Hilarie Burton Says ‘All the Moms’ at Her Kids’ School Have a ‘Huge Crush’ on Husband Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Exclusive)

Hilarie Burton is okay with you crushing on her husband, Jeffrey Dean Morgan. In fact, she encourages it.

“I have just thoroughly enjoyed all the moms at school having a crush on him,” Burton, 42, exclusively tells PEOPLE of the reactions she’s received from people at her kids’ schools since Morgan, 59, began hosting NBC’s new reality show, Destination X, which premiered in May.

The couple, who have been together since 2009, share two children, Gus, 15, and George Virginia, 7.

“I keep getting text messages from high school friends, and they’re all like, ‘My wife or my mom has a huge crush on your husband,'” the One Tree Hill alum says, adding that she’s even heard from friends in Wilmington, NC, where she lived for more than six years while filming The CW series.

Burton encourages the adoration: “[They] should. He’s great.”

In May, The Walking Dead star told PEOPLE of his hesitation to take on his first hosting job.

“I am not like a typical host. I’m not Ryan Seacrest — who I love, and I think he’s excellent at his job — but that’s not me,” Morgan said, initially thinking the network had the wrong guy for the job. “I’m a bit on the crass side, and I’ve got a very sarcastic sense of humor, and I didn’t picture it.”

Morgan credits his wife, whom he’s been married to since 2019, with convincing him to try something new. For the past decade, the actor has appeared as Negan Smith, a foul-mouthed villain-turned-antihero, in The Walking Dead universe.

“She said — in a very nice way, but much more diplomatic than I’m going to make it seem now — ‘You’re not getting any younger,'” Morgan said.

Based on a Belgian competition series, the show follows contestants as they embark on a blacked-out bus across Europe and attempt to figure out their location each week by solving various challenges. Destination X presents a different Morgan than fans are used to seeing.

“Destination X was awesome because I knew how funny and charming he was in real life as opposed to the characters he plays,” Burton said, referencing Morgan’s scrappier, more threateningTWD character.

“I think it makes you appreciate Negan more when you see the person behind it, because he is such a funny, sweet man,” Burton says, adding of the character. “When he has to go play this dastardly creature, it shows you what range he possesses.”

Recently, Burton reprised her role of Negan’s wife, Lucille, on the Morgan-led Walking Dead spinoff, The Walking Dead: Dead City. The couple filmed the emotional cameo days after the death of Morgan’s father in July 2024.

Burton says it was “a really hard episode to shoot,” adding that Morgan “was able to channel a lot of the grief he was feeling for his dad into this episode while not letting anyone down.”

While a third season of Dead City has yet to be announced, star Lauren Cohan recently teased to PEOPLE that they’ll be doing “something very, very new” for the dynamic between her character, Maggie, and Negan in the future. (Negan infamously killed Maggie’s fan-favorite husband, Glenn, on TWD.)

Burton’s hopeful she’ll get to return again as Lucille to “haunt” Negan and “pop up whenever he needs a pep talk.”

“Anytime Jeff asks me to do anything, the answer is always yes,” says Burton of getting to work with her husband. “He pushes me in a good way. And I really like that group of people. We’ve been with them for so long that it’s always a nice reunion.”

Destination X airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET on NBC. The Walking Dead: Dead City season 2 is available now on AMC.

Source People.com