Paul Anthony Kelly joked his wife is not "too keen" on his heartthrob status.

Thousands of people have been unable to stop drooling over the 37-year-old actor since he shot to fame playing John F. Kennedy Jr. in FX's Love Story series, which dramatises the 38-year-old businessman-and-attorney's turbulent relationship with 33-year-old publicist Carolyn Bessette Kennedy.

But production manager Syd Widziszewski-Kelly - who married Paul in May 2023 - is still adjusting to her spouse becoming an overnight heartthrob.

Paul told Us Weekly: "The heartthrob thing, I don't know if she's too keen on."

But Syd is "really thrilled" about his success.

He continued: "She's very supportive, and knows that this was always my dream, and is just standing behind me. She's my safety net."

Paul almost quit acting after he spent 13 years auditioning for roles and narrowly missing out each time.

But it was Syd who encouraged him not to give up weeks before he landed the role of JFK Jr. - who married Carolyn in September 1996, almost two years before the pair and her sister Lauren Bessette, 34, tragically died in a plane crash off St. Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, in July 1999.

Explaining how his life has changed since Love Story aired earlier this year, Paul said: "Opportunities are coming, I'm living my dream, life's good.

"Life was good before, but now life's good."

In February, Paul confirmed that he and Syd recently welcomed their first child into the world.

During an appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show, the 43-year-old host said: "You just became a dad!"

Paul replied: "I did, yeah. Thank you so much."

Kelly asked the star if he had felt more tired since becoming a dad, to which Paul admitted: "A little bit, yeah. That's, like, an understatement, for sure."

The model did not reveal the identity of his and Syd's child.

In December 2025, Paul revealed that he and Syd found out they were expecting a child on the day of his producer callback for Love Story.

And he shared that their newborn was due on Carolyn's birthday - January 7.

Paul told Interview magazine: "When we finish filming, my wife and I need to go back home and start nesting.

"The baby comes in January. Originally, the baby was estimated to come January 7, which was Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy's birthday."

Recalling when Syd told him they were expecting a baby around the time he was cast as JFK Jr., Paul said: "February comes around, and I felt pretty good about it, but casting said they were reading other gentlemen for it.

"I was like, 'OK, that's fine. Whatever. A few months go by, and near the end of April, I got an email from my agents. Casting wants to see me again to do another tape.

"Twenty minutes later, I got another email, and they're like, 'We're just going to go straight to the producer callback.' We're in Portland. That's our home base now, my wife and I.

"So I do the Zoom, and right before we're about to go for dinner for our second wedding anniversary, she tells me we're pregnant. May 1 was a big day."

He continued: "The next day, I got a phone call from my agent. They want to see me for a chemistry read with Sarah [Pidgeon], who was already cast as Carolyn, the following week.

"The stipulation was that I had to have my green card before then. The phone call came on Friday. Saturday, I got my green card. Sunday, I booked my ticket."