Keri Russell has recalled how she urged Matthew Rhys to leave her out of his acceptance speeches at the 2026 Emmy Awards.
At the ceremony last month, the Welsh actor made history by becoming the first person to win two Lead Actor awards in one night for different TV shows.
However, some fans noticed that Rhys didn't thank his longtime partner, Russell, either time he took to the stage to collect a prize.
But during an appearance on the Dear Chelsea podcast on Thursday, The Diplomat star explained to host Chelsea Handler that she actually asked Rhys not to include her in any acceptance speeches that he made.
"It's a lot of pressure... So we were both so nervous," she began. "And I looked at him a few days before, and I said, 'OK, well, can you articulate what you're most nervous about?' And he's like, 'Yeah, having to speak.' And I said, 'Totally.' And I said, 'Take me off your plate. Like, you don't have to thank me, I know you love me, take me off your plate. There's so many people you have to thank.'"
Russell, who was also nominated for an Emmy Award for her performance in The Diplomat, went on to note that Rhys still gets a "hard time" for the speech he gave when he won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his performance in The Americans back in 2018.
"I don't care if you want to thank the dog walker. You do whatever you want to do. That's your minute. That's your 45 seconds. So I just said, 'Take me off your plate.' And we kind of said to each other, 'We don't have to thank each other,'" the 50-year-old added.
Rhys, 51, won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for his role in The Beast in Me and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for his performance in Widow's Bay at the 2026 Emmy Awards.
The pair started dating in 2014 after co-starring on The Americans. They share a 10-year-old son, Sam, while Russell is also the mother of son River, 19, and daughter Willa, 13, from a previous marriage.
