If you’re not familiar with the name Jake Johnson, you may know him by his most famous name: Nick Miller.
Since he played the role of Nick Miller in the sitcom New Girl, Jake Johnson has been the talk of the entire fanbase. And while many fans shipped him with Zooey Deschanel because of their onscreen chemistry, the actor has been happily married for nearly 20 years now.
Because of his brief, calculated appearances in public, a lot of fans don’t know much about Jake Johnson’s private life or the fact that he has two kids.
So, who’s the girl who stole Nick Miller’s heart? Here’s everything we know about Erin Payne, Jake Johnson’s wife.
The Biography of Erin Payne
Erin Payne was born in 1971, making her 7 years older than her husband, who was born in 1978. She was born and raised in San Diego, California, and she attended The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, majoring in drawing and painting.
In 2002, Payne managed to graduate with her bachelor’s degree in fine arts. Nine years later, she earned her master’s degree in fine arts from Claremont Graduate University, California. Only one year later, in 2012, she earned the New American Paintings Reader’s Choice Prize, and she continues to work as an artist.
Erin Payne’s Career
Erin Payne has been interested in arts since her teenage years. After she graduated and earned her master’s degree, she started creating artworks and displaying them in galleries or on movie sets in Hollywood.
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Her work was hung up at various locations, including The GroundSpace Project, The Los Angeles Contemporary, and OBJCT Gallery, plus plenty of other galleries.
She also displayed her artwork in many Hollywood projects, including New Girl, Sex and the City 2, The Happening, The Last Airbender, The Lovely Bones, and Shutter Island.
Erin Payne’s Relationship Timeline With Jake Johnson
Jake Johnson doesn’t appear publicly as frequently as other actors, and he’s usually private about his relationship. The most he said about relationships is that it’s more important to find the right girl than to find the right time to get into a relationship.
In his own words, he believes that a relationship can work even at the wrong time if it’s with the right girl because she’ll be understanding.
So, is Erin Payne the right girl in her husband’s life? Let’s find out!
Their Marriage
Unlike most celebrities, Jake Johnson is pretty private about his life. He was once asked about his relationship in 2013, and he strictly said that his business is personal. That’s why we’re not sure when Jake Johnson met his wife for the first time, but the couple got married in 2005.
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Jake mentioned that he met Erin at a bar while on the Kelly Clarkson Show. Apparently, Erin was the bartender at the bar, and he asked her out.
Rumors are Erin and Jake had been dating for three years before tying the knot. Their exact wedding date isn’t known to the public.
However, it’s clear that Jake Johnson loves and values his wife over his career as an actor. He once said in a 2014 interview that being married is tricky in Hollywood, but he’s not about to give up his wife for something that people perceive as success.
Their Kids
In 2014, nine years after their marriage, Erin gave birth to twin daughters, Elizabeth and Olivia. Like their parents, the kids lead private lives, so not much is known about their schools or activities.
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However, Jake once spoke about how he loves cooking for his kids and hearing their opinions that sound like those of cooking competition judges. He once joked that he’d spend hours in the kitchen preparing food for his kids, and they’d taste it once and then say that they’d rather have cereal!
Facts About Erin Payne
The facts that she’s an artist and the wife of Jake Johnson aren’t the only things we know about Erin Payne. Here are some brief facts about the girl who stole Nick Miller’s heart:
- She doesn’t drink. Johnson once mentioned in a 2013 interview with Glamour that she’s against drinking alcohol and that she doesn’t go out with him when he parties.
- One of her paintings was hung on the set of New Girl, particularly in Nick Miller’s (Jake Johnson’s character) room. He even said that he took the painting home after they finished filming. The painting was a diorama of a squirrel standing in front of ice mountains, and it was called Hollydale.
- Johnson’s co-written script in Digging for Fire was improved by his wife, Erin Payne. He mentioned that she initially said that she hated his character, and he had to develop a new script with a female lead to please her.
Final Thoughts
Erin Payne has been Jake Johnson’s wife since 2005. Though they’ve been married for nearly two decades, they only have two twin daughters together.
Johnson has stressed on plenty of occasions that he prefers to keep his personal life, especially his relationship, private. That’s why not many details about their relationship are known. However, it’s rumored that they met in a bar where Erin was working as a bartender.
Erin has a bachelor’s degree in fine arts, and she’s currently working as an artist, displaying many of her paintings in various galleries. Some of her works even made it to Hollywood projects, including her husband’s sitcom, New Girl.
