Melissa McCarthy: Hubby was my drinking buddy

Melissa McCarthy and her husband had to start dating otherwise they would have “become alcoholics”.

The Bridesmaids actress has been married to Ben Falcone for nearly ten years. The couple met at The Groundlings improvisation and sketch comedy school in Los Angeles, and during a chat with British magazine Stylist, Melissa recalled how they first got together.

“Either we had to start dating or we were going to become alcoholics,” she laughed. “Everybody would go out after Groundlings. It was a lot of drinky drinky, ‘Oops did I accidentally run into you and kiss you?’ It was a weird switch.”

The couple not only raise their two daughters together, but regularly collaborate on work too. Last year’s Tammy was directed by Ben and starred Melissa and the spouses are currently working on Michelle Darnell together. But despite both operating in the same field, Melissa insists they are not competitive.

“No, not at all. He probably makes me do a full crazy laugh where I can’t get air in, two or three times a day,” she smiled. “There’s not a competitive bone in his body; he’s steady, kind and super funny. We’re both not afraid to do something really stupid to make the other person laugh.”

Melissa thinks the chemistry they share comes from the fact that they were friends for a long time first before anything romantic happened. Plus meeting at a comedy school meant they saw the best, and worst, of each other quickly.

“We met in the only place in LA where the girls are in a dead heat to see who can be more unattractive,” she explained. “I met him in Dockers and cropped wigs trying to make myself look like I had rosacea. If you fall in love under those circumstances it’s based on a whole other thing.”