On the day of the 150th Kentucky Derby, Melissa Joan Hart is reflecting on meeting her husband more than 20 years ago.
Hart shared a throwback photo on Instagram May 3 with her husband of two decades, Mark Wilkerson.
In the snap, which was taken at the Kentucky Derby in 2002, Wilkerson posed with his arm around Hart’s shoulder while they both gave a small smile to the camera.
The former “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” star reflected on the moment with her now-husband in the caption.
“22 years ago right now.... I saw this tall guy with a shaved ahead across a stage and after a shot of vodka (don’t ask) and this photo was taken, I knew he was my forever!” she wrote.
Hart previously opened up on Instagram about their love story on Valentine’s Day in 2018 alongside a carousel of photos of the couple over the years.
“In 2002, a girl from New York told her mother she met a boy from Alabama at the Kentucky Derby that she was going to marry,” she wrote in the caption. “14 months later they were married in Italy, and within 5 years had 2 bouncing beautiful baby boys while living a blessed life in Los Angeles.”
She added, “Ready for some seasons and a change of pace, they moved their brood to the east coast where they added a third boy to their loving family in 2012 and lived happily ever after!”
Here’s everything to know about Melissa Joan Hart’s husband, Mark Wilkerson.
He’s a musician
Wilkerson was a founding member of the band Course of Nature. He served as the group’s lead singer and rhythm guitarist. He co-founded the group with John “Fish” Milldrum after they both left the Alabama-based band, Cog.
During its decade-long run, Course of Nature released two albums, 2002’s “Superkala” and 2008’s “Damaged.”
The couple got married in 2003
After meeting at the Kentucky Derby in 2002, Wilkerson popped the question to Hart later that year in December.
She recalled her proposal story on Instagram nearly 20 years later, posting a throwback photo of the couple posing in the snow.
“19 years ago, on #BoxingDay, I was given a ring as a belated Christmas gift from the man I love!” she wrote.
Hart and Wilkerson wed in July 2003 with a ceremony in Italy.
She marked the couple’s 20th anniversary on Instagram in July 2023, sharing a video of their first dance. Hart also shared their first dance song in the caption, writing, “The dance! To our song #NeverTearUsApart by INXS 20 years later.”
Melissa Joan Hart and Mark Wilkerson share three children
Hart and Wilkerson are parents to three kids: Mason, 18, Braydon, 16, and Tucker, 11.
As a family, they have lived in Los Angeles, Lake Tahoe, Connecticut and Tennessee. In October 2020, Hart and Wilkerson relocated from Connecticut to Nashville to “to make a new home and create new memories,” the actor said on social media.
“Nashville is the closest to a city we’ve been in in a long time,” she told Glamour in December 2020. “We really like to be out in the outskirts. The kids like to be out in the woods and climbing trees and catching frogs. I grew up that way, so I want them to as well.
The actor recently opened up to TODAY.com in May about how her children and her husband react to her job as an actor and whether or not they watch her projects.
“I think they think it’s weird,” she explained. “My husband too. Especially if there’s a make-out scene.”
She also talked about raising older children and how she and Wilkerson have tried to take a step back in certain areas of their son’s lives.
She explained, “Sometimes those natural consequences are harder on the parents, I think, but the kids learn a lesson from it.”