Jerry O’Connell & Rebecca Romijn have 3 dogs & 2 cats that sleep on their bed

Jerry O’Connell is involved in some capacity with the AKC National Championship, which is the American Kennel CLub’s dog show. I don’t remember hearing about it before and it seems to be one of the secondary dog shows other than the National Dog Show and Westminster Dog Show. It airs on Hallmark channel on January 23 and took place in mid December, according to the show’s website. (I will link it, it’s here, but spoilers because they have the winner right there at the top.) Jerry had an adjacent role at the AKC National Championship, I read that he recorded some segments for them and there’s no word on whether he got to comment on the dogs, (which seems like the best job at any dog show). To promote his gig, Jerry talked about his life at home with wife Rebecca Romijn and their pets and it sounds chaotic. He said that all the pets sleep with them and he feels like he’s at the bottom of the priority list when it comes to space on their bed.

Living with three dogs and two cats, Jerry O’Connell often falls to the bottom of the food chain at the home he shares with wife Rebecca Romijn and 8-year-old twin daughters Charlie and Dolly.

“We have a cat that my wife refers to as her husband, and he may be the top of the food chain,” the actor, 42, tells PEOPLE. “I’m pretty low on the food chain as a lot of the cats and dogs sleep on our bed and I get the least amount of room to all of them. The cats get the most, my wife gets the second most, the dogs get the third and fourth most and I get the fifth most. I’m definitely lowest on the chain!”

And his animal family seems to be continually growing.

“Every time I go out of town, my wife just adopts another animal, be it cat or dog,” says O’Connell. “I do love them all — we’re a family.”

Being that he’s constantly around pets, it made sense for the self-proclaimed “all-around dog lover” to make an appearance at this year’s AKC National Championship Presented by Royal Canin.

AKC National Championship Presented by Royal Canin will premiere on Jan. 23 at 6 p.m. ET on the Hallmark Channel.

[From People]

This is a joke but he sounds annoyed by it and like he wishes all those pets weren’t in the bed with them. I’ve only had one cat sleep in my bed at a time and I think I would also dislike having another person plus a bunch of cats and dogs coming and going, but I’m a light sleeper. Most of the people I know with more than one dog crate them at night and keep the bed off limits. From the five minutes of internet research I did (ok two minutes) experts say it’s ok to sleep with petsJ as long as it doesn’t personally disturb you. Hopefully Jerry and Rebecca’s eight year-old twin daughters sleep in their own room and maybe they can offload some of the cats and dogs to them at night.

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Photos of Jerry out with his black dog are from 2009 and 2010. Rebecca and Jerry are shown at Paws for Cause in 2014. (I don’t know if those are their dogs or if they’re just adorable red carpet dogs!) Credit: WENN, FameFlynet and Getty

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66 Responses to “Jerry O’Connell & Rebecca Romijn have 3 dogs & 2 cats that sleep on their bed”

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  1. Karla says:

    They seem like a nice down to earth couple. I always have time for animal lovers and couple animal lovers are awesome.

    • Froggy says:

      There’s a couple who understands pets are part of your family. I refer to my dog as my youngest son.

      • LVD says:

        We have two dogs, one cat. One dog sleeps on the bed with us, the other prefers to spread out but will sleep on the bed if my husband isn’t home. And the cat likes to do her own thing at night. But, they are all family. I refer to them as my toddler’s brother and sisters, and “momma’s babies.”

  2. detritus says:

    No pets in the bed.
    The cat used to be allowed, but he decides he’s hungry at 5am and thinks I should immediately remedy it, so no longer.
    I dont understand large dogs in the bed, not at all.
    They smell like dog, and drool and their scratchy claws and they take up almost the same space a person does, and I don’t even like sharing a queen with my dude.

    • QQ says:

      Yeah My Bf Cats STAYED getting me up through the night to get pets bite and lick me like the dogs do (New Cat Trend Alert- yuck!) so now we lock them out but the dogs sleep with us, one wants me on his eyesight at all times but uses his bed and blankie, the other one switches but he’s very very Mama’s boy and he likes to sleep with me Under or over the covers, by my feet or in between me and my bf totally occupying pillow space

      • detritus says:

        Ahaha, omg wait til they do the ‘lick until you bleed’ thing. That’s my favorite. =/

        Dogs at least have some respect, right?
        We’ve been contemplating a puppy, but we like our furniture too, so not too sure on that one. Tell me your bbs are the best and well behaved and never peed in your only expensive purse because they were mad you didn’t feed them the right food.

  3. Alix says:

    I can’t stand him. First, he’s creepy looking (not his fault). Second, when his daughters were born, he was That Dad who immediately announced, ha ha, that they wouldn’t be allowed to date til they’re 30 or so. No mother ever makes those jokey comments about her sons, because moms don’t see themselves as the owners of their sons’ sexuality, whereas a mighty big number of fathers see themselves (consciously or not) as their daughters’ surrogate sexual “owner” until they’ve been transferred to a husband’s possession. It’s not funny, it’s creepy, and says more about sexism and society’s view of female sexuality than we’d probably care to admit.

    Sorry, that’s all I can think about when I see this dweeb. Back to my breakfast…

    • Nancy says:

      Ditto. Every time I see her, I think of the Friend’s episode where she is a total slob and has rats in her apartment and Ross ends up running for the hills. Monica shows up at the end with a mop and bail to clean up and she throws her out! Good episode. When I picture a bed with a menagerie of animals on it, sounds like life imitating art. JK, but they’re not amongst my favorites.

    • Jess says:

      I completely agree with you here, but I’m surprised you’ve never seen a woman do this with her son. Come to my Facebook page and I’ll show you a few! This one in particular actually scares me a little, she posts about her son every single day and talks about how he’s the love of her life and her best friend and how he won’t date until he’s 30, he’s currently 7, and she posts those creepy “rules for dating my son” memes, they say things like, “if you sext my son I will find out and I will make you go away”, “if you dress slutty I’ll make you go away”, it’s freaking weird but I can’t stop reading this woman’s page, lol.

      Anyway, back to Jerry and Rebecca, it’s cute that they have so many animals. He does sound a little irritated about the sleeping arrangements, but also like he loves them, and of course the cats get the most room😂😂

      • Alleycat says:

        @Jess Yes I see those all the time!! I have a few fb friends who are mothers of sons and they can get just as bad as men. And those sons are infants! It’s sooooooo creepy. And delusional that they think they can control their son’s dating life when they get older.

    • Cee says:

      I love this comment because it’s spot on.
      When I marry I will walk down the aisle alone because my father doesn’t own me, and neither will my husband.

  4. BearcatLawyer says:

    Ummm…the AKC National Championship show is arguably more prestigious than Westminster or the National Dog Show. IIRC, dogs actually must qualify to enter the AKC National Championship. While the top dogs receive invitations to Westminster and the NDS, any dog can enter these shows. Westminster and the NDS still have NBC TV contracts (for now), which is why they get all the media attention.

  5. Zip says:

    My boyfriend CARRIED our two newly adopted cats to our bed the FIRST day they moved into our home so they would “feel welcome”. Since then we adopted two more cats. One of them literally runs upstairs to the bedroom when it’s time to sleep and we are turning the lights off in the living room. Well, they are allowed to sleep with us. Most of the time it’s just two of four cats when we go to sleep, however, I have also woken up to all four of them being there. I can handle it, I just have to wash the bed sheets more often because of the hair.

    However, a dog – even though I love dogs – would never be allowed no matter what size it is.

  6. prissa says:

    My two furry friends (cats) sleep with me. My girl cat Patti is either on my chest, back or she will paw at the covers until I make her a tunnel to curl up under. I’ve learned to sleep with my arm propped up to keep the covers off her head lol. The older male cat Remy sleeps right on my legs. I love it and if I had a dog I would feel the same way.

    They really are like family. 🙂

    • kaiC says:

      I do the propped up arm thing, too, for one of my cats, LOL. It’s the cutest thing when he wants under the covers

    • milla says:

      my two dogs sleep on beds of their choice, with or without me. they do have to leave the room in case of sex. i cannot do it if they are in the room. it is like my kids are watching or something… yes, i am weird, but they are my babies.

  7. Patricia says:

    My cats sleep on the foot of the bed. I could never allow a dog to sleep on my bed. I don’t even like dogs on the furniture as the furniture ends up smelling like dog.
    My friend is an extremely clean person and her dog still stinks up everything. I was on her couch and put her throw blanket over me and had to immediately throw it off as soon as I caught a whiff. Dog! Glad she was in the other room when it happened so she wasn’t insulted.
    Sorry dog people, I know you are gon’ hate, but I just dont understand letting a smelly and drooling animal into the bed.

    • milla says:

      if you ever get a dog, you will change your mind.

      my dogs do not smell. one is a poodle. the other one is a mix of who knows what, but his fluff is gorgeous and he is just pawfect. he wasn’t even smelly when we found him, all alone on a highway…

      • HappyMom says:

        We got a lab mix puppy a month ago. I love her to death-but no, she’s never going to sleep on my bed. I barely like having to share the space with dh. And yes-she absolutely smells.

      • TQB says:

        I have a dog, and no way is she allowed anywhere near my bed. She’s noisy and gigantic. She got booted from our room entirely because she snores and wakes up every hour to lick herself and shake her ears. I love her to death, but no, just because you love a dog like family does not mean you will learn to love sleeping with them!!

    • Brittney B. says:

      Your friend doesn’t sound like an “extremely clean person”. That dog needs a bath.

      • Patricia says:

        Dogs have a natural odor regardless of cleanliness. I’ve met about two dogs in my life who don’t have an odor (and like someone said above about her dogs they do exist). My friend’s dog is very well kept and often cleaned.
        I grew up with a chocolate lab. He was a big lovable oaf but having him as a teenager confirmed to me I’m just not a dog person, for many reasons. We would scrub that guy on the regular. He would stink from being wet, then have about half a day of smelling fine, and then the dog odor would be back! No getting rid of it.

    • amilu says:

      I’m more grossed out by kitty litter paws in the bed than a dog.

  8. Gippy says:

    Always have love four animal lovers, how you treat animals says so much about you as a person! We’ve 3 big dogs. We have a Roomba which make the hair much more manageable! I’m guessing they’re able afford an actual cleaning service if some sort and someone to change their sheets. Our dogs are only allowed in the bed on Weekend mornings or if my husband or I are not at home at night. But when they do sleep with us they’re very still and easy to sleep with (and snore less than hubby;)). We wash the sheets once a week though to help with our allergies.

  9. mom2two says:

    Our three cats sleep on the bed. I wouldn’t have it any other way, even if we have to sleep in a contorted fashion to fit the cats. #Spoiledcats

  10. astrid says:

    I read annoyance/irritation in his comments as well.

  11. Heather H says:

    We sleep with 2-3 dogs every night (often the 3rd sleeps with my son because he wants her to). If I don’t have them there I miss them cuddling with me, one of them is my super cuddlebug under the covers because he is always cold. I think my husband would prefer them to sleep on the floor but given that he was the one who started them sleeping on the bed in the first place when they were puppies, he doesn’t fight it.

  12. gene123 says:

    My 75 lb mutt sleeps in my bed and I wouldn’t have it any other way. There’s something about how he donuts up against me or when he sleeps with his head on my legs and its just “ahhh my little baby, I love you so much. Thanks for choosing me”

    I’m sure I will eventually feel that way when I have kids but for now he’s my one and only (hairy) baby

  13. Eribra says:

    My 98 pound lab sleeps with us every night,takes up too much space, won’t lay head at pillow- always horizontal, scratches,licks himself (the sound drives me up a wall! ) likes to get up and circle multiple times, lays on top of the blankets so neither my husband or I have any- in general is a pain in the rear. I have noticed on the nights he doesn’t seem inclined to come up with us that we worry and go back downstairs several times until he does so obviously we don’t care that much.

    • Maria says:

      same here. The licking sound drives me crazy, but I miss my dog when he prefers the couch… sometimes i move too much for him and he retreats….

  14. Bethy says:

    My German Shepherd Mix is sleeping on my foot as I write this – in bed. I think it depends on the dog. I give the dogs a bath once a month and wash my sheets and blankets once a week to try and curb the doggie stink. She’s 30 pounds of mostly fur and loves to cuddle. I couldn’t imagine not letting her up on the bed.

  15. Polyphonic Pickles says:

    My doxie sleeps with us every night even though the other human does not like it. The dog predates the relationship so he respects the dog’s seniority (he’ll put her in the bed when I am traveling *squee*). I am always cold and my little dog is my living heater.
    Granted she does stink, but that’s why she has her own blanket for the couch and the sheets get washed every week.

    • Madailein says:

      I have a mini doxie, too; she sleeps between me and my husband, w my cat on my legs and the other cat at my husband’s feet. I couldn’t imagine going to sleep without them near. (I wash the sheets every week, too!)

  16. Barrett says:

    My inside scoop is that he tells his wife to cool it w the Hollywood full body makeover (fillers, injectables, lasers from head). He can have some cocktails and talk smack. Well at least he thinks she looks good and doesn’t want her to get obsessed w anti aging a la Hollywood style.

    • TQB says:

      Good for him. She is looking a little tweaky and if there’s a woman who doesn’t need it, it’s her.

  17. What-was- that? says:

    I cannot imagine anything nicer than having a furry family cuddle..my cat sleeps with me sometimes then moves away at other times..to sleep more soundly I guess!
    In the U.K. We used to say if you were cold at night put another dog on the bed!😃

  18. Jess says:

    I love reading all the comments, you guys really love your fur babies❤️ Makes me feel like we’re all just little creatures who need love and companionship. We recently adopted a 10 year old cat who lived in the shelter his entire life, he sleeps with my 9 year old every night and it makes my heart so happy, we lost our other cat Rhett to kidney disease in 2015, he used to start the night sleeping next to her, then he’d roam the house playing or randomly meowing for a bit before curling up by my head or under the covers, they were truly best buddies and she had trouble sleeping without him, so our new kitty taking to her has helped tremendously!

  19. Cee says:

    I love my pets but the bed is off limits. Now I have to lock out my cat because she uses me as her personal mattress and wakes me up when she gets hungry by jumping on my chest.

  20. SusanneToo says:

    My twelve dogs sleep with me. Wouldn’t have it any other way.

  21. OTHER RENEE says:

    It always amazes me how much room our two little dogs take up in our bed. They slept in a crate by our bed for the first year til one got sick and I was afraid she’d choke at night and I wouldn’t hear it so I put them both in our bed and that was that! I love sleeping with them most of the time. Occasionally I find myself pushed to the edge of the bed and rather than move them I move myself to the couch.

    Can’t resist taking the opportunity to plug adopting pets from shelters or rescue organizations! I collect blankets and towels for them and always get teary-eyed thinking of the animals waiting for a loving home as I drop off the donations.

  22. Shambles says:

    My cat sleeps on my feet, but I only have one. He does it so that he can be ready to yell at me the moment I sit up to go pee in the mornings. His food is more important, you see.

  23. Beep says:

    our 3 dogs, (55 pound lab, 65 pound staff, and 23 pound Jack Russell) all sleep in bed with my husband and me. they each have their “spot” and they don’t disrupt our sleep, so why not.

  24. Spikey says:

    We started co-sleeping with our dog when we were 20. Every dog that followed wants the same privilege and now we’re so used to our furry hot-water bottles that we literally can’t fall asleep without a dog in the bed. Whenever hubby or I need to sleep somewhere else, the nights are torture. Our new puppy is moving in in three weeks and I. can. not. wait!!

  25. Suzanne says:

    Watched him cohost with Kelly Ripa this week…two days in a row and he is kinda weird. Almost feminine…and too animated for me. How did he end up with his wife? They are an odd match IMO.

  26. Clare says:

    My monster is no longer allowed to sleep in the bed. He is delicious and gorgeous, and I may love him more than my husband, but he is also enormous and takes over at least 50% of the bed – somewhow it always happens to be *MY* side of the bed, with husband left untouched. It reached a point where husband and dog would sleep on the bed, with me escaping to the sofa halfway through the night. As a result, he has been bought a super comfy memory foam mattress (he is 12 with achy joints), and he is allowed on the bed for cuddles first thing in the morning, but no longer during the night.

    I know it seems a bit mean to kick the pooch out of bed, but its genuinely healthier for all of us – including him.

  27. Sarah says:

    I used to have my cat in bed when I was kid it was kind of cosey waking up to his purring. I don’t think I would want dogs in my bed though because of the smell.

  28. Lambda says:

    Our third dog sleeps in bed with us. It started right after we rescued her. She had been abused, she was nervous and had terrible separation anxiety, and letting her sleep in the bed at night made her calmer over all. In time, we tried to train her to sleep in a big fluffy doggy bed on the side of our own, but she still sneaks up during the night. Some times I actually witnessed the sneaking: one cautious paw up on the bed, then the other, crawls a little, lifts the rest of the body up, coils, sighs, starts snoring.

  29. Lindy says:

    I am very glad that there are so many pet-lovers and pet-rescuers in the world, but as someone with very bad allergies, this setup would kill me. I feel strongly that people who have pets should love them and take care of them, and I donate a little bit to our local no-kill shelter every year (in honor of a beloved family member who passed away and who volunteered there regularly).

    BUT… I feel more and more these days like expressing any dislike for or discomfort with dogs (in particular) makes so many people assume you are a horrible human being. In reality, I was bitten badly by a German shepherd, and I have never liked dogs, even as a kid. This doesn’t mean I hate animals or dislike people who have them–but it feels to me like saying you don’t want dogs, or telling someone that you can’t come to their house because they have a larger dog who jumps and growls somehow makes you a bad guy.

    Anyhow, I definitely think it’s great that celebs use their position to call attention to pets and support pet-friendly causes. I just could not imagine sharing my bed with all that fur.

    • LizLemonGotMarried says:

      It definitely doesn’t make you a bad person. Everyone has their own individual experiences.
      Are we going to be best friends and hang out at my house all the time? Probably not, because I have a dog that I adore and I don’t want to have to banish her for your comfort. But could I have you over for dinner once in a while and put Piper in one of the guest rooms where she loves to nap anyways? Sure.

  30. S says:

    We’ve got two cats and two, large dogs and all are welcome in our bed. Both dogs — 100 lbs and 60 lbs, respectively — have always slept with us and the cats come and go during the night. When we got dog #2, the plan was to have him sleep with one of the kids once he was house-trained, because we couldn’t imagine how we’d all fit but, yeah, that didn’t work out, and it does work somehow.

    Is it sometimes disruptive? Sure. But we wouldn’t have it any other way. (And I sleep better with the pooches next to me, when my husband is away on business.)

    Sans nightmares and illness the kids — who, as we always say, all have their own rooms and beds, unlike the pets — aren’t allowed to sleep with us (they outnumber us now), but the pets always are.

    And when our previous pooch was in his last days and could no longer make the jump, or even be lifted, onto the bed, my husband and I took turns sleeping next to him on the floor, because he’d never slept alone.

    Those who talk about smell, etc … To each your own, but my dogs are generally cleaner, if hairier, than my kids, and I cuddle and kiss those little germ-factories all the time! We wash our bedding weekly, I vacuum daily and our pets are all groomed and brushed regularly, plus have good vet care. There’s nothing “gross” about it. To be clear … I’m also not condemning those who prefer NOT to sleep with their pets, but I always balk at the “I would never, that’s disgusting” judgement of others’ harmless and common practices.

    • Brittney B. says:

      Yeah, I can’t believe people think animals are too “gross” for beds… do these people treat their pets like dirty infestations?! My animals (cats and rabbits) are members of my household, they groom themselves, and I keep them and their environment clean for all of our sakes.

      Note: you probably aren’t taking care of them properly if they have smelly fur or breath.

  31. KiddVicious says:

    I’m a fan of Rebecca’s. She’s a decent actress, seems to have her sh*t together and is one gorgeous woman. She and John Stamos were the best looking couple, too bad he’s a douche. I’m glad she’s found happiness with Jerry.

    My one cat sleeps with my husband and me and takes up most of the bed. I don’t know how anyone can do it with more pets. We’ve been discussing whether we should get a king size bed (we’re in a queen right now) just so we can have more room and get better sleep.

  32. me says:

    Personally, I think that’s really gross. Pets should not be in your bed. I also am so grossed out when I see dogs licking people’s faces and lips. Yuck !

  33. Brittney B. says:

    We sleep with four cats… didn’t realize this was headline-making behavior! They’re not on the bed per se, they’re actually on US. One cat is always on my partner’s back, two others are always cuddling on/between my legs, and a fourth straddles herself between us. We’re their personal heat pads. And it’s a California king, so even if they weren’t physically on our bodies, there would be plenty of room for all of us.

    Honestly, I toss and turn MUCH less since rescuing these babies. I was the most anxious, restless sleeper (always woke up with sheets on the floor), but now I stay relatively still. My partner always has a cat on his lap while he works, too… I can’t sit still at my desk, though. When I sleep at a friend’s house or go on vacation, I don’t sleep as well, and my back/legs feel empty. We love our little bed buddies.

  34. Harryg says:

    Our three dogs sleep in our bed. They take all the space. They are warm and wonderful and stinky and soft, I love it and I love them.

  35. Deniz says:

    I met Jerry in Montauk about 2 years ago. REALLY nice/funny guy! He took pictures with me and my friends, and even photobombed a picture of us lol. Very down to earth couple!

  36. Adele Dazeem says:

    I’m leaving a comment to show support because i enjoyed this post and the comments for the sheer fact that it involves my lifelong obsession cats (and to a lesser degree all animals) and because there has been no mention of Trump! Yay!

    • Wurstbonbon says:

      Why did you have to mention the yellow monster? Everything was so nice and then you do this…

  37. Dollypaws says:

    Loving all the furball on the bed stories. We have 2 little stinkers who wake us up each morning with lots of kisses and face licks and it’s a joy. I change all the bedlinen twice a week and they are groomed and brushed. I wish I’d appreciated sooner how loving and loyal dogs can be. Cats too of course.

  38. Lua says:

    I just upgraded to a king. My solution when my husband mentioned the two cats and two dogs were taking up too much space, leaving none for him when gets home late at night 😛
    Now everyone is happy!