The Real Life Partners Of The Cast Of CSI: NY

The long-running procedural spinoff is a tried-and-true television tradition; Dick Wolf has made an empire of it over on NBC, launching numerous shows under his "Law & Order" and "One Chicago" franchise umbrellas. CBS is no stranger to the procedural spinoff game, and in the 2000s, they ran the TV rating landscape with their trio of "CSI" shows: the original flagship series, "CSI: Miami," and "CSI: NY." "CSI: Cyber," which premiered in 2015, was significantly less successful, Deadline noted upon its cancellation, and a sequel series to the original (called "CSI: Vegas") premiered in 2021.

"CSI: NY" was technically a spinoff of "CSI: Miami," its main cast having been introduced in a backdoor pilot called "MIA/NYC NonStop." The episode saw David Caruso's "Miami" character Horatio Caine head north to NYC to chase down a lead. At the New York Crime Lab, he met Mac Taylor (Gary Sinise), Stella Bonasera (Melina Kanakaredes), Sheldon Hawkes (Hill Harper), and more characters who fans would come to know and love over an eventual nine seasons of television.

The characters who worked at the New York Crime Lab would fall in love, break up, experience heartbreak and joy over the course of the series, so fans of the show may still be wondering what went on behind the scenes. Read on for a round-up of the real-life partners of the "CSI: NY" cast.

"CSI: NY" wouldn't have worked as well as it did, or lasted as long as it did, without lead actor Gary Sinise, who appeared on all 197 episodes of the show. Sinise is otherwise best known as Lieutenant Dan Taylor from "Forrest Gump," for which he was nominated for an Oscar. His "CSI: NY" character Mac Taylor, fans will remember, was the head of the New York Crime Lab. Though his character was romantically involved with a number of women, behind the scenes Sinise has been married to Moira Harris since 1981. Harris is also an actor, and they met when Sinise co-founded the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago. Harris has acted alongside her husband several times on screen; she played his wife on an episode of "Crime Story" in 1986, and she has had cameos in several films he directed, including "Miles From Home" and "Of Mice and Men."

In his memoir "Grateful American," Sinise described their initial courtship. "She was a brilliant young actor," he wrote. "Beautiful. Passionate. Full of pure fire." The memoir goes on to describe Harris' battle with alcoholism and the way that attending an AA meeting led her back to the Catholic church. 

Now, they're happier than ever. "[The key to longevity is] a sense of humor," Sinise told Parade. "My wife's a loving, funny, Irish-spirited person, and I'm still surprised at some of the things she says. She makes me laugh every day."

If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

Hill Harper was another original "CSI: NY" cast member who stuck it out until the end, playing Dr. Sheldon Hawkes throughout the show. Harper, who was named to People's "Sexiest Man Alive" list in both 2004 and 2013, is single as of this writing, telling "Unsung Hollywood" that he has a fear of commitment that's led him to live life on his own. "Would it be borne out of the fact that my parents are divorced? Probably!" he said.

Harper romanced both Regina Hall and Taraji P. Henson, and on "Unsung Hollywood," he sang their praises. "Regina Hall is one of the most beautiful, funny, amazing women," he said, "and yeah, we were dating during that time [in his career]." He added that he dated Taraji P. Henson for almost two years, but denied that things ended badly. "Just because you're in a healthy, great relationship that ends doesn't mean it wasn't successful or it was a failure," he said. "Not all relationships are meant to end in marriage."

Harper adopted a child and is raising his son as a single father. "I always thought I was going to get married, have my own kids, and I was going to adopt," he told "Good Morning America." A friend asked, "Even though you're not married, why can't you just be a dad now?" Harper agreed and adopted a newborn boy. "I never felt I could love this deeply. I love him and he's my son."

"Veronica Mars" star Kyle Gallner appeared regularly on "CSI: NY" as Reed Garrett, the son of Mac Taylor's late wife. On the show, he played a moody teenager, but nowadays, Gallner's home life is very happy. He married his longtime girlfriend Tara Ferguson in a whimsical December wedding in 2015, and they have two children together, Oliver and Leo.

"We met at a karaoke bar in Burbank, California," Tara told Brides.com. "It was very romantic, I assure you!" Talking about their engagement, she added, "We designed my ring together and picked out my wedding band."

Gallner shared news of the wedding on Instagram, captioning a photo, "I married my best friend yesterday. It was such an amazing day. I love this woman!" For their fourth anniversary, he wrote, "Thank you for being the beautiful woman and mother that you are, for being the glue that holds this family together ... my rock and my best friend. We have only begun to scratch the surface and I can't wait to see where life takes us."

A.J. Buckley joined the cast of "CSI: NY" in Season 2, playing lab technician Adam Ross, and he stayed through the end of the show. Off-screen, Buckley has been in a long-term relationship with Abigail Ochse, a dermatology RN. He proposed to her back in 2012, having asked her to marry him while under a specific tree in Hawaii where, according to US Weekly, he had scattered some of his father's ashes.

Ochse shares their life and children on her popular Instagram account, @thechicmamas. On Father's Day in 2021, she posted a carousel of photos of Buckley with their children, writing, "Happy Father's Day to you my love @ajbuckley thank you for being the best Dad to our babies."

In addition to the Chic Mamas influencer account, Ochse runs two more side businesses. She co-founded Uniquely You, a brand of "wellness gummies," alongside "Twilight" star Ashley Greene. With her husband, Ochse also runs Paperclip, a line of diaper bags and other baby gear. Buckley told CBS Watch Magazine about the business venture, "When I told my [fiancée] what I was planning, she looked at me like I was nuts. Never in my life did I think I'd one day be playing a Navy SEAL on TV [on the show "SEAL Team"] while selling diaper bags on the side."

Mykelti Williamson reunited with his "Forrest Gump" co-star Gary Sinise when he starred on "CSI: NY" as Chief Brigham Sinclair, playing the role across 7 episodes between 2007 and 2009.

Williamson has been married three times. His first marriage to "Miami Vice" star Olivia Brown (1983-1985), and then he married Cheryl Chisholm (1989-1991). He and Chisolm briefly reconnected in 1993 (per TCM), a reunion which resulted in a daughter named Phoenix, but the relationship itself did not rise from the ashes and they split for good. In a dark turn, Williamson was accused in 1998 of stabbing Chisholm's boyfriend Leroy Edwards during an argument. Upon his arrest, he told reporters (via Empire), "This has all been a big misunderstanding." According to the Los Angeles Times, he was later acquitted of the charge of attempted manslaughter.

Thankfully, he seems to have gotten everything right in his current marriage to actor Sondra Spriggs; they've been together since 1997. In an interview with RedCarpetTips101, Williamson gushed about his lady. "You walk in with your dream girl, it's all good," he said. The couple also frequently coordinates their red carpet outfits together. "She's got exceptional taste," Williamson said. "So what I do is: I watch and see what she [puts on], and then I sort of accessorize in that direction."

Robert Joy played medical examiner Sid Hammerback for eight seasons of "CSI: NY." The character was diagnosed with cancer in what would be the final season; Joy was grateful for the chance to explore the character's inner life, telling Zap2it, "I know it's gratifying for [the writers], but it's also very generous to us as a cast. It's almost like a gift."

In his own life, he was once married to actor Mary Joy, and they have a daughter named Ruby. Joy even worked with Ruby in 2011, starring in a production of "The Tempest" together (per The Barrie Examiner). After his divorce from Mary, Joy was with actor William Duff-Griffin until his death from prostate cancer in 1994; Duff-Griffin's obituary in The New York Times referred to Joy as his "companion."

Thankfully, after such heartbreak, Joy seems to have found love again. Though he doesn't discuss his personal life often, The Barrie Examiner wrote that Joy has lived with his partner Henry Krieger since 1995. He and Joy are often photographed together attending shows and events in New York, including the launch of the "Dreamgirls" national tour (via Broadway.com); Krieger is best known for having composed that show. The film version of "Dreamgirls" was directed by Bill Condon, and in 2014, Condon re-worked Krieger's musical "Side Show" and re-mounted it on Broadway. Per WNYC, Robert Joy starred as "Sir," the ringmaster who runs the freakshow that the musical is centered around.

Fans will remember that British actor Claire Forlani joined the "CSI: NY" cast for Seasons 3, 4, and very briefly 6. She played Peyton Driscoll, a medical examiner who falls into a relationship with Mac before moving back to London.

Off-screen, Forlani is married to Dougray Scott, star of "Mission: Impossible II" and "Desperate Housewives." When he proposed only ten months after they met, he gave Forlani a ring that he himself designed. He told People, "It was very romantic. I feel so lucky to have met her. She's an amazing actress and human being. I'm very happy."
 The two have played a couple on screen as well. They co-starred in the 2011 romantic comedy "Love's Kitchen," a film notable as the acting debut of Gordon Ramsay. The film was not well-received, to put it mildly; critic Mark Kermode called it "rubbish. Utter rubbish."

At the height of the #MeToo movement, Forlani opened up about the treatment she suffered under Harvey Weinstein, writing on Twitter that she "escaped five times" and that she felt "shame" for not participating in Ronan Farrow's industry-shaking exposé. Scott publicly supported his wife, writing on his since-deleted Instagram account (via Glasgow Times), "Bravo to my wife and all the other brave women who have spoken of the utterly disgusting behaviour of Weinstein! Lets pray this is the end of this detestable behavior by men everywhere! I'm so sorry you all had to experience such disgusting behavior."

Carmine Giovinazzo's Detective Danny Messer was with the "CSI: NY" unit throughout the show's entire run. Over the course of the show, Messer fell in love with and ultimately married fellow crime scene investigator Lindsay Monroe (Anna Belknap); by the time the show ended, they had two children.

Offscreen, Giovinazzo's love life is far less happy. He married "General Hospital" and "90210" star Vanessa Marcil in 2010, but the marriage suffered a difficult loss; the year after they wed, Giovinazzo wrote on Twitter, "V has had a miscarriage. our second one this year. thanx for the love and prayers."

They separated less than a year after that, and officially filed for divorce in 2013, the same year "CSI: NY" went off the air. The two have not spoken directly about the end of their marriage, which TMZ reported was due to "irreconcilable differences." However, though they haven't addressed their separation specifically, Marcil appeared to reference the divorce when she wrote on Twitter shortly before everything was finalized, "Big blessings many times come in the face of what seemed to be a crisis. Thank your 'enemies' and pray for them. You reap what you sow....." Yikes!

Sela Ward joined "CSI: NY" for its final three seasons as Jo Danville, a detective who joined the CSI office after the departure of Stella Bonasera. Off-screen, Ward has been married to venture capitalist Howard Sherman since 1992; they met the year before after being set up on a blind date. "You know what Howard has that the others didn't?" she asked Parade. "He listened. He wanted to know me. I felt cherished. I was used to anger and chaos with men, but Howard is very gentle — kind, funny, even-keeled. Even before we kissed, and he's a great kisser, he had me."

Though they have supported each other for decades, Sherman revealed that Ward was initially not on board with his political ambition. "She says, 'Are you doing this for your ego or are you doing this because you want to enact change?'" he told the Clarion-Ledger. "I [was] 33. I'm like, 'I don't know; 20 percent ego, 80 percent change' ... I was falling madly in love with her, and she said, 'Well, I'm the wrong woman for you.'"

He put his political dreams on hold (until a failed Senate run in 2018), and they've been together ever since. She dedicated her memoir "Homesick" to him, writing, "To my husband, Howard, who encouraged me when I was tired, who helped me when I was weary, and who found just the right turn of phrase when I was stuck."

When "CSI: NY" began, actor Sonya Walger played Jane Parsons, a DNA technician who worked in the CSI lab. She had a bit of a romance with Mac Taylor in the show's early years (via New York Post), but that ended when she left the show at the end of Season 2.

Walger has been married to Davey Holmes since 2009, and their wedding was pretty low-key. She told People a few months later that they had a Beatles karaoke band as their entertainment, and on the day of the ceremony, she felt "very unstressed." "It's just a sweet thing," she said. "I haven't got a better word for it. It's an enormous amount of sweetness." Holmes is a screenwriter who has worked on "In Treatment," "Pushing Daisies," and "Shameless." He also created the Epix show "Get Shorty," based on the Elmore Leonard novel of the same name; Walger worked on both seasons of her husband's show, playing Lila Llambias.

The pair have two children now, and Walger joked with the Los Angeles Times that she is "the absolute opposite of a hoarder" at their Malibu home. "I'm not particularly sentimental," she said. "My husband calls me 'throwy-outy' — he's horrified at how easily I dispense with things. People I won't let go of, but things, mementos, I'm not particularly attached to."

Eddie Cahill was a lead on "CSI: NY" throughout all 197 episodes of the show, playing fan-favorite Detective Don Flack. He is now married to Nikki Uberti, a former model and current makeup artist who was once married to controversial photographer Terry Richardson. The New York Post reported that Richardson left her after she was diagnosed with cancer. Jaw-dropping, we know.

After eagle-eyed "CSI: NY" fans spotted a tattoo during a shirtless scene that hadn't always been there, Cahill told fansite CSI Files, "I do have a tattoo with [my] girlfriend's name in a heart with an arrow through it and a swallow on top."

Nowadays, the couple is relatively private about their relationship, which is certainly understandable given what she went through in her previous marriage. Cahill occasionally shows up on Uberti's social media accounts, and they still seem very much in love. In 2019, she marked their tenth anniversary on Instagram, writing, "Happy Anniversary Babe!" along with a champagne bottle emoji, the emoji of two clinking glasses, and the explosion emoji. She also included a string of romantic hashtags: "#mylove #myhandsomeyoungman #babydaddy #bestfriend #herestomanymore."

Melina Kanakaredes was part of the original cast of "CSI: NY," playing Stella Bonasera until she left after Season 6 in what Deadline called a "shocker." While her character had a few ex-boyfriends and even hooked up with Adam Ross (AJ Buckley) in Season 6, Kanakaredes herself has been steadily married to real estate developer and former restaurant consultant Peter Constantinides since 1992. 

She told OK! Magazine in 2006 (via Fanpop) that Constantinides is camera-shy, but an incident on "The View" led to a new rule: she makes him attend red carpets so they have "at least one photo a year." "When I was on 'The View,' he was sitting in the front row," she explained. "They put a photo up of who they thought my husband was, but it was actually my very sweet friend, who happens not to be interested in women. He is blonde and blue-eyed, whereas my husband has dark features." She laughed and reassured producers that her husband's shyness was really to blame.

During a chat with USA Today, Kanakaredes revealed that the couple loves making food part of their relationship since Constantinides is also a chef. "It's a wonderful time when you sit down around the table for dinner and discuss life. No matter where you are, it gives the semblance of normalcy to my crazy world," she said. "It  grounds us as a family."

Anna Belknap played Lindsay Monroe throughout "CSI: NY," a detective at the New York Crime Lab who winds up in a years-long romance, marriage, and parenthood with fellow CSI Danny Messer.

Like her character, Belknap herself is in a long-term, stable relationship; she is married to fellow actor Eric Siegel. They met while they were both members of the Rude Mechanicals Theater Company, and they wed in 2004.

While Beklnap was on "CSI: NY," she and Siegel had two children together. The show shot around her first pregnancy and she briefly left the series after giving birth. Her second pregnancy, however, was written into her character's storyline, and Lindsay had a baby with Danny. She told People that the experience of being a pregnant woman who played a pregnant woman on TV was a strange one. "I forget when we cut that I'm still pregnant when I walk away!" she said. "It's very weird in my head because you're thinking in pretend when you're acting."