Jesse Williams Marries in Secret, Baby on the Way

Life comes at you fast—especially when you’re working long hours on an Italian film set. Jesse Williams, the actor best known for his role as Dr. Jackson Avery on Grey’s Anatomy, has quietly married actress Alejandra Onieva and the couple is now expecting their first child together. The pregnancy was confirmed by Onieva, 33, in an Instagram post showcasing her baby bump, while reports indicate the low-key wedding took place earlier this year.

The two met while filming Prime Video’s Hotel Costiera in 2024, where Williams played luxury hotel worker Daniel“DD”De Luca and Onieva had a supporting role as a character named Sheryl. What started as on-screen chemistry evolved into an off-screen romance—the pair were spotted together outside of work in 2025. It’s a familiar Hollywood story with a modern twist: two actors, one project, and a connection that turned into something real. For Williams, 44, this represents his third child overall, though his first with Onieva.

This marks a significant chapter in Williams’personal life. His previous marriage to Aryn Drake-Lee, whom he wed in 2012, ended in separation in 2017 and a finalized divorce in 2020. That split played out publicly, complete with custody battles and allegations. Williams and Drake-Lee ultimately agreed to share joint custody of their daughter Sadie, 12, and son Maceo, 10. The messy nature of that breakup made headlines and cast a shadow over his personal life for years.

What’s interesting about this new chapter is how deliberately low-key Williams and Onieva have kept things. In an industry where every relationship is fair game for tabloid coverage, their decision to get married quietly and announce the pregnancy on their own terms feels almost rebellious. During an interview in September 2025, Williams spoke candidly about his experience filming Hotel Costiera in Italy—the exhaustion, the weight loss (13 pounds, he noted, while eating pasta and bread regularly), and doing his own stunts. That project, which brought him and Onieva together, seems to have genuinely reinvigorated him creatively. Now it’s given him something more: a new life partner and an expanding family.

For fans who’ve followed Williams’career from his Grey’s days through various film and television projects, this feels like a genuine fresh start. The old wounds from his divorce appear to be healing, and he’s building something new on his own terms. Sometimes the best love stories aren’t the ones we’re tracking in real time—they’re the ones that surprise us once they’re already real.