lizzy caplan fatal attraction premiere 2023© Getty Images

Fatal Attraction's Lizzy Caplan's very famous ex you'll definitely recognize

The Mean Girls actress is starring opposite Joshua Jackson in Fatal Attraction

US Lifestyle Editor
April 26, 2023

Fatal Attraction star Lizzy Caplan is a happily married woman – but before she tied the knot with her husband, Tom Riley, she dated a very famous actor for six years. 

The Mean Girls actress was previously in a relationship with Friends star Matthew Perry, who recently admitted he was "seconds away" from proposing and even had a romantic set-up planned. Alas, their romance wasn't meant to be, and they split in October 2013. But what else do we know about their relationship? Keep reading to find out… 

When did Matthew Perry and Lizzy Caplan date?

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Lizzy and Matthew dated for six years

Matthew and Lizzy met in 2006 when Matthew, then 36, crashed her 23rd birthday party. What began as a very casual relationship "morphed into love", he explained in his memoir, Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing, adding they both had "intimacy issues".

Were Lizzy Caplan and Matthew Perry engaged? 

Matthew certainly wanted to propose to Lizzy and even had a romantic plan in place. He revealed in his book that he had "paid a huge amount of money" for an artist to paint a picture of them that paid tribute to the 1,780 texts they'd sent to each other over the course of their relationship. 

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Lizzy is now married to someone else

However, when it came to giving Lizzy the painting, Matthew "missed the moment" to pop the question. "My plan was to give her the painting and then ask the question…well, I never asked it. I gave her the present and she was really moved by it, saying, 'Matty, my little heart – what you're doing to my little heart.' 

"And it was time, all I had to do was say, 'Honey, I love you. Will you…' But I didn't say it. All my fears reared up like a snake," Matthew said. "I immediately went into Chandler [expletive] Bing mode. 'Hey, hey, hey!' I said to her consternation, 'look at this!'" 

Why didn't Matthew Perry propose to Lizzy Caplan?

In his own words, Matthew explained: "I was too scared, or broken, or bent." He even claimed that the almost-proposal had a huge impact on their physical relationship over the following two years. 

"No amount of couples therapy could explain why I'd never asked the damn question, and why now I just looked on her as my best friend only." 

© Getty Images

Lizzy married Tom Riley in 2017

Who is Lizzy Caplan's husband? 

Two years after their split, Lizzy met British actor Tom Riley in January 2015 while filming in London. They made their first red carpet appearance together at the Prague Opera Ball in February 2016, before getting engaged three months later. They wed in Italy in 2017 and welcomed a son, Alfie, in 2021.

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