Inside Hallmark Star Clare Bowen's Relationship With Brandon Robert Young
That blonde pixie named Scarlett that we fell in love with on the TV show "Nashville?" That's Clare Bowen, and despite her authentic-sounding Southern accent, she's actually from Australia. The ABC-then-CMT series threw Scarlett into multiple romantic entanglements that were always doomed, but it did right by the character in the series finale with the singer revealing her engagement to a hot guitar-playing guy. And that guy? Brandon Robert Young — none other than Bowen's real-life husband in a cameo appearance.
It was a case of art imitating life, as the couple actually did meet as musicians, performing together on stage in 2013. Bowen was touring, and a member of her entourage couldn't make it, so Young was called in to sing a duet and play guitar for the Nashville performance. The petite blonde would later recall her impression of Young after their initial meeting. "I was overwhelmed with the feeling of just wanting to know him," she wrote on Happy Little Vows. "He exuded gentleness and warmth. The air around him was gold."
It was the beginning of a love story worthy of any rom-com — like the Hallmark movies Bowen has starred in, "Dollar Cove" and "#Xmas" — and their story is still being written.
Music is a big part of their shared lives
Music is what brought Clare Bowen and Brandon Robert Young together, and they're still performing side by side. Known as the duo Bowen * Young, the couple has released songs including "Dangerous Love" and "Water to Wine" in anticipation of their debut album, expected in 2024.
The two have been performing on stage as Bowen * Young since 2021, and the female half couldn't be happier about their collaboration. "Since meeting Brandon, my ultimate musical goal had been for he and I to be a duo," Bowen told Holler. "The spotlight can be such fun, but nothing beats standing in it with the love of my life."
Prior to forming their own band of two, Bowen toured as a solo artist, with Young playing guitar in the background. In true Hallmark-fairy-tale fashion, it was during a performance at the Grand Ole Opry in 2015 when the couple got engaged between sets. "He said: 'Clare, will you marry me?' And I said, with the biggest smile on my face and tears in my eyes: 'What do you reckon?!'" Bowen shared on Instagram. They exchanged vows in front of family, friends, and horses in October 2017, with the ceremony led by both Bowen's fellow "Nashville" cast member, Jonathan Jackson, and John Carter Cash, son of Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash.
Clare Bowen and Brandon Robert Young are smitten with each other
All you have to do is take one look at Clare Bowen or Brandon Robert Young's Instagram pages, and you know the couple are truly in love. Although they shared with Holler Country, via a video interview posted on Bowen's Instagram, they have yet to take an official honeymoon due to their busy schedules, Bowen confesses it doesn't really matter. "Every day is kind of like ... it's just lovely. We're together all the time."
The actor/singer has also penned numerous tributes to her husband over the years, and on one anniversary, summed it all up by saying, "It will never be lost on me how uncannily fortunate I am that I get to be on the same plain of existence as you, and that somehow in the most blessed twist of fate, the multiverse and everything, you are mine."
Young is no less adoring, often referring to his wife as "the one," and professing his devotion on her birthday. "You're the most amazing person I've ever known, and I will love you in this life and the next. God bless you for putting up with my knuckleheadedness."