The Truth About Jesse Plemons And Kirsten Dunst's Relationship

Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons met back in 2015 when they both starred on Season 2 of the television show "Fargo." As fate would have it, the pair played a married couple. While both admitted they had a strong connection, they didn't explore a relationship at first, as noted by The New York Times. Fast forward several years, and, now, the two are mom and dad to two sons, Ennis and James, and engaged to be married (via The New York Times).

Both Dunst and Plemons are well known for their many roles over the years. Dunst began her career as a child star and was the featured player in several romantic comedies and dramas throughout her teen years and early adulthood. She's also known for her turn as Marie Antoinette in 2006 and her starring role opposite Tobey Maguire in three "Spider-Man" movies (per IMDb). As for Plemons, many viewers have enjoyed watching him in quite a few well-loved TV shows, including "Friday Night Lights" and "Breaking Bad" (via IMDb).

In early 2022, the pair received amazing news – times two — when they both received Oscar nominations for their roles in "The Power of the Dog," which the pair filmed while living in New Zealand with their oldest son (per Vogue). Here's a peek into their relationship and where they're headed.

Jesse Plemons and Kirsten Dunst first met all the way back in 2015 when they were both cast on Season 2 of "Fargo." Dunst later explained to Net-A-Porter that, when the show ended, she and Plemons parted ways — much to her regret. While it wasn't clear what kind of relationship they would have at the time, the actress knew she had strong feelings for her co-star. She explained, "I just knew he would be in my life forever. I didn't know what capacity that would be at the time. When [Fargo] was over, I just missed him terribly."

Dunst goes on to add that, as actors, both she and Plemons were "smart enough" to understand that their powerful connection could just be a symptom of being co-stars and sharing so much on the show. While speaking at PaleyFest in 2015, Plemons expanded on what that connection was like, telling the audience that working with Dunst was a "gift" because he "loved Kirsten's work for a long time, and I was really excited once I'd met her ... she's a great person," he said (via E! News).

When Jesse Plemons and Kirsten Dunst met, Dunst was in a relationship with fellow actor Garret Hedlund. Many were surprised by the split, as, only months prior, Dunst had gushed about Hedlund to Town & Country, telling the publication, "We're the same age. We have similar backgrounds. He feels like family to me," before admitting that she also had babies on the brain. 

The two never said what led to their split, but what is clear is that it paved the way for Plemons and Dunst to move forward with their own love story. While being interviewed for the Los Angeles Times podcast "The Envelope," Dunst shared that, once she and Plemons were committed, a friend reminded her of what she had said about the actor from the beginning. Dunst explained, "I didn't remember saying this, but one of my best friends told me that I said to her that 'I will know this man for the rest of my life. I just know it.'"

Despite those intense feelings, Plemons and Dunst have both been committed to keeping much of their relationship out of the public eye. As Dunst told Jimmy Fallon during an appearance on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," that was by design. "I've got to keep things private a little bit. We got together a year after [meeting.] We became really good friends first," she said.

In 2017, Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons sparked major engagement rumors when the actress stepped out at the year's Paris Couture Week with a sparkling diamond ring on her left hand. While Dunst was mum about whether or not the ring meant what everyone knew it did, she was happy to show it off, displaying her hand happily while photographers snapped photos.

The year before, Dunst admitted to InStyle UK that she hoped marriage was in her future. In an interview with The Cut, she added that she saw herself having a small, but beautiful, wedding, explaining, "I am someone who wants to get married... If it happens in my mid-to-late 30s, it's going to be intimate."

Dunst eventually opened up about her engagement and the proposal on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon." She said that, funny enough, she was a "little sick" and wearing sweats when Plemons chose to pop the question, but that she had an idea it was coming ahead of time, as a family member just about gave away the secret. "I could tell on my dad's face at Christmas. He's a bad liar," she revealed.

A year after Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons got engaged, the two started a family together. In May 2018, the twosome welcomed their first son, Ennis Howard Plemons. The news came a year after Dunst admitted to Marie Claire UK that she was feeling the itch to have babies since her goddaughter had been born, explaining, "That love is just like... you can't experience that unless you have a kid."

In May 2021, Dunst and Plemons became parents for a second time when their son, James Robert Plemons, arrived. Dunst waited until September of the same year to actually confirm the baby's birth, finally sharing with The New York Times that their then-4-month-old was already 18 pounds. "He's an angel, but he's a hungry angel. And a heavy angel," she added.

Funny enough, while parenthood is treating them well, their children happen to be the reason why Dunst and Plemons haven't yet tied the knot. As Dunst explained to Net-A-Porter in 2019, when it comes to their future wedding, she and Plemons want to truly enjoy the experience. As she had to explain to her mom, "I'm not going to get married when I'm pregnant. I want to have fun and have a drink. I mean, we're paying for this wedding. I'm paying for the bar! I want to enjoy it."

Jesse Plemons and Kirsten Dunst took on the Western "The Power of the Dog" in 2020, and the film debuted on Netflix in late 2021. The pair play a married couple who must go to battle against Benedict Cumberbatch, who co-stars as Plemons' older brother. Dunst was quick to tell The Hollywood Reporter that they definitely plan to work together again — and hope to do it sooner rather than later.

She explained to the publication that they even had the producer of the film weigh in on this idea. "We actually talked to ['Power of the Dog' producer] Tanya Seghatchian about what Jesse and I should do next. We have some ideas, and Jesse and I definitely want to do another project," she explained, before adding, "He's my favorite actor to work with."

Dunst has also opened up about working with her partner to the Los Angeles Times podcast "The Envelope." In the interview, she is candid about how odd it is to work with someone she is so intensely close to while pretending they are other people entirely. As she put it, "It's just funny to pretend there's no history with someone you have a tremendous amount of history with. It's just weird."

Despite the fact that Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons have kept much of their relationship out of the spotlight, plenty of people knew the pair is the real deal. In her piece for Vogue titled "I Want What They Have: Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons," writer Emma Specter celebrates the love these two share. As she points out, while appearing alongside Dunst as she received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Plemons used the moment as an opportunity to do nothing but praise the woman he loves. "Aside from the brilliant actor you are, I have also had the even greater pleasure of getting to know you as a person outside of work," he said, before referencing her nicknames "Kiki or Keeks."

Plemons has actually touted the woman in his life several times over. As aforementioned, the pair co-star in the 2021 Netflix film "The Power of the Dog," an experience they both have praised. Plemons told People that, after this experience, he only wants to work with Dunst. As he put it, "We fell in love creatively first on 'Fargo', just immediately trusted each other. I'm constantly amazed by what she brings."

In early 2022, Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons received incredibly exciting news: They were both nominated for Oscars for their roles in "The Power of the Dog." Dunst chatted with Variety soon after the nominations were announced, sharing that the double nominations are almost unbelievable. She said that the two were pretty stunned but in the best way. As she put it, "I mean, it's just so crazy to be a couple and have our first nominations together. It's like a storybook."

Dunst also painted a picture to Variety of the morning she and Plemons learned of their nominations. As she tells the tale, she was watching the nomination feed on her phone while her children were eating breakfast, when her manager, Eric Kranzler, called and told her she'd secured a nod. She immediately got on the phone with her mother and shed happy tears when Kranzler called back to say that Plemons was nominated, too. In addition to tears, she said she did a lot of screaming, like when her publicist called to give her the news. "Then I called Jesse," Dunst said, "and I was the first person to tell him, and he was a little shell shocked."

Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons are clearly dedicated to one another. In late 2021, a friend of the couple revealed to Us Weekly that working together hasn't hurt the couple in any way. "They've started working together on projects and it's made their relationship even stronger," the source shared, adding that the two are very into the idea of spending all the time they can together.

The source added that Dunst and Plemons are surrounded by friends who really enjoy the pair as a couple and as individuals. As the insider explained, Plemons is the life of the party whenever they all get together, saying, "He is always the hit of dinner parties and keeps Kirsten and all their friends laughing."

It sounds like one reason the two work so well together is that Plemons is super supportive. As the source noted, in the past, Dunst had some intense, "toxic" relationships, but, these days, she's all about Plemons, who "really lets Kirsten shine."