Inside Dave Franco And Alison Brie's Relationship

You've seen them together on the big screen in comedies like The Disaster Artist and The Little Hours, but Dave Franco and Alison Brie don't just share a strong working relationship — they've also been together off-screen for nearly a decade. The GLOW actress and Neighbors actor tied the knot in March 2017 and, as Interview magazine pointed out in July 2020, they "can still surprise each other." But perhaps not as much as they'll surprise you with their unconventional love story.

Speaking with Women's Health that April, Brie called herself "so lucky" to be married "to a really wonderful, open person," and went on to gush about their "great lines of communication." It's something that's played a major role in these celebs getting on the same page about a lot of things, such as Brie and Franco's stance on having kids. That being said, these two have also had their share of disagreements, including on some pretty quirky topics... like birthday parties. 

Let's take an inside look at Dave Franco and Alison Brie's unique relationship.

When Dave Franco and Alison Brie first met in 2011, they had zero expectations about their chance encounter turning into a relationship, let alone leading to a marriage. As the former Community star revealed on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in July 2020, their love story, which got its start "in New Orleans at Mardi Gras, where all great love stories begin," wasn't supposed to be a love story at all. But thanks to "some incredible matchmaking done by [Brie's] friend Jules," it quickly turned into one.

Recounting that fateful night, Brie told host Jimmy Fallon exactly what went down, saying, "We ran into Dave at the airport — the two of them are friends — and [Jules] invited him out to dinner with us." Franco agreed, with Brie adding, "When he finally got to dinner, he was sitting next to her, across the table [from me] and, you know, everyone's drinking, it's Mardi Gras, my friend texted me under the table and was like, 'You should hook up with Dave!' And I responded like, 'Yes, please!'" 

No doubt feeling emboldened by all of said drinks, Jules proceeded to show Brie's text to Franco to see if he was interested — he was. Not shying away from the truth, Brie admitted that what followed was "48 hours of, you know, drugs and sex [and] a lot of making out."

Following their rowdy Mardi Gras dinner, Alison Brie, Dave Franco, and their crew kept the party going by indulging in some illicit substances. Speaking with Insider in July 2020, Franco confessed that both he and his future wife decided to take MDMA the first time they hung out together. "We didn't meet while we were on Molly, but we did take Molly by the end of the night," he clarified, before joking, "Cut to eight-and-a-half years later and we've never been happier." 

Luckily, the experience was a positive one and, as Brie said on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, she followed Franco to New York soon after for the "wining and dining, romantic portion" of their blossoming relationship. She went on to reveal, "He left a secret note in my sweatshirt on our last day of our trip in New York, saying, 'Come with me to Paris.'" With a laugh, she added, "How could I say no?!"

Since that NOLA weekend, Brie and Franco have revisited their old friend Molly, most notably in 2018 while preparing for Franco's directorial debut, The Rental, which stars Brie and sees her character taking MDMA in the flick. As Franco told Insider, "She ended up taking a lot more than me," saying that he filmed Brie "just to see if we could take away anything from it where she could study the video later to help inform her performance."

The start of Dave Franco and Alison Brie's relationship was full of unconventional moments. Like the time the Community actress tried to do something nice for her new boyfriend and instead caused him to have "the first panic attack of [his] life." Breaking down what happened on The Tonight Show in 2017, Franco told Jimmy Fallon that the drama started when, "like three months into the relationship," his birthday came up and his new GF "decided to throw [him] a surprise party."

Acknowledging that it "was very sweet" and "she put a lot of effort into it," Franco recounted how "the guest list got a little out of control ... and if you know me, I'm a pretty private person and I don't like to be the center of attention and so, I freaked out." He explained, "To alleviate my anxiety, I decided to consume a weed cookie." Unfortunately, this "had the opposite effect," Franco admitted, and he was soon "throwing up and throwing a tantrum," while telling Brie to "get everyone out of here." 

She did, and it was a valuable relationship milestone. "Alison and I, we still talk about how [if] we survived my surprise party, we can survive anything," Franco quipped.

Alison Brie may have felt a "semi-immediate click" when she first met her future husband, but as she confessed to Metro in 2016, she "never really wanted to get married." Noting that "guys were always kind of around because I didn't care about them so much," she continued, "I've not had trouble dating, it's just marriage was never a priority for me, and I may have just been fine never getting married except that, you know, I fell madly in love and then thought, 'Oh, I guess I could be married to you.'" 

Elaborating on what changed her mind, Brie told the mag, "About a year into our relationship I was like, 'Oh wow, this thing I thought I maybe never would do, I could definitely see myself doing it with you.'"

Even so, that didn't stop Brie from having an interesting reaction when Dave Franco did finally propose. As she told Larry King in 2017, when the Now You See Me actor got down on one knee in Big Sur, Calif., "I was so shocked that I actually burst out laughing and asked him a number of times if he was being serious before saying 'Yes.'" Yikes!

After a few happy years together (minus the infamous birthday meltdown), Dave Franco popped the question in August 2015. He and Alison Brie said "I do" in a secret ceremony in March 2017. Since then, they've been on the same page about pretty much everything, including having kids. Or, more accurately, not having kids. 

Speaking with The Times in 2018, Brie joked that their two cats, Harry and Arturo, are "our children," before explaining the reasoning behind their definitive decision. "I don't really want to have kids," she began. "It's great because I don't worry about when I should get pregnant — between seasons, while we're shooting the show." Noting that "it would be nice," Brie continued, "I think of all the things that would be so stressful. I think about how much we're involved in our cats' lives. Oh my God, if it was a child!"

Speaking of their fur babies, Franco previously told Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show that Brie was instantly smitten with his feline companions. "At one point in my life, I was the single guy with two 16-pound cats," he said, joking, "It definitely weeds out a lot of potential dating partners, 'cause not a lot of women are excited to dive into a relationship with a guy who sleeps with 32 pounds of cat on top of him every night." He revealed with a laugh, "I mean, [Brie] was the only one. She was really my only option."

It was January 2018 when, fresh off the heels of James Franco's Golden Globes win for The Disaster Artist, the Los Angeles Times ran a powerful, headline-making story in which five women (including four of Franco's former acting students) came forward and accused the actor-director of "inappropriate or sexually exploitative" behavior. 

Days later, while attending the SAG Awards, his sister-in-law and The Disaster Artist co-star, Alison Brie, was asked about the allegations during an interview with E!'s Live from the Red Carpet, where she somewhat skirted around the topic. Addressing the impact that the story had on her and her family, Brie told Giuliana Rancic, "I think that above all what we've always said is that it remains vital that anyone who feels victimized should and, you know, does have the right to speak out." 

"I obviously support my family and not everything that's been reported is fully accurate, so I think we're waiting to get all the information. But of course, now is a time for listening and that's what we're all trying to do," Brie concluded.

Mixing business with pleasure can be tricky, but Dave Franco and Alison Brie love blurring those lines. Explaining the appeal, Brie told Hello Giggles in 2017. "It's so nice to work with your person, to be on set with someone who is the person you feel the most comfortable with in the world ... We do really love working with each other." 

So when Franco decided to make his directorial debut with The Rental (which he also wrote), it's no wonder he cast his real-life leading lady. Describing the experience to Cinema Blend, Brie called it "wonderful," adding, "It was so easy." She also told People that Franco's "enthusiasm on set is infectious and it made me fall in love with him all over again."

Meanwhile, Franco gave Brie all the credit for helping him bring The Rental to fruition. "On top of her just being an incredible actress, it was so nice to have her there with me," he told MovieMaker magazine, admitting, "There were moments throughout the shoot where I would really get into my own head and start to doubt myself in small ways." Franco concluded, "To be able to go home to her every night and have someone who would build me up and remind me that things were going well and that I was doing a good job — it was invaluable and I honestly don't think I could have done this without her."

As much as both Dave Franco and Alison Brie clearly enjoy working together, they hit an unexpected bump on the set of The Rental. Sitting down on Late Night with Seth Meyers in 2019 (via E!), Brie admitted that having her hubby as her director posed a surprising challenge. "We've worked together as actors before but never in this capacity," she began, noting, "There was this learning curve of, day one rehearsal one, we're talking about the blocking in the scene and I was like, 'Honey, do you think I should cross at this time?'"

Realizing that 'Honey' may not be the most professional moniker, she quickly pulled him aside to ask, "'Do you want me to call you Dave on set when we're around the actors?' He was like, 'Could you call me David Franco? I need you to be professional,'" she recalled. But that was easier said than done. Explaining that they're "a real 'babe' and 'honey' household," Brie joked, "It was a full 'babe' and 'honey' set." 

The actress went on to add that she also turned to her GLOW showrunners for advice, asking them, "'Isn't it so weird in a movie when you see someone talking about their husband and they say their name ... because you'll just call them 'babe' or 'honey'?'" only to be told that she was the exception as they all call their partners by their name.