Mark Ruffalo Praises Wife Sunrise Coigney in Sweet 23rd Anniversary Tribute

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His biggest supporter. Mark Ruffalo and wife Sunrise Coigney have been together since the late ’90s – and their bond has only grown over time.

The pair met by chance while walking the streets of Los Angeles in 1998 with a mutual friend, who Avengers actor believed he might also be in love with Coigney. “I don’t think he wanted us to meet,” he recalled Men Journal of meeting his wife in May 2013. “But I saw her and thought, ‘I’m going to marry that girl.'”

At the time of their first interaction, Ruffalo was a struggling actor living in a converted garage with no driver’s license or credit card. Despite his lack of success at the time, the Louisiana native believed in the talent of her future partner.

“She said, ‘I know you’re a really good actor,’ and I thought, ‘You haven’t really seen me act yet.’ And she was like, ‘I just know, I can tell,'” he recalled in the 2013 interview.

After two years of dating, the couple tied the knot in 2000. A year after their marriage, the 13 on the way to 30 actor was diagnosed with a brain tumor that required surgery. At the time, Coigney was pregnant with their first child.

“When these things happen, you kind of remember your religion,” Ruffalo opened up about his health scare against the Acoustic Neuroma Association in 2013. “I was praying and negotiating with God… I said, ‘Please don’t take my face and don’t take my life, because without my face I can’t really support my family, and [without] my life, I absolutely cannot support my family.’”

The surgery was a success and the couple welcomed their first child, son Keen, in 2001. Ruffalo and Coigney later expanded their family with daughters Bella in 2005 and Odette in 2007.

As their kids got older, Ruffalo revealed it Us weekly that his kids think his job is “cool” – but that doesn’t translate to father duties.

“They’re like, ‘You’re not that cool,'” the Spotlight actor said in 2015, “‘They’re like, ‘Big woop, daddy. I want to see you mad.’ That’s what they say to me, ‘I’m going to make you angry.’”

Two decades after they got married, the She Hulk star wrote a touching tribute to his wife and mother of his three children. “To my hero. Always keeping everything together,” Ruffalo wrote via Instagram in May 2020. “A fierce advocate for her children, always to the point no matter how hard things get. Happy Mother’s Day, Sunny. It’s not easy being a mom and one day a year isn’t enough to celebrate how much work it is and how thankful we should be. We love you, SunnyMom. Thank you for everything you do. Happy mothersday.”

The following year, Ruffalo’s family was by his side as he virtually won a Golden Globe for his role in the miniseries. I know this is much true. During his speech, the Marvel actor thanked his family.

“[They] let me go and bring these crazy people home and they have to live with it [them] all these years,” Ruffalo gushed. “Thanks guys.”

Keep scrolling for Ruffalo and Coigney’s relationship timeline: