For years, Jesse Williams was one of Hollywood’s most eligible and publicly discussed single men. His divorce from Aryn Drake-Lee in 2020, after a difficult and prolonged custody battle, played out in the press in ways that kept his personal life in the spotlight whether he wanted it there or not.
Then, quietly and internationally, everything changed.
Jesse Williams’ wife is Alejandra Onieva, a Spanish actress best known for her work in the Netflix series High Seas (Alta Mar) and the long-running Spanish drama El secreto de Puente Viejo. They met on a television set in Italy, kept their romance private for months, married in a secret ceremony in the United States, and announced a pregnancy all within roughly a year of going public.
Quick Summary
| Subject | Information |
|---|---|
| Jesse Williams | American actor, director, producer and activist |
| Born | August 5, 1981, Chicago |
| Best known for | Dr. Jackson Avery on Grey’s Anatomy |
| Current wife | Alejandra Onieva |
| Alejandra born | June 1, 1992, Madrid |
| Her profession | Spanish actress |
| How they met | While working on Hotel Costiera |
| Relationship public | September 2025 |
| Marriage | Reported private ceremony, months before May 2026 |
| Wedding location | Reported United States |
| Exact wedding date | Not publicly confirmed |
| Children together | Expecting first child |
| Williams’ existing children | Sadie and Maceo |
| Williams’ ex-wife | Aryn Drake-Lee |
| Williams’ previous long-term partner | Ciarra Pardo |
| Onieva’s notable former partner | Sebastian Stan |
| Shared project | Hotel Costiera |
| Current family status | Married and expecting a child |
Who Is Alejandra Onieva?
Alejandra Onieva Molas was born on June 1, 1992, in Madrid, Spain. She began her acting career in the early 2010s and became a recognizable face in Spanish television before her profile expanded internationally.
Her early breakthrough came through El secreto de Puente Viejo, a long-running Spanish drama in which she played Soledad Castro Montenegro. The role established her as a capable and visible presence in Spanish television. She subsequently appeared in Ella es tu padre, Presunto Culpable, and Las Pelotaris 1926, among other productions.
Her biggest international exposure came through Netflix’s High Seas (Alta Mar), a Spanish-language mystery drama that premiered in 2019 and ran for three seasons. The show introduced her to audiences well beyond Spain and positioned her as a credible name in the international streaming market.
She also comes from a family that attracts its own attention. Her brother Íñigo Onieva is married to Tamara Falcó a Spanish socialite, television personality, and marquess who is one of the most recognizable public figures in Spain. That connection gave Alejandra a social profile in Spain that extended beyond her own acting career.
Before Jesse Williams, she had been publicly linked to Sebastian Stan, the Marvel actor known for playing Bucky Barnes / the Winter Soldier. That relationship had ended by 2022, according to Spanish media reporting.
Jesse Williams: Beyond Grey’s Anatomy
Jesse Williams was born on August 5, 1981, in Chicago. Before becoming an actor, he worked as a teacher after studying at Temple University. His professional acting career took off in the mid-2000s, and his life changed in 2009 when he joined Grey’s Anatomy as Dr. Jackson Avery.
He remained a central cast member for more than a decade. Jackson Avery became one of the show’s most beloved characters, emotionally complex, quietly charismatic, and given significant storylines across twelve seasons. Williams left the regular cast in 2021 but has returned for later appearances.
Since leaving Grey’s Anatomy, he has been deliberate about expanding beyond that identity. He appeared in Only Murders in the Building on Hulu. He received a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his Broadway work in the revival of Take Me Out. He served as executive producer on Two Distant Strangers, which won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film.
His most recent major project and the one that changed his personal life is Hotel Costiera, a Prime Video series filmed on Italy’s Amalfi Coast. He plays Daniel “DD” De Luca, a former U.S. Marine who returns to Italy and becomes entangled in the world of a luxury hotel in Positano. In interviews, he described the character as very different from Jackson Avery struggling, searching, not yet settled and said he was attracted to roles that challenge him rather than confirm what audiences already expect from him.
It was on the set of Hotel Costiera that he met Alejandra Onieva.
How Jesse Williams and Alejandra Onieva Met
The two actors met while filming Hotel Costiera in Italy during 2024. Williams played the series’ central character, and Onieva appeared as Sheryl, a supporting role connected to the world of the hotel.
Their relationship remained private during and after production. The first public signs emerged in September 2025, when photographs surfaced showing them together in Madrid walking through the city, visibly comfortable with each other, in the kind of unhurried, unguarded images that precede a formal public confirmation.
They were also spotted around the Venice Film Festival that same month, though they did not appear together on the main red carpet at that point.
The confirmation came on September 17, 2025, when Jesse Williams and Alejandra Onieva appeared hand-in-hand at the Rome premiere of Hotel Costiera. Walking the red carpet together, holding hands, they made their relationship official to the public without a statement or an announcement, just a shared moment in front of cameras.
The Secret Wedding
What the public did not know in September 2025 was that the couple had either already married or were close to doing so.
In May 2026, TMZ reported that Jesse Williams and Alejandra Onieva had married privately in a ceremony that took place months before the news became public. Spanish media, citing reporting from ¡Hola! magazine, said the ceremony took place in the United States and was attended by close family members and a small group of intimate friends.
The exact wedding date has not been publicly confirmed by the couple. The specific venue, the details of the ceremony, and the guest list are not part of the public record. What is confirmed is that multiple credible outlets, TMZ, Spanish entertainment media, and entertainment databases identified Onieva as Williams’ wife following the May 2026 reports.
The privacy of the ceremony is consistent with how they handled the entire early phase of their relationship. This was not a couple that staged their romance for public consumption. They were together before anyone knew about it, and they were married before anyone was told.
A Baby on the Way
The biggest announcement came shortly after the marriage became public. In May 2026, Alejandra Onieva shared photographs on Instagram showing her pregnancy with her baby bump visible, with the caption “Vida,” meaning “life” in Spanish.
The baby will be Onieva’s first child and Williams’ third overall. He already has a daughter, Sadie, born in 2013, and a son, Maceo, born in 2015, both from his previous marriage to Aryn Drake-Lee.
The exact due date and sex of the baby have not been publicly confirmed by the couple.
A New Chapter After a Difficult One
Jesse Williams’ previous marriage to Aryn Drake-Lee ended in a divorce finalized in 2020, followed by years of highly publicized custody disputes over Sadie and Maceo. Court proceedings touched on everything from his Broadway schedule to healthcare decisions for the children. The legal battles continued into 2025.
The contrast with his current chapter could not be more pronounced. A quiet international romance, a private ceremony, a pregnancy announced on Instagram with a single Spanish word. Whatever the couple was building, they were clearly building it on their own terms.
Conclusion
Jesse Williams’ wife is Alejandra Onieva, a Spanish actress with her own established career in television and streaming, a family connection that makes her a known figure in Spain, and a relationship with Williams that went from a television set in Italy to a secret marriage and a pregnancy in the space of roughly a year.
He spent more than a decade playing one of TV medicine’s most beloved characters. She built a career across Spanish television and Netflix. They found each other on the Amalfi Coast, stayed quiet about it as long as they could, and are now starting a family together.
It is, by any measure, a good story.
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M Adnan Akram is the founder and lead writer at Back Casting Room, where he covers celebrity biographies, family histories, and the lesser-known figures behind well-known names. His work focuses on separating verified public information from speculation, drawing on publicly available records, interviews, and credible reporting to build accurate, well-researched profiles.
With a particular interest in entertainment and pop culture, Adnan writes about everything from celebrity net worth breakdowns to the private individuals connected to famous names, the spouses, family members, and background figures whose stories rarely get told in full.
At Back Casting Room, the goal is straightforward: give readers accurate, well-sourced information without the clickbait or unverified claims that often surround celebrity-adjacent stories.
