Hallmark's Casey Deidrick Once Dated His Days Of Our Lives Costar
Casey Deidrick appeared in several high-profile TV shows before becoming a soap opera favorite in 2009, as Chad DiMera on "Days of Our Lives." Deidrick later became a Hallmark star in 2021 thanks to his role in "A Very Merry Bridesmaid" opposite Emily Osment. Molly Burnett, meanwhile, had a similar journey with notable appearances in "True Blood," as well as subbing for Kirsten Storms as Maxie Jones on "General Hospital" for 11 episodes. In between all of that, Burnett played Melanie Jonas on "Days" from 2008 to 2016. And, although Melanie was in a forgotten romance with Brady Black (Eric Martsolf), she enjoyed a more memorable one with Deidrick's Chad.
During their high school years, Melanie and Chad were involved in kidnappings and blackmail, induling in an undeniably roller coaster style relationship. Their onscreen chemistry translated into the real world when Deidrick and Burnett dated from 2009 to 2010. In an interview with Soaps, conducted when they were first together, Deidrick explained that they often went back and forth to each other's dressing rooms, and found a common love for the "Lord of the Rings" and "Harry Potter" franchises. Deidrick also made the startling revelation: "We're from the same state and actually lived minutes away from each other and never even met until I got on the show."
Casey Deidrick and Molly Burnett dated long before their characters did
Having not yet appeared onscreen together at the time of their Soaps interview, Casey Deidrick and Molly Burnett were asked if they'd like Chad and Melanie to be paired up at some point in the future. Burnett joked, "Haven't you heard? Melanie and Chad are the next huge super couple!" The actor added that despite their characters engaging in separate storylines, "Casey's incredibly talented and I would love to work with him and have Melanie give poor Chad a run for his trouble making money!" Deidrick loved the idea, sweetly remarking, "Molly continuously blows my mind with the amount of talent she has, she's brilliant and I would love to work with her."
He found the concept of Melanie and Chad eventually becoming romantically involved to be very intriguing too. The co-stars also noted that the "Days" casting director Marnie Saitta was the one who first brought them together, and they went dancing with other castmates at one point, where Dedrick quipped, "My skills on the dance floor really impressed her." Burnett chimed in, confirming that they got closer at a 2009 Dodgers game, where their colleagues Eric Martsolf (Brady Black) and Nadia Bjorlin (Chloe Lane) performed "The Star Spangled Banner" and "God Bless America." She then acknowledged, "But yeah, Casey's got mad dancin' skills."
Casey Deidrick and Molly Burnett continued to share the screen on Days
While Casey Deidrick and Molly Burnett dated while they were both working on "Days of Our Lives," they put together a YouTube video of them and various cast members showing off their best dance moves in the back halls of the studio. Among the actors they captured on video were Wally Kurth (Justin Kiriakis), Galen Gerring (Rae Hernandez), Kristian Alfonso (Hope Brady), Arianne Zucker (Nicole Walker), and even the late John Aniston (Victor Kiriakis)! Ultimately, though, their real life romance was short-lived, but even after splitting in 2010, the actors' "Days" characters continued to interact, so there doesn't appear to be any bad blood between them.
Burnett went on to star in "Queen of the South," and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," among other shows, remaining consistently busy. Continuing to win fans as a Hallmark star, Deidrick appeared alongside Stephanie Bennett in the 2023 film "June Weddings." Notably, his co-star had only nice things to say about Deidrick, informing TV Fanatic, "Casey's a very talented actor. He's a lot of fun. We definitely had a lot of laughs on set. He's also very tall, so he's 6'5, and I'm 5'3." Keeping with the dancing theme, Bennett added, "We had a bunch of dancing scenes, so you can imagine I was staring up at him the entire time. He's a great guy and fun to work with."