Karen Gillan and her husband, Nick Kocher, are preparing to welcome their first child. The Guardians of the Galaxy actress revealed her baby bump at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2024. This exciting news comes two years after Gillan and Kocher quietly tied the knot in May 2022.
Best known for playing Nebula in the Guardians of the Galaxy series and Amy Pond in Doctor Who, Gillan has also collaborated with Kocher on projects like the short film Eureka!. Over the years, the couple has made select public appearances together, including the premiere of Hulu’s dark comedy series Catch-22 in 2019, the release of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in 2023, and a Golden Globes afterparty in 2024.
Karen Gillan and Nick Kocher’s growing family takes center stage at the Toronto International Film Festival as the actress reveals her pregnancy
So, who is Nick Kocher? Here’s a closer look at Gillan’s husband and their relationship.
He grew up in Georgia
While Gillan hails from Inverness, Scotland, Kocher was raised in Atlanta, Georgia. He attended The Paideia School, a private institution in Druid Hills. In 2022, Kocher shared a video on Instagram featuring his high school graduation speech, where he displayed his comedic skills.
In the post, he joked, “Here’s my high school graduation speech, filmed with what seems like a GameBoy Camera. Enjoy the southern accent and the 2004 Michael Moore joke that even I don’t remember the context of.”
He started his career in comedy
Kocher formed a comedy sketch duo with his friend Brian McElhaney while studying drama at New York University in the early 2000s. The two had first met at a summer camp during their childhood. After college, they created BriTANicK, a comedic group that has written for Saturday Night Live and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. They also share sketches on Patreon and perform live shows across the U.S.
Kocher and McElhaney have acted in projects such as How I Met Your Mother, portraying Justin and Kyle, two characters Barney encounters before his wedding. They also appeared in the films Balls Out and Searching for Sonny.
He’s also a writer
Both Gillan and Kocher are actively involved in the entertainment world, and they’ve worked together on various occasions. In 2019, Gillan starred as Chloe, a procrastinator, in the short film Eureka! written by Kocher, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.
The couple teamed up again in 2021 to create the Netflix talk show Chillin with Gillan!, which featured Lena Headey and Judd Apatow. In addition, they have acted in films like The Bubble and Late Bloomers.
Kocher has written personal essays as well, including “Trouble on Wheels” for The New York Times in 2013, where he recounted his experiences pulling pranks after earning his driver’s license. He also wrote about hiking Mount Kilimanjaro with his father and brother in The New York Observer.
Their relationship began through social media
Gillan and Kocher’s romance started online after she noticed his Instagram profile and decided to send him a message. During an appearance on Live with Kelly and Mark in 2023, she admitted, “I slid into his DMs on Instagram! He was on my recommended friends list.”
Despite reaching out, Kocher didn’t respond at first, leading Gillan to try again by messaging him on X (formerly Twitter). She humorously recalled, “I told him, ‘Your tweets are funny. I’m Karen, by the way.’ But I hadn’t actually read any of his tweets.”
The couple had a private wedding in 2022
Gillan and Kocher wed in a secret ceremony at Castle Toward in Scotland in May 2022. Almost a year later, Gillan confirmed their marriage through an Instagram post captioned “Last May…” alongside pictures of her wearing an Oscar de la Renta gown, surrounded by bridesmaids and a bagpipe player.
They became a viral sensation after a therapy session photo
In May 2023, Gillan shared a lighthearted moment from her couples therapy session, where she had forgotten to remove her Guardians of the Galaxy makeup. She posted the screenshot on Instagram with the caption, “In honor of Guardians of the Galaxy in theaters this Friday, here’s a screenshot from when I forgot I had scheduled couples therapy on a filming day.”
The couple is expecting their first child
Gillan proudly displayed her baby bump at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2024. Wearing a form-fitting yellow dress, she attended the premiere of her latest film The Life of Chuck.
