The Shocking Way Ed O’Neill Found OutMarried... with ChildrenWas Canceled: ‘I Said, What Do You Mean?'

Mar. 15, 2025

The cast of ‘Married … With Children’ in 1996.Photo:Everett

Everett

After 10 years of starring asAl BundyonMarried… with Children,Ed O’Neillfound out the show was being canceled the same way most viewers did: from a stranger on the street.

On the latest episode of the podcastMeSsy with Christina Applegate & Jamie-Lynn Sigler, O’Neill, 78, sat down with the co-hosts to discuss his time playing Applegate’s father on the series and how he learned it was coming to an end.

“I was back in my hometown, and I was at this little bed and breakfast … and it was a beautiful day. It was in the spring, and I came out[side] … and they had the gardens, you know, and it was such a nice day,” O’Neill recalled toApplegate, 52, andSigler, 43, setting the scene.

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Christina Applegate and Ed O’Neill in 2012.Jason Merritt/Getty

Jason Merritt/Getty

“A car pulled in with the ‘Just Married’ things hanging off the back, you know, the tin cans … and I thought, ‘Oh, they, you know, just married.’ So I was standing there, and they got out of the car, and it was the husband and wife,” theModern Familystar recalled.

He continued, “She was in the gown, and he was in the tux. And he said, ‘Oh my god. It’s Al Bundy, in Ohio.' And I said, ‘Yeah. Congratulations. You got married.' ”

It didn’t take long for the festivities to turn into an uncomfortable moment. “The woman said, ‘We’re so sorry about your show,' " O’Neill said. “And I said, ‘What do you mean?’ And the guy said, ‘Oh my god. He doesn’t know. It’s on the radio. You got canceled.' "

Despite the shocking moment, O’Neill said he still joined the happy couple for some champagne to celebrate their marriage. “They said, ‘Oh, we’re so sorry,’ and I said, ‘I’d rather hear it from you.’ So yeah. I came inside. I love champagne.”

Christina Applegate and Ed O’Neill on ‘Married… with Children’ in the 1990s.Columbia Pictures/Embassy Pictures/Kobal/Shutterstock

Columbia Pictures/Embassy Pictures/Kobal/Shutterstock

Married… with Childrenfollowed the working class, marital and coming-of-age struggles of a suburban Chicago family, which included Al Bundy (O’Neill), his wife Peggy (Katey Sagal), their daughter Kelly (Applegate) and son Bud (David Faustino).

Adding to his disappointment, O’Neill said he never received his “last show gift” from the network. “I said, ‘I thoughtThe Golden Girlsgot Mercedes-Benzes when they did their last show,’ which they did,” the actor said. “Never got a gift.”

source: people.com