you an actor?\u2019 I\u2019m so afraid to ask,\u201d she recalled. \u201cAnd he was like, \u2018Yes.\u2019 I was like, \u2018Oh God.\u201d<\/p>\n Nonetheless, sparks flew. \u201cFrom that night on, we hit the ground running and never looked back.\u201d<\/p>\n Keep reading to learn more about Greenfield\u2019s marriage, including whether he and his wife have kids and if she cast him on New Girl.<\/p>\n \ud83c\udfac\u00a0<\/strong>SIGN UP for Parade\u2019s Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\ud83c\udfac<\/strong><\/p>\n Yes! Greenfield is married to former casting director Tess Sanchez, whom he met in 2003 \u2014 long before he was famous \u2014 and married in 2008.<\/p>\n Reflecting on the secret to their long-lasting relationship in a joint interview with Parents magazine<\/a> in 2021, Sanchez said,\u00a0 “Max always puts me first \u2014 smartly \u2014 which makes for a happy home.\u201d<\/p>\n Greenfield added, “We communicate well too. You’re better at voicing things, but I’m a great listener. If we haven’t spent enough time together, you’ll say, ‘I need to see you,’ and I’m there!”<\/p>\n The pair met at a club in Los Angeles in 2003.<\/p>\n \u201cMy dating history at that point was [men asking], \u2018Do you wanna meet out?\u2019\u201d Sanchez recalled on the Broad Ideas podcast. \u201cIt was never, \u2018I\u2019m gonna pick you up at this time and we\u2019re gonna go to dinner\u2019 \u2014 until I met him.\u201d<\/p>\n Alas, his romantic<\/a> gesture hit a snag when his credit card got declined on their first date<\/a>. \u201cHe\u2019s like, fumbling through [his wallet], like, \u2018Try this one,\u2019\u201d she remembered. \u201cAnd I was like, \u2018This is so embarrassing.\u2019\u201d Still, it was certainly clear she wasn\u2019t in it for the money.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was very poor for the first part of our relationship,\u201d she said. \u201cI was the breadwinner at that point, just because I had a steady job.\u201d<\/p>\n Related: Max Greenfield Shares Favorite On-Set Memory With \u2018The Neighborhood\u2019 Co-Star Cedric the Entertainer (Exclusive)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Sanchez is a longtime TV casting executive who helped shape some of the biggest shows of the last two decades. Most recently, she served as Executive Vice President of Casting at Fox Entertainment, where she oversaw casting for hit series including 9-1-1<\/a>, Empire, Brooklyn Nine-Nine and The Mindy Project. She spent 11 years with the network before being laid off amid cost cuts in 2020.<\/p>\n Prior to joining Fox, Sanchez worked as an independent casting director and also spent eight years at The WB as Vice President of Talent and Casting. During that time, she helped discover talent for shows like Felicity, Dawson’s Creek and Buffy the Vampire Slayer<\/a>.<\/p>\n After her abrupt exit from Fox, Sanchez wrote about rediscovering her purpose in a 2025 book of essays called We Decided to Go in a Different Direction. Among other things, she shared how the experience affected the dynamic in her marriage.<\/p>\n \u201cI never defined myself as Max\u2019s wife, and for the first time we were going out in the world and were like, \u2018Well what do you do?\u2019 And I was like, \u2018I\u2019m his plus one,\u2019\u201d she explained on Broad Ideas. \u201cAnd I hated it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe had always been my plus one,\u201d she continued. \u201cFrom the beginning, I would walk in ahead of him and be like, \u2018I\u2019ll see you in a bit.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Ultimately, she shared, \u201cI needed to back up and say, \u2018I\u2019m enough. I don\u2019t need this job to define me.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n In a show of support for his wife, Greenfield wrote the foreword to her book.<\/p>\n \u201cMy wife @tesssanchezgreenfield<\/a> has written a book,\u201d he wrote on Instagram<\/a>. \u201cAdmittedly, I have not read many books so I have very little to compare it to. But in my opinion, this is the best book that\u2019s ever been written \u2026 I will be posting about this a lot because I love Tess and this book very much.\u201d<\/p>\n The couple got married in 2008. At the time, Greenfield was still working steadily but hadn\u2019t yet landed New Girl, the show that would make him a household name in 2011.<\/p>\n \u201cI felt like my wife and I had a really special, beautiful wedding,\u201d Greenfield told Vulture<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cMy wife and I like to compare the weddings we go to our wedding,\u201d he added. \u201cUsually, we win that game.\u201d<\/p>\n Yes. The couple share two children together: daughter Lilly<\/strong>, born January 2010, and son Ozzie<\/strong>, born August 2015.<\/p>\n During the pandemic, Greenfield became almost as well known for making hilarious \u201cremote learning\u201d videos with his daughter as he is for acting. He\u2019s also written four children\u2019s books: I Don\u2019t Want to Read This Book (2021), This Book Is Not a Present (2022), I Don\u2019t Want to Read This Book Aloud (2023) and Goodnight Thoughts (2024).<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s such a hard thing to articulate,\u201d he\u2019s said<\/a> of the experience of parenthood. \u201cIt just takes the focus off of you and puts it onto your children, who you love more than you would ever think you were capable of loving.”<\/p>\n Related: Max Greenfield Reveals What Kind of Sports Dad He Is to Teen Daughter Lilly (Exclusive)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n They didn\u2019t \u2014 at least not while they were married. That said, they took a break early on in their relationship, in part due to Greenfield\u2019s hard-partying ways. He then went into rehab for an addiction to drugs and alcohol, and has been sober since 2006.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was such a critical part of the story,\u201d Sanchez told Glamour<\/a>, explaining why she decided to write about it in her book. \u201cAnd with our two kids now, we\u2019ve always been very honest with them [about it]. They understand that Max doesn\u2019t drink alcohol and what that process was like. They\u2019re very accepting of it.\u201d<\/p>\n Sanchez was working in the casting department of Fox, the network that aired New Girl, when Greenfield signed on to play Schmidt. But neither she nor her husband have indicated that she had anything to do with his casting on the show.<\/p>\n She\u2019s certainly run lines with him over the years, including for a self-tape audition for Season 2 of The White Lotus<\/a>, she revealed on Broad Ideas. (He didn’t get the part, but HBO announced a year after her podcast appearance, in March 2026, that he’s set to star in the show’s fourth season.)<\/p>\n \u201cI definitely helped him [in his career],\u201d Sanchez said on the podcast.<\/p>\n \u201c[But] by helping him, I mean I recognized his potential and I motivated him and became ambitious for the both of us.\u201d<\/p>\n She went on to explain that Greenfield has an \u201cartistic mentality,\u201d whereas she is much more \u201cpropulsive in my goals and my ambition.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd so I was like, \u2018Hey, let me show you how to be super bossy and get what you want.\u2019 And he did.\u201d<\/p>\n Next: Meet the Star-Studded Cast of ‘The White Lotus’ Season 4<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n This story was originally published by Parade<\/a> on May 11, 2026, where it first appeared in the Celebs<\/a> section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\nIs Max Greenfield married?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
How did Max Greenfield meet his wife, Tess Sanchez?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
What is Max Greenfield\u2019s wife, Tess Sanchez, known for?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
When did Max Greenfield and Tess Sanchez get married?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Do Max Greenfield and his wife have kids?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Why did Max Greenfield and Tess Sanchez split up?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Did Tess Sanchez cast Max Greenfield in <\/strong>New Girl<\/strong>?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n