'9-1-1' Actor Neal McDonough and Wife Ruve Have Been Married Nearly a Quarter of a Century
Before marrying Neal, Ruve was a model in South Africa.
Published July 31 2025, 4:25 p.m. ET
When you see him on the big or small screen, Neal McDonough's bright blue eyes and skills as an actor make you forget that he's really Neal.
From his ominous role in Desperate Housewives and The 100 to his friendlier role in 9-1-1: Lone Star, Neal is a chameleon, blending into his roles expertly.
But when he's not sending chills or stealing hearts in a role, he's playing an important role at home: husband and father. Neal has been married to his wife for 25 years, and they share a large and happy family together. Here's what we know about his personal life.
Neal McDonough is happily married.
Neal married his wife, Ruve, all the way back in December 2003. Neal often plays very tough characters in Hollywood, but it would seem that he has a heart of gold for Ruve, who is from South Africa (via People).
When speaking with the Adam Carolla show, Neal revealed that when his wife was in South Africa, she worked as a model, which comes as no surprise when you see the two of them together.
And Neal appears to absolutely adore his wife.
Ruve's social media accounts are private, but Neal's are filled with adoring comments from his wife and pictures and videos of the two of them beaming happily together. In one sweet photo on TikTok, Neal leans over Ruve's shoulder to hug her, and he captioned it, "Golden Retriever and Black Cat" in reference to a TikTok trend showing couples with one person who has blond hair and one who has dark hair.
In another post, Neal gushes that he couldn't imagine his life without her.
Neal has quite a few kids.
Building an impressive Hollywood career with a stunning model would be busy enough for any man, but Neal and Ruve have been pretty busy in their private lives, too.
They share five children together: son Morgan, born in 2005; daughter Catherine, born in 2007; daughters Landon and Clover, both born in 2011, although not twins; and son James, born in 2014 (via People).
Neal seems to enjoy having his family around him, and they have appeared as a group on red carpets and at premiere events, with Neal and Ruve looking as proud as punch of the family they've built.
In one cheeky statement from a representative for the couple announcing the birth of their youngest son, the rep joked, "They weren’t complete until they literally had a handful" (excerpt via People).
As he built a life for himself as a family man, Neal has been open in the past about his struggle with sobriety, and he marked a full year sober in 2017, giving credit to his wife in an Instagram post where he celebrated her support.
Neal may not always play the front-man in his roles, but it's clear that Ruve is always his leading lady. Between the two of them and their five children, they paint the picture of a happy and loving family.