Keri Russell Reveals Why She Told Matthew Rhys to Skip Thanking Her at the 2026 Emmys

Keri Russell is opening up about the one thing she told Matthew Rhys before his 2026 Emmys acceptance speech, and her reasoning is surprisingly practical. On the“Dear Chelsea”podcast, Russell shared that she asked Rhys to leave her out of his speech so he could focus on thanking the team members behind his projects.“Take me off your plate. Like, you don’t have to thank me. I know you love me,”she recalled telling him. The couple agreed they don’t need to publicly thank each other, a move that’s earning them major relationship goals points online.

Rhys had plenty to celebrate that night. He became the first man to win Lead Actor Emmys in all three major categories: comedy, drama, and limited series, taking home awards for Widow’s Bay and The Beast in Me. Russell was nominated for her role in The Diplomat but lost to Rhea Seehorn of Pluribus. The couple first met while working on The Americans, and they’ve been together since, sharing son Sam, who was born in May 2016.

Russell also acknowledged that people still give Rhys a hard time over past speeches, which likely played into their decision to keep things simple. The whole story raises a fun question about award show culture and public expectations in relationships. Do you think couples should thank each other in acceptance speeches, or is it better to keep things private? Let us know in the comments.