‘Malcolm in the Middle’ Alum Jane Kaczmarek Gushes About Marriage to Her High School Sweetheart 1 Year After Tying the Knot

Jane Kaczmarek, the beloved TV mom from Malcolm in the Middle, and her husband Rusty Long’s love story is one for the ages.

Kaczmarek, 70, rekindled her romance with Long, whom she dated in high school, after reuniting at their 50th reunion last year.

“I went to my 50th high school reunion,” she explained during a Tuesday, April 7, appearance on Good Morning America. “And my best friend had married my boyfriend-then’s best friend and said, ‘Would you like to see Rusty again?’ And we got back together and we got married this summer.”

Kaczmarek — who was previously married to producer Bradley Whitford — referred to her rekindled love as “a fairytale.”

“We’re spending a lot of time in Wisconsin. Rusty still is practicing… he’s a corporate bankruptcy attorney. So we’re between Mequon, Wisconsin, and Pasadena and life couldn’t be better,” she gushed.

After reconnecting in 2024, Long proposed to the love of his life at a Robert Burns-themed event in February 2025.

“Rusty said, ‘I would like to toast to romance. I’ve been in love with Jane my entire life, and I want to ask her to marry me,’ ” the actress told People in March. “It was heaven.”

Kaczmarek, who shares children Frances, 28, George, 26, and Mary Louisa, 23, with her ex, and Long tied the knot in July in their home state of Wisconsin.