The actress, best known as the voice of Lisa Simpson, likens her life to 'movies' after she ties the knot with former detective Dan Grice she met by chance in 2014.
- Jul 15, 2022
AceShowbiz - Yeardley Smith is officially a married woman now. "The Simpsons" actress has tied the knot with a former detective she met at a Springfield event neither of them wanted to go to.
The 58-year-old star, best known as the voice of Lisa Simpson on "The Simpsons", exchanged vow with Dan Grice last month, having first met by chance in 2014. She told The Hollywood Reporter, "I get a giggly feeling when I think about it."
"Because Dan didn't want to go to this event and I didn't want to go to this event, but something bigger than us was like, 'No, no, listen, you two are going to meet and it's going to work out. You just have to have faith,' " Yeardley said. "We've seen it in movies and you always wonder, wouldn't it be great if life was like that? Sometimes it is."
Yeardley didn't want to attend the "Simpsons"-themed mural event in the town, which was being organized to mark the animated show's 25th anniversary, due to security concerns. However, she agreed and was told the Springfield Police Department would assign a plain-clothed detective to keep her safe, which ended up being Dan.
Yeardley himself didn't think the event would "be any fun," so he had reservations himself until his superior asked for volunteers. He explained, "I looked around the room at the other detectives, including my brother. It was summertime and I thought, let these guys have time with the families since they all have children."
"I'm single and I don't have any children, I thought I can do this," Dan said. He would then accompany her to and from the event after meeting her the day before at the airport gate.
Before she had to fly back to Los Angeles, Dan wanted to share a photo from a recent trip to Singapore but struggled to find it, so they exchanged numbers so he could text it. They went onto exchange messages before he eventually visited her in LA, and she started to return the favor with trips to Springfield, Oregon.
They got engaged in the summer of 2018, and initially planned to tie the knot in March 2021 before the COVID-19 pandemic meant their plans were delayed twice.
Reflecting on the day, Yeardley, who has been divorced twice before, said, "Nobody can say that we rushed into it. It felt really natural and really lovely. I had a terrific time, which I feel like not every bride can say."
