‘This Is Us’: Justin Hartley Admits It Would’ve Been ‘Interesting’ if Kevin Ended up With Madison or Cassidy
For years, Kevin’s love life was a major topic of interest among the This Is Us fandom. The audience knew he would eventually marry the girl of his dreams, thanks to the spotting of a wedding ring on Justin Hartley’s character’s finger during the pivotal flash-forwards. And in the final season of the popular NBC drama, fans finally learned the identity of Kevin’s soulmate.
Kevin ended up with Sophie in ‘This Is Us’
Fans finally learned Kevin’s endgame in This Is Us Season 6 Episode 14, which chronicled the night before Kate and Phillip’s wedding.
Sophie arrived at the wedding alone, and Kevin jumped at the opportunity to spend some quality time with his ex-wife. From the beginning of the hour, it was apparent that he still had feelings for Sophie. However, their reunion didn’t seem possible because, by all accounts, Sophie and Grant were still together.
Fortunately for Kevin and fans of his relationship with Sophie, she eventually revealed that she was single after divorcing Grant. The tension between the childhood sweethearts built up until it could not be contained, and Sophie followed Kevin to his room. But their late-night rendezvous was short-lived because Sophie was scared of repeating their old mistakes.
Thanks to pep talks from Randall and Rebecca, Kevin and Sophie finally realized that they were soulmates. And at the wedding reception in This Is Us Season 6 Episode 14, they got back together. The rest is history.
‘This Is Us’ star Justin Hartley discusses Kevin’s two other love interests
During an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Justin Hartley pondered what it would’ve been like if Kevin had ended up with either of his other love interests — Madison or Cassidy.
“The way the storyline was going, it could have gone many different ways. And I thought it would be interesting to see if he ended up with Cassidy or Madison,” the star revealed. “I was glad when I heard we were going to make [Sophie] work, I love Alex [Breckenridge], and we work well together, and she’s just such a joy to be around. I got so lucky with all of these costars — I mean, every single one of them — because Kevin dated a lot of people on that show.”
Although it’s fun to think about “what if’s,” there’s no doubt that Hartley believes Kevin ended up with the right woman.
“It’s a really cool love story,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. “I love Alex a lot and we work well together. She’s lovely and talented and gets the character and the show. I got lucky. I’ve had a lot of really great scene partners through the years.”
Hartley continued, “I also got lucky with Cait Thompson. We had that quirky storyline for a while that turned into something very serious when the kids were involved. And Jennifer Morrison, she’s a wonderful actress. But I’m glad the story played out the way it did. I think it’s just really satisfying for everybody.”
Justin Hartley reveals his reaction to his character’s ending
Along with Kevin ending up with Sophie, Justin Hartley’s character also was the one to take care of Rebecca following Miguel’s death in This Is Us.
“I think he’s always been really good at — and he’s underestimated his ability to — take care of other people and be sort of the man with the plan,” Hartley shared while speaking with The Hollywood Reporter. “This episode, when he decides to take on all of this stuff and be the caretaker, I think that’s probably what that was.”
The actor added, “I think he was just lost when we first found him, and people can find themselves. I love this character. And I feel really good about the fact that the man that he always wanted to be, and thought that he could be and has been sort of striving to be, is absolutely the man that he turned into. I think that was shown the whole season, but especially in these last couple of episodes.”
This Is Us is available to stream on Hulu and Peacock.
