Who Is Tom Ellis’ Wife? All About Meaghan Oppenheimer

Lucifer fans all know lead actor Tom Ellis, but many might not know that his wife, Meaghan Oppenheimer, is an accomplished figure in Hollywood as well.

Born in Oklahoma, Oppenheimer first broke into the entertainment industry with her indie short film Hot Mess in 2010. Around the same time, Ellis was making a name for himself in the United Kingdom in the comedy series Miranda.

A year after Ellis’ divorce from EastEnders actress Tamzin Outhwaite in 2014, the actor met Oppenheimer and the two began dating.

In a 2021 interview with The Guardian, Ellis admitted that he accidentally told Oppenheimer he loved her very early on in their relationship. “I actually said it to my wife Meaghan on our second date,” the actor said. “It just slipped out. But it came to be.”

The pair got engaged in 2017 and married two years later. In 2023, just hours before the SAG-AFTRA strike ended, Ellis and Oppenheimer welcomed a daughter named Dolly Ellis-Oppenheimer.

Since their relationship began, Oppenheimer has continued to gain even more prominence in Hollywood as a screenwriter and showrunner — most notably for her hit Hulu series Tell Me Lies.

The couple have also decided to work together on a show. In January 2023, it was announced that Ellis and Oppenheimer would be collaborating on a series called Second Wife, starring Ellis and Emma Roberts.

So, who is Tom Ellis’ wife? Here is everything to know about Meaghan Oppenheimer and her relationship with the actor.

She is a successful screenwriter 

Oppenheimer has been a prominent screenwriter for almost a decade. Her first big break came the same year she started dating Ellis — in 2015, she wrote an episode for the first season of Fear the Walking Dead and penned the script for the indie drama We Are Your Friends, which starred Zac Efron.

In 2018, Oppenheimer created and wrote the Facebook Watch show Queen America. The series starred Catherine Zeta-Jones as a former pageant queen who was hired to help train young contestants.

But Oppenheimer’s biggest success so far is her Hulu drama Tell Me Lies. Based on the 2018 novel of the same name, the show centered around a turbulent and toxic love affair between two college students.

In a 2022 interview with ScreenRant, Oppenheimer said that her script even got the blessing from the novel’s writer. “Carola, the author, who’s wonderful, she was so on board,” she said. “I would have been a lot more nervous if that wasn’t the case.”

She revealed their engagement in 2017

Ellis and Oppenheimer began dating in 2015 and on March 26, 2017, she posted a photo on Instagram of her holding Ellis’ mouth shut. The image showed a ring on her finger with the caption, “does this ring make me look fat??” revealing the couple’s engagement.

The big day also happened to be Oppenheimer’s birthday. Ellis posted on Instagram, too, with a picture of a birthday cake that read “Happy Birthday Meaghan” in frosting.

They got married in 2019

Two years after their engagement, Ellis and Oppenheimer got married in June 2019. On top of their families attending the ceremony, the wedding also included many of Ellis’ Lucifer costars, including Lauren German, Lesley-Ann Brandt, D. B. Woodside, Aimee Garcia, Kevin Alejandro and Rachael Harris.

At the wedding, Garcia even snapped a group photo of the cast and posted it on her Instagram with the caption, “I adore these people so much.”

A month before the wedding, Ellis and Oppenheimer asked guests to donate to the nonprofit Planned Parenthood instead of buying wedding gifts. The groom-to-be posted on X (formerly Twitter), “Thank you to all the people that have been asking about wedding gifts or charitable donations for my upcoming nuptials with @MoppyOpps that is so kind. If you would like to make a donation to @PPFA #plannedparenthood we would be very grateful.”

She and Ellis share one child

On Nov. 8, 2023, Ellis and Oppenheimer welcomed their first child via surrogacy, daughter Dolly Ellis-Oppenheimer. The day after her birth, Oppenheimer posted a photo of her new baby girl on Instagram and even joked about how the actors’ strike ended just hours after her birth.

“Our daughter Dolly Ellis-Oppenheimer was born on November 8th,” she wrote. “And within five hours of being alive, she single-handedly ended the SAG strike. We love her. Huge thank you to our amazing surrogate.”

Ellis posted an image on his Instagram with the same caption, showing him and Oppenheimer standing over their newborn in her hospital crib. Dolly has three sisters — Marnie and Florence, whom Ellis had with Outhwaite, and Nora, whom Ellis had with a former partner.

She used her own life to help influence Tell Me Lies

Oppenheimer’s hit series Tell Me Lies focuses heavily on a toxic and sometimes abusive relationship. When speaking to Forbes in 2022, Oppenheimer said she incorporated many personal experiences into the show. “Dating is hard; it’s hell. I went through hell. I have been a Lucy in the past,” she said, referencing the series’ main character.

The showrunner then opened up about her first relationship, which she admitted was incredibly toxic and helpful in writing her script. “There was dark energy around this relationship that changed me for several years, but I didn’t realize it,” Oppenheimer said. “I thought it was normal behavior from a man, and it took me so long to learn that it was ridiculous to accept that kind of behavior.”

That same year, Oppenheimer told Decider that one of the show’s greatest strengths was its relatability with so many viewers. “I think there are so many relationships like this, and we just aren’t honest about them,” she told the publication. “We try to make our own lives sound better to friends, especially when we’re younger … I’m hoping that people will watch it and maybe recognize things that they’re accepting in their own lives and shouldn’t be.”

Tell Me Lies was renewed for a second season in November 2022, and Ellis joined the cast to play Oliver — a sexy professor with a “cold” demeanor.

“They didn’t [make me audition], thankfully,” he told PEOPLE in September 2024. “I think Meaghan’s seen enough of my stuff to realize that I’m probably capable of doing it.”

She is making a show with Ellis

Thanks to the success of Tell Me Lies, Oppenheimer got the green light to begin work on another series for Hulu called Second Wife, per Variety.

Created and written by Oppenheimer, the dark comedy will star her husband and Roberts as two lost souls who decide to get married on a whim but quickly realize they’re both keeping secrets.

Ellis posted about the news on Instagram and wrote, “Im so so excited about teaming up with the ridiculously talented love of my life @moppyoppenheimer.”