All About Joe Gillette, Jackie Tohn’s Boyfriend

THE RUNDOWN

• Nobody Wants This​ star Jackie Tohn has been dating actor Joe Gillette for over four years.
• Gillette has written and directed several short films and made appearances in some popular TV shows.
• Tohn and Gillette often share romantic details about their relationship on social media.

Jackie Tohn made quite the impact in Netflix’s Nobody Wants This, thanks to her hilariously blunt performance as Esther, the sister-in-law of “hot” rabbi Noah (Adam Brody). In season 1, Esther found herself wrestling with her husband Sasha’s (Timothy Simons) blossoming friendship with single sex podcaster Morgan (Justine Lupe). However, viewers met a brand-new Esther in season 2. “Esther realizes...that everyone else is having fun except for her,” Tohn told Tudum. “She’s like...‘I’m going to have a good time, too.’” Season 3 continued Esther’s journey.

In real life, Tohn is dating writer, actor, and director Joe Gillette. Here’s what you need to know about their romance.

Just like Tohn, Gillette has been working in the entertainment industry for more than a decade. As a writer, director, and producer, Gillette has created several short films, including the award-winning The Music Store. His acting roles include appearances in Black-ish, Silicon Valley, 9-1-1, and Shrinking. Celebrating one guest appearance in December 2022, Gillette joked, “I love getting to pop back in on [CSI: Vegas] and continue to be creepy as fuuuuuuu.”

Gillette appears in season 2, episode 5 of Nobody Wants This as a character called Gabe, whom Tohn celebrated in an interview with InStyle. “Everyone’s in love,” Tohn said of the fact that a plethora of cast members’ partners appear in the show’s second season. (That includes Brody’s wife, Leighton Meester.) Noting that Lupe’s husband, Tyson Mason, makes a cameo in the show, too, Tohn made sure to point out her “real-life boyfriend of four years, Joe Gillette” will also appear on-screen.

In February 2025, Gillette shared an Instagram carousel from the SAG Awards, which he captioned, “I really really really love actors. Thank you @sagaftra for everything you do to lift us up. Gorgeous night. Best Date in a Leading Role—@jackietohn.” His caption continued, “It will never not be insane to be eating sliders in the same room as Ralph Fiennes. Ya know?”

While promoting the short film Under, Gillette shared just how much he adores working in Hollywood. “I’m so lucky to get to make things with my friends,” he wrote on Instagram in October 2023. “It’s all I wanna do...Making movies is hard! I love movies!”

Glow actress Tohn and her writer-director boyfriend have been dating since late 2021, People reported. Gillette isn’t shy when it comes to sharing his feelings about Tohn on the internet. For instance, in August 2023, the actor shared a handful of photos on Instagram, along with the caption, “Okkkk just effortlessly the birthday girl once again. Dang I’m so lucky that I get to love you and grab your butt. Wow. Happy Birthday bubba.” The year prior, Gillette celebrated his girlfriend’s special day by writing, “You are a special angel from heaven and everyone knows it and everyone is talking about it. Personally? I think you’re pretty much the funniest and best and a stone cold fox. Happy Birthday @jackietohn.”

Tohn often returns the favor, continually making it clear just how important Gillette is to her. “It’s the most special one’s birthday today!” the actress wrote in July 2022. “Happiest Birthday @joegillette can’t wait to celebrate the shit out of you today and also on tons [of] other days when you least expect it.” A year later, Tohn shared another adorable post about her boyfriend. “Today we celebrate the birth of this absolute fox,” she explained. “Listen, we love each other and support each other and talk (so much) to each other and laugh at / with each other. Oh boy, what a find. Love you @joegillette.”

In April 2024, Gillette shared a tribute to his dog Harry, who “passed away very suddenly...two and half months shy of his 4th birthday.” Sharing photos and video clips of the sweet pup on Instagram, Gillette wrote, “It isn’t right or fair and it simply wasn’t enough time with my best friend.” The actor continued, “I rescued Harry at 8 weeks old in August of 2020. Get a puppy, they said. You’ll love it, they said. He turned my world upside-down. Three days in I had a full emotional breakdown. It dawned on me the commitment and promise I had made to this innocent baby and I was scared of fucking it up.”

Ultimately, adopting Harry was a life-changing experience, with Gillette explaining, “He didn’t unlock this new secret door in my heart, he took over the whole place.” Approximately a year before his death, Harry received a diagnosis of dilated cardiomyopathy. “Basically his heart was too big,” Gillette explained. “And weak. It was scary for a while but we put him on medication immediately.”

The short film director finished his tribute by writing, “I already miss the noise and mess and life you brought into every room. Oh my sweet boy. Thank you. I love you. I’ll forever see you in the sunshine.”

Both Tohn and Gillette have shared details of their living situation. In October 2025, Tohn told The Wall Street Journal, “I live with actor and writer-director Joe Gillette in Glendale, Calif. I moved into the contemporary-style house in 2021, and Joe moved in two years later.” Revealing details about their home, Tohn expanded, “I love that it’s private and quiet and 20 minutes from everywhere I need to be. Best of all, we have so much natural light that we don’t turn on fixtures until the sun sets.”

While paying tribute to his late dog on Instagram, Gillette revealed that they “started spending a lot more time at Jackie’s house” when Harry got sick. “He loved it here,” the actor noted. “He loved Jackie, and [Jackie’s dog] Glen. He loved company coming over. He loved the space. He loved being able to go outside and lie in sun. We moved in.”

In an interview for season 3 of Nobody Wants This, Tohn spoke to ELLE about her personal view of weddings—and why she has never been interested in having one.

“I have never had a wedding on the brain,” she said. “I’ve never had a white gown, me walking down an aisle....Since I was a teenager, a man getting on his knee and proposing to me has never been on my vision board.

“I feel like Kristen [Bell] did it how I would’ve done it, which is just courthouse,” she continued. “She and Dax [Shepard], they grabbed [their daughter] Lincoln, they went and stood under a tree, and they took some pictures, but it was a courthouse situation. I think that’s always how I’ve seen it. I love my boyfriend so much, and I definitely feel he’s my person....Though I love weddings, I love to go to them. I love to celebrate people’s love. I’ve just never been like, ‘Ooh, my gown, my time to shine.’ I’ve had plenty of times to shine. I mean, I could stand to shut up.”

In addition to writing, directing, and producing short films, Gillette is a keen photographer and regularly shares his work on Instagram. In December 2022, he posted a carousel of snaps, which included pictures of Tohn, and revealed that he used his “grandpa’s 1959 Nikon F” to do so, which “makes my heart explode.”

Gillette elaborated, “To think of all the things he saw and thought to quickly snap a photo of...and now here I am almost 64 years later with the same camera. Looking through the same viewfinder. Closing one eye and hoping for the best.” Clearly a fan of her partner’s work, Tohn commented on the post, “Caption and photos = perfection.”

In December 2023, Gillette revealed an unexpected fact about himself in an Instagram post: He loves the band Hanson. Posting a collection of photos, many of which featured Tohn, the actor wrote, “When I was in 6th grade I was really into Hanson and I had their insignia drawn in [Wite-Out] on my backpack. One day another kid pointed and was like ‘...is that Hanson?’ And I could tell he didn’t think they were cool.”

Gillette continued, “I said ‘…no.’ And then when he walked away I scribbled over it. Regret it to this day. I love Hanson. I loved them then and I love them now. I can’t be sure but I think everyone in these photos is also down with Hanson.” Presumably, Tohn also appreciates the musical stylings of the Hanson brothers, too.