Hardcore O.C. loyalists will remember Ben McKenzie's fiancee Morena Baccarin as Maya, the woman who dates Sandy's (Peter Gallagher) stripclub-loving underling Matt (Jeff Hephner) during the show's third season. One person who didn't remember Baccarin's arc? McKenzie himself... which made things just a tad awkward between the now-couple.
McKenzie and Baccarin got engaged in November of 2016, months after welcoming their baby girl in March of that year. The pair may be head-over-heels for one another now, but the former Ryan Atwood admitted that he didn't make the best second impression with the actress. The TV star told James Corden on The Late Late Show that he introduced himself to Baccarin when she first joined his Fox series Gotham, only to have her remind him that they actually met before... and that he didn't treat her super well.
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"I apparently blew her off," McKenzie admitted to Corden.
The actor had a hard time believing he would do such a thing — until he remembered the kind of guy he was during his early days in Hollywood.
"So I'm thinking, 'What kind of idiot would blow off this gorgeous, beautiful, sophisticated, intelligent, successful woman?' Then I thought of what kind of boy I was at 25, and [I was] that kind of idiot."
While the pair didn't interact much on The O.C., they have shared a screen many times over on Gotham. Baccarin portrays Leslie Thompkins, a doctor at Arkham Asylum who would later become McKenzie's character Jim Gordon's onscreen fiancee. Alas, things didn't work out too well between Leslie and Jim: Leslie eventually weds Mario Calvi (James Carpinello), the son of mobster Carmine Falcone.
While their characters may have to deal with heavy material — like, say, the villains of the DC Comics universe wreaking havoc at every turn — the engaged pair seems far more chill. Check out this adorable Instagram of the two hanging out in Brazil:
McKenzie may not have remembered meeting his soon-to-be wife, but it certainly looks like their romantic timing worked out perfectly.