Real-Life Love
How Did ‘Peacemaker’ Couple James Gunn & Jennifer Holland Meet? Inside Their Love Story
Just one day before Superman came out, director James Gunn had another occasion to celebrate: the 10-year anniversary of his first date with Jennifer Holland. “You are without a doubt the best thing that ever happened to me,” wrote Gunn, who also serves as the writer and showrunner of HBO’s Peacemaker.
Most DC fans know Holland as more than the DC exec’s significant other. The actress also plays Peacemaker’s cantankerous agent Harcourt in its first and second seasons. Peacemaker’s return and Gunn’s recent Instagram post got us thinking about the real-life supercouple’s origins. It turns out that they have another DC star to thank for their romance.
How did James Gunn and Jennifer Holland meet?
Gunn was still in the Marvel trenches when he first noticed his future wife. He asked about her when she was pictured with his friend’s girlfriend in 2015. That friend? Michael Rosenbaum — aka Smallville‘s Lex Luthor. Rosenbaum set them up, asking his girlfriend to pass along Gunn’s interest to Holland. The actress hadn’t heard of the Guardians of the Galaxy director.
“She described James as a producer-director,” Holland told The Hollywood Reporter. “I guess the fact that she put producer first or something, it just kind of gave me weird vibes.”
Holland changed her tune when she did some research on Gunn. “He seemed so incredibly charming in interviews,” she explained.
It led to a semi-blind date, during which the pair hit it off. “I just told him my whole life story,” Holland said. “We spent like seven hours together and that’s it. That’s how it started.”
In the early years of their relationship, Holland would travel to Atlanta — where Gunn was filming — in between shoots for Sun Records in Nashville. A few years later, Gunn imagined his then-girlfriend as Emilia Harcourt in The Suicide Squad, which led to her appearance in Peacemaker.
Before the life partners also became work partners, Holland admired Gunn’s as a director. “I think I found his appeal as a director when I would get to watch him work,” she told Collider. “And he has such a very specific idea of what he wants so it’s really easy to put yourself in his hands, so to speak, and trust him. And he’s just fun!”
On their fifth anniversary, Holland posted a photo that she took of Gunn when she knew he was the one. The actress, who is 22 years Gunn’s junior, also revealed that she fell in love with Gunn at someone else’s wedding, like “[they] were characters in a rom-com.”
View this post on Instagram
When did James Gunn and Jennifer Holland get married?
The couple got engaged in February 2022 and married at the end of September 2022 in Aspen, Colorado. “After over 7 years together, I finally married the love of my life, @jenniferlholland,” Gunn wrote on Instagram at the time. “What an incredible, beautiful, stunning day surrounded by the most wonderful family and friends in the world.”
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In July 2025, Holland posted the first photo she ever took of Gunn. “Here’s the first photo I ever took of your gorgeous blue eyes, 10 years ago, right before you left for Atlanta to film a movie for about a year,” she began. “I wasn’t sure if we’d see each other again. But now, 10 years later, I’m in Atlanta with our animal family and you’re on the other side of the world promoting a different film on our 10 year anniversary. It’s been a wild, harrowing, wonderful, beautiful 10 years.”
She continued, “You’ve sacrificed a lot for your work, for the fans, and now for your company. But let’s take a vacation this year, okay? Maybe a couple of vacations? Maybe even a honeymoon? I love you, best friend.” Gunn commented, “Three vacations. One of them a honeymoon!”
Gunn was previously married to The Office star Jenna Fischer from 2000 to 2008.
Peacemaker, Season 2 Premiere, Thursday, August 21, HBO Max
