‘Saved by the Bell’: Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Elizabeth Berkley Secretly Dated While on the Show

Saved by the Bell was one of the defining TV shows of the ’90s. A sitcom that became popular thanks to its lighthearted teen storylines, it also broached serious topics affecting young people. It ran for four seasons, making celebrities out of actors Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Mario Lopez, Dustin Diamond, and Elizabeth Berkley. What viewers couldn’t have known was that Gosselaar and Berkley were more than just co-stars. The two Saved by the Bell cast members were involved in a romantic relationship behind the scenes.

‘Saved by the Bell’ starred Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Elizabeth Berkley

Saved by the Bell starred Gosselaar as Zack Morris, a musically talented student also active in sports at his school. With his best friend, Samuel “Screech” Powers, Zach became one of the most popular characters on any TV program. Berkley portrayed Jessie Spano, an outspoken straight-A student quick to stand up for women’s rights.

The young castmates worked closely while filming episodes of Saved by the Bell. And though four years isn’t an incredibly long time for a show to run on television, Gosselaar and Berkley spent their formative years on the program. Ultimately, it led the two young stars to form a romantic relationship, one they hid from everyone else on set.

Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Elizabeth Berkley dated while filming ‘Saved by the Bell’

In 2019, Mark-Paul Gosselaar opened up about the secret romance, saying it was inevitable that he and Berkley became romantically involved.

“When you’re working on a set, and we were young, there’s no one around, really. I mean, you work and live in a bubble,” he revealed to Anna Faris on her podcast Anna Faris Is Unqualified.

Gosselaar noted that dating as a young actor was challenging because options were limited.

“You’re in your cars, and you come to set and you do your work, and you’re with these beautiful women, and then you go back in your car,” he explained. “And you’re not going to school, so you don’t have a lot of choices.”

The actor admitted he also didn’t get out much, partly because his mother drove him to the set every day.

In the end, Gosselaar and Berkley ended their romance and later married other people.

According to IMDb, Gosselaar has been married twice. His first marriage was to Lisa Ann Russell from 1996 until 2011. In 2012, following his divorce from Russell, he married Catriona McGinn. The two are still together.

As for Berkley, the actor married fellow performer Greg Lauren in 2003, and the couple remains happily married.

Other cast members dated behind the scenes

Gosselaar and Berkley weren’t the only Saved by the Bell cast members who dated while filming the beloved series.

In an interview, producer Peter Enger revealed that “everybody dated everybody else except Screech” and that Tiffani Thiessen dated Gosselaar and Mario Lopez at different points throughout the show’s history.

In the end, the behind-the-scenes romances didn’t seem to affect the friendships formed on Saved by the Bell. The cast and crew have reconnected for several Saved by the Bell reunions since the show went off the air.