Ashley Williams is an American actress most recognized for her roles in the TV Land comedy The Jim Gaffigan Show and the NBC sitcom Good Morning Miami.
She has been in over a dozen different television pilots and over 150 episodes of television, as well as television films for The Hallmark Channel, Lifetime Television, and ABC Family. She has appeared in studio and independent films, regional theatre, Off-Broadway, and Broadway productions.
All in all, Williams had a successful career. Since she started her journey in the entertainment industry in 1994, she has amassed a massive fanbase who want to know every detail about her life — especially her personal life.
As a result, they often ask — “Is Ashley Williams married?” and “Who is Ashley Williams married to?’”
Williams leads a very happy life and is living her life to the fullest with her husband and children. Here is all we know about her love life with her husband, Neal Dodson, and their two children.
Ashley William’s wedding to her husband
Williams has been with her husband for almost two decades. They met in the mid-2000s when Dodson was working as an assistant, and she was working on a TV show.
The actresses reminisced about the moment on February 14, 2021, on Instagram. She wrote, “17 years ago. He was an assistant. I was on a TV show. Boom. Now we have two kids and live in an @airbnb in Canada.”
She shared how there was never a dull moment with her spouse, and she considered herself lucky to be with him for so long.
On the occasion of Thanksgiving 2009, the pair got engaged. Then, almost two years later, they tied the knot.
They got married in a beautiful wedding ceremony on May 29, 2011. In fact, their wedding was one of a kind.
They exchanged the vows in an intimate, farm-inspired wedding ceremony held at the Nashville home of Williams’ sister Kimberly Paisley and her husband Brad Paisley.
They decided to forego traditional elements such as fancy heels, bridesmaids, and a wedding cake for their special day, instead holding a reception in the sand pit where Paisley trains his horses.
Ashley Williams and he husband, Neal Dodson, on their wedding day. (Source: Instagram)
Around 50 guests and the couple’s families attended, and they were all handed flip-flops as party favors to encourage them to relax, have fun, and be present. A local country band performed during the celebration, and a variety of drinks were served.
Guests were fed biscuits, pulled pork, macaroni, and cheese for supper, and they finished the family-style meal with banana pudding instead of a wedding cake. The wedding was described by Williams as an “upscale keg party.”
It’s been over a decade since Williams and Dodson exchanged vows on their unforgettable wedding day, but their love and dedication to one other is undeniably strong.
Ashley Williams’s husband — Neal Dodson
Dodson was born to two high school teachers on May 17, 1978, in York, Pennsylvania. Dodson grew up in York, Pennsylvania, and attended Central York High School.
He attended the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama in Pittsburgh. He became a feature film producer after working as an actor in provincial theatre and on Broadway in Tom Stoppard’s Tony Award-winning production of The Invention of Love.
Dodson is a film producer who has won an Independent Spirit Award. His production credits include the Academy Award-nominated Margin Call, the Golden Globe Award-winning and Academy Award-nominated All Is Lost, starring Robert Redford, the comedy Breakup at a Wedding, and the dramas Aardvark and Viper Club.
His film, A Most Violent Year, won Best Picture from the National Board of Review. Dodson has also collaborated with many well-known celebrities in the entertainment industry.
He executive produced Another Cinderella Story with Selena Gomez and Jane Lynch, Banshee Chapter with Katia Winter, Hollidaysburg with Rachel Keller, Jonathan with Ansel Elgort, Love On A Limb with his wife and Marilu Henner, Never Here with Mireille Enos and Sam Shepard.
Dodson also produced and acted in the Starz documentary filmmaking television series The Chair, developed by producer Chris Moore, which followed two filmmakers working on the same project.
He regularly collaborates with director J.C. Chandor through their CounterNarrative Films production firm and with actor and producer Zachary Quinto through their Before the Door Pictures production company, created in 2008 by Quinto and longtime friend Corey Moosa.
He has credits as a producer for 47 projects and is working on six more. According to Celebrity Net Worth, his net worth is estimated to be $10 million as of 2023.
Ashley Williams’s children
Williams has two children with her husband — Gus and Odie Sal.
She discovered she was pregnant with Gus after her first Broadway performance when Dodson was filming A Most Violent Year. She described starting a family as a crazy ride.
The mother of two recalled that their living condition was difficult since they lived in a small flat above a pizza business. Regardless, the couple were excited to start a family with each other.
Williams announced that she was pregnant in July 2014. She joked about her pregnancy and said, “After years of waiting for the perfect moment to have a child, we decided to go with this moment instead. And we couldn’t be more thrilled.”
Three months later, on October 5, 2014, she and her husband welcomed their first son, Gus. Gus, who weighed 8 pounds and 8 ounces, was born at home with the help of a midwife, a doula, and a chiropractor.
She gushed about her son with People soon after his birth. She said, “He’s gorgeous and healthy. So far he’s soothable and calm. Knock on wood.”
She also explained why she named her first son Gus. “His name is Gus. For no other reason than Who doesn’t love a guy named Gus?” she pointed out.
Three years later, Williams got pregnant once again with another son. She announced her pregnancy on Twitter in January 2017.
She wrote, “Exciting news! Gus asked for a pony but he’s getting a baby brother instead. Smaller poops.” She also revealed that her second child would be born in the Spring of 2017.
Odie Sal, Willams’ second son, was born on May 17, 2017, in Los Angeles, California. Dodson’s birthday coincided with the birth of their son.
Unlike with their first baby, Williams welcomed her second son in a hospital, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. She shared her experience and said, “It’s been a crazy year, and that’s where I felt best giving birth this time around. It was very different than a home birth, but the confidence and ease of my doctor, Jay Goldberg, was truly awesome.”
Dodson’s great-grandfather inspired their son’s first name, Odie. Sal, his middle name, was inspired by the protagonist of Robert McCloskey’s children’s novels Blueberries For Sal and One Morning in Maine.
They were both Williams’ and Dodson’s mothers’ favorite books.
While Williams and her husband have two children and are happy together, they were unlucky with one of their pregnancies.
In 2016, the duo were pregnant but it ended in miscarriage after two months. The actress wrote her experience on Medium, ‘I Need to Talk About My Miscarriage.’
She also collaborated with the Human Development Project to speak publicly about her experience, with the goal of reducing the stigma of miscarriage and encouraging women to communicate freely about it.
