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Comedian and former Saturday Night Live star Kristen Wiig has always kept her romantic life very quiet, even after meeting the man she’d go on to marry and have two children with. She and husband Avi Rothman were first linked in 2016, and yet they never even announced their engagement or wedding after both those things happened.
Over the years, however, a few hints have been dropped here and there about their love together. Plus, they both work in entertainment, so some public sightings were bound to happen. Here’s what we do know about Rothman and his romance with Wiig so far.
Who is Avi Rothman?
Rothman is also an actor and comedian, with credits as a writer and producer as well. Like Wiig, he trained at famed Los Angeles improv school The Groundlings. His film debut was in the 2009 comedy The Slammin’ Salmon, created by Broken Lizard, and he went on to have parts in Silver Lake (2018), The Blackout (2019), Swim to Steven (2020), Wonder Woman 1984 (2020), and Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar (2021). The latter two were films starring Wiig, and she co-wrote Barb & Star.
Rothman has a number of credits as a writer and producer on films and TV series. His short film, Bunion, premiered at the WILDsound Film Festival in 2015.
“I’d really like to finish writing and shoot a feature,” he told WILDsound Festival Review at the time. Before appearing in films, Rothman was in a number of viral videos on YouTube, including his 2006 video “Ogden the Inappropriate Yoga Guy.”
The titular character was a hit, and he made several more clips as him. In a 2010 interview with The Laugh Button, Rothman explained he actually is into yoga, even if he’s not really inappropriate.
“My sister got me into yoga about seven years ago. For a while I became addicted and was in class five times a week,” he said. “I’m usually the quiet one in class, generally keeping to myself.”
He added, “I love observing people. At times I thought there were so many characters in my yoga class. I would see a lot of guys blatantly hitting on and trying to pick up women, and vice versa.”
The pursuit of web comedy fame was inspired by a friend studying online marketing in business school. They decided to see if they could go viral deliberately.
“We basically came up with this idea of making a pseudo commercial for American Apparel where all of us were naked, making breakfast,” he explained. “I think it got over 150,000 hits in two days. … I think it would have gotten more except for the fact that it was flagged for ‘adult content.’”
Rothman continued, “I think that video helped me realize how accessible an audience could be, if it, in fact, went viral.”
How long have Wiig and Rothman been together?
In May 2016, the couple was seen being super affectionate in Kauai, Hawaii, sparking rumors that they were dating. By August 2019, People confirmed they were engaged after Wiig was seen wearing a ring at a Booksmart screening.
The couple welcomed twins via surrogate in January 2020, but there still hadn’t been a wedding announcement. In February 2021, Wiig referred to Rothman as her “husband” during an interview on The Howard Stern Show.
“Besides the fact that we are where we are—it’s hard to not feel so much of the shit and struggle that’s going on. In my home, I’m very lucky about having these two babies and my husband. It’s changed my life,” Wiig said.
Do they have any children together?
Their twins arrived in January 2020, but they only shared their new family status in June of that year. They did not share their names, but in the credits of Barb & Star Go To Vista Del Mar, the kids are mentioned in the “special thanks” of the film’s acknowledgments, with a line reading a thank you to “Luna & Shiloh.”
In August 2020, Wiig discussed with InStyle how she struggled with infertility and tried in vitro fertilization with Rothman before turning to surrogacy.
“We’ve been together for about five years, and three of them were spent in an [in vitro fertilization] haze,” she said. “Emotionally, spiritually and medically, it was probably the most difficult time in my life. I wasn’t myself.”
She went on, “I finally realized that I just needed help. And, thank God, we found the most amazing surrogate.”
In March 2024, she told The Hollywood Reporter of surrogacy, “It’s part of my story and part of how I got my amazing family.”