Days of Our Lives and Hallmark star Alison Sweeney husband is married to Dave Sanov, a man she first met as a child and later reconnected with in their twenties. While Alison has spent decades playing out dramatic romances on screen, her real life love story is genuinely one of Hollywood’s best kept secrets. No tabloid drama, no messy split, no reality TV reconciliation. Just a childhood crush, a 21st birthday party, and 25 years of making it work.
So who exactly is Dave Sanov, and what’s the story behind one of the most quietly solid marriages in entertainment? Here’s the full picture.
Who Is Dave Sanov, Alison Sweeney’s Husband?
David Sanov was born in 1972 in Los Angeles, California, and was raised in a musically inclined family. His parents were professional musicians involved in the film industry. That detail matters more than it sounds, because it’s directly how he and Alison ended up in each other’s lives.
“His dad and my mom play the violin for feature-film soundtracks, so we’ve actually known each other our whole lives,” Alison told Access in 2019. “I totally had a crush on him when we were kids.”
So before Dave ever became known as Alison Sweeney’s husband, he was just a kid whose dad played in the same orchestras as her mom. That kind of origin story doesn’t exactly happen on The Bachelor.
His Career in Law Enforcement
Dave didn’t follow his family into music or entertainment. He went a completely different direction. After completing his studies at the University of California, he joined the police force, dedicating himself to ensuring highway safety and responding to emergencies and accidents. He served with the California Highway Patrol for 27 years until his retirement in 2022.
As an officer, his responsibilities included ensuring public safety, enforcing traffic laws, and responding to emergencies across California highways. That’s not a glamorous job. It’s long shifts, high stress, and genuine public service. Alison has spoken openly about how proud she is of what Dave built in his career, and when he retired in late 2022, she made sure the moment got the celebration it deserved.
“It is a big deal to retire,” she explained when she appeared on The Kelly Clarkson Show in November 2022. “We’re pulling people out of the woodwork to come be a part of this event. There’s a lot of surprises we’ve planned for [Dave]. He’s so excited.”
After retirement, Dave has been involved in volunteer aviation work, including piloting for medical and animal rescue missions. The man spent 27 years keeping California’s highways safe, and his idea of retirement is flying rescue missions. Make of that what you will.
How Alison Sweeney and Dave Sanov Met and Got Together
Their story has the bones of a Hallmark script, which is either ironic or perfectly fitting depending on how you look at it.
The couple initially met as kids because their parents were friends. They eventually lost touch when Alison went to star on Days of Our Lives and Dave attended college. Two people, two very different paths, drifting apart the way people do in their late teens and early twenties.
Then came the reunion. When they saw each other again at a party their parents were throwing, Alison invited Dave to her 21st birthday party. As she explained on the Live Your Days podcast in September 2020, they bonded and began dating shortly after that. “We had such a great time, and we had so much fun getting to know each other again as grown-ups,” she said, per People. “And the rest is history.”
That’s genuinely it. No grand gesture. No dramatic declaration. Just a birthday party, a reconnection, and two people who already had 20 years of shared history deciding to build a future together.
The Wedding: A Y2K Ceremony Worth Remembering
Sweeney and her husband Dave Sanov tied the knot on July 8, 2000, in a ceremony made all the more sentimental by the violin duet performed by Sweeney’s mom and Sanov’s dad, honoring the fact that the couple met through their parents, who knew each other for years as professional musicians.
It’s the kind of detail that feels almost too perfect. The people who unknowingly brought them together decades earlier ended up playing at their wedding. Alison has said the day remains one of the most special moments of her life, and you can see why.
In July 2025, the couple celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary. Alison shared a heartfelt note on social media, and fans celebrated the couple widely. The Instagram post reportedly said “Can you believe it? We’re celebrating our 25th anniversary tonight,” accompanied by a sweet photo that the internet thoroughly appreciated.
Alison Sweeney and Dave Sanov’s Children
The couple welcomed son Benjamin Edward in February 2005, and daughter Megan Hope completed their family in January 2009.
Both kids have grown up alongside Alison’s busy Hallmark career, and at least one of them has gotten a taste of it firsthand. Benjamin got involved in his mom’s work by appearing in her 2023 Hallmark film A Zest for Death: A Hannah Swensen Mystery. Whether that makes him a showbiz kid or just a good sport remains to be seen.
Alison has mentioned in interviews that the family is approaching empty nester territory, with both children moving into their own independent chapters.
What Makes Their Marriage Work
This is the part people actually want to know. Twenty five years of marriage in Hollywood, where the average shelf life of a relationship can feel roughly equivalent to a press tour, is notable. Alison has shared her thinking on it more than once.
She has pointed to the fact that Dave has a completely different career than her as part of the reason their relationship has lasted. “We came into the marriage really honest with each other about what we wanted from life and who we were as people,” Sweeney explained. “And even though we were both really young, we sort of grew up together, and grew together, and learned together and have always been respectful of each other and our differences.”
That honesty about expectations, especially when marrying young, seems to be foundational. She’s also talked about not waiting for big romantic gestures.
“I would say to people who are newly married or in a relationship, appreciating the little stuff,” Sweeney shared. “It’s not The Bachelor. You don’t have to have some big romantic date with twinkle lights and a limo and whatever. That’s not what marriage is, it’s not what a relationship is.”
The Anniversary Evaluation Tradition
One of the more talked about habits the couple has is their annual anniversary check in. During a 2015 feature with Health magazine, Sweeney detailed their process: “Every year on our anniversary, we have a dinner date and talk about how our relationship is going. We kind of give each other a job evaluation, which sounds a little embarrassing. We talk about our three favorite things about the other person and then three things that we could work on.”
It sounds clinical on paper. In practice, it’s probably one of the more mature things a couple can do: putting aside the assumption that everything is fine and actually checking. A structured conversation once a year where both people feel heard. That’s not embarrassing. That’s just good communication with a dinner reservation.
Making Time for Each Other Beyond the Kids
Alison has said that she works hard to keep the marriage as a separate entity from parenting. “My husband Dave and I work hard to keep our relationship solid apart and separate from our role as parents, even if it’s just snuggling watching TV together after the kids are in bed,” she told SheKnows.
That shared TV time is apparently non negotiable. She’s spoken about starting an actual argument with Dave when she suspected he had watched a show without her, and recounted waiting for the Breaking Bad finale together as a planned event. It sounds small, but it speaks to something real: intentional togetherness, even in ordinary moments.
Dave Sanov’s Low Profile Approach to Fame
For someone married to a woman who has spent decades on television, Dave keeps a strikingly quiet presence. He maintains a very limited social media presence and prefers to keep his personal life private. Most public updates about the family come through Alison’s accounts.
While he made a few appearances alongside Alison in episodes of Days of Our Lives, he did not pursue any acting career and has consistently preferred to lead a private life away from the spotlight.
That choice has arguably helped the marriage. There’s no competing for attention, no dual PR strategies to manage, no brand deal crossover. He’s just her husband who shows up to events when she needs him and stays home when she doesn’t.
A Quick Look at Dave Sanov
| Detail | Info |
| Full Name | David Sanov |
| Born | 1972, Los Angeles, California |
| Education | University of California |
| Career | California Highway Patrol Officer (27 years) |
| Retired | 2022 |
| Post retirement | Volunteer pilot, animal and medical rescue |
| Married | July 8, 2000 |
| Children | Benjamin (b. 2005), Megan (b. 2009) |
The Bigger Picture
Alison Sweeney has made a career out of playing characters caught up in some of the most dramatic fictional love triangles in soap opera history. In real life, she married her childhood crush, attended his retirement celebration after 27 years of serving the public, and celebrates her anniversary with an honest conversation over dinner each year.
It’s not a dramatic arc. It’s not a headline grabber. It’s just two people who built something real and kept choosing it. In a world full of celebrity splits and public breakdowns, that’s worth paying attention to.
FAQ
Who is Alison Sweeney’s husband? Alison Sweeney is married to Dave Sanov, a retired California Highway Patrol officer. The couple married on July 8, 2000, and have been together ever since.
How did Alison Sweeney and Dave Sanov meet? They met as children because their parents were professional musicians who worked together. They lost touch, reconnected at a parents’ party when Alison was around 21, and began dating shortly after.
How long have Alison Sweeney and Dave Sanov been married? As of 2025, they have been married for 25 years.
Do Alison Sweeney and Dave Sanov have kids? Yes. They have two children: son Benjamin Edward, born February 2005, and daughter Megan Hope, born January 2009.
What does Dave Sanov do now? After retiring from the California Highway Patrol in 2022 following 27 years of service, Dave has been involved in volunteer aviation work including medical and animal rescue flights.
What is Dave Sanov’s background? He attended the University of California and built his entire professional career in law enforcement before retiring. He comes from a musically inclined family, with his father working as a professional violinist on film soundtracks.
