“He Was Adorable, We Were Smitten,” Melissa Joan Hart Confesses Her Romantic Feelings for Ryan Reynolds

It is natural for people to experience regret and ponder on the “what if?” scenarios in life. Melissa Joan Hart has recently reflected on her teenage romance with Ryan Reynolds. According to the actress, she and Reynolds once had great chemistry and even shared a kiss, but she ultimately chose to stay committed to her then-boyfriend. However, she regrets not taking a chance with her co-star’s crush and pursuing a relationship with him.

The 46-year-old actress opened up about her time as a Nickelodeon star, admitting that she was unaware of the magnitude of her sitcom Clarissa Explains It All’s success. Hart also shared that she watched Nickelodeon’s Fifteen, a teen drama that starred Reynolds and Chris William Martin, also known as Corky Martin at the time.

Hart further revealed that she dated Martin and had a brief romance with Reynolds after meeting him on the first Sabrina the Teenage Witch movie set. “I had a little thing with Ryan,” the actress admitted.

After the success of her Nickelodeon show, Hart played the lead role in Sabrina the Teenage Witch from 1996 to 2003. Additionally, before the series premiered, she starred as Sabrina in a 1996 TV movie of the same name where Ryan Reynolds played her character’s love interest, Seth.

She reminisced about their time together filming the Archie comics adaptation when she was only 19, describing a different version of Reynolds from the one popularized by his role as Deadpool. “He wasn’t like, the Ryan Reynolds everybody knows these days,” she said after a clip of the film played. “You can see, in the clip, the crazy hair. He was sweet, he was very sweet.”

Despite their strong connection, Hart and Reynolds were not meant to be together, as she had a boyfriend then. In her 2013 book, Melissa Explains It All: Tales from My Abnormally Normal Life, Hart wrote that she didn’t end up with Reynolds and regrets not taking a chance on him. “We were smitten and cute. He was adorable. He was a really, really nice guy, probably would have been a great boyfriend. Maybe I should have taken a chance,” Hart confessed.

During an interview, she revealed that they shared a steamy kiss on the last day of shooting, and Reynolds had given her a Bulova watch as a present earlier that day. “I chased him down, got in front of his car, and just kissed him and then made out with him all night,” she said. “Then I had to call my boyfriend the next day and explain it,” the actress added.

However, when Reynolds visited her in New York, she decided to stick with her boyfriend, and things did not progress.

Both Hart and Reynolds have moved on to happy relationships since their teenage fling. Hart has been married to musician Mark Wilkerson since 2003, and the couple shares 3 sons together: Mason, 17, Braydon, 14, and Tucker, 10. Reynolds has been happily married to actress Blake Lively since 2012, and the couple recently welcomed their fourth child. They are also parents to daughters Inez, 6, Betty, 3, and James, 8.