5 days Ago By Natalie King
Despite being a presence on our screens for more than 20 years, Brian Dietzen tends to avoid the spotlight. Brian has played Dr. Jimmy Palmer in NCIS since 2004, and was promoted to a series regular in season 10, but not much is known about his life off-screen.
However, Brian offered fans a glimpse into his life on Instagram, where he shared a sweet photo of himself with his wife Kelly enjoying a night out in Los Angeles on Sunday (April 15). The couple went to see a baseball game together, watching Chicago Cubs beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 16-0. Born in Barrington, Illinois, Brian supported his hometown team by wearing a Chicago Cubs cap, while his wife wore one for the LA Dodgers, showing her support for the local squad.
But despite supporting different sides, the couple seemed happy together. Brian captioned the photo with: "Seeing the Cubs for the first time this season, and they didn’t disappoint! 16-0! I did not see that coming..
." And despite wearing a Chicago Cubs cap, he promised to make a switch in future: "Always a good night when we get to go to Dodgers for a game. The rest of the season I’ll proudly wear my Dodgers cap, but this week, I’m repping my hometown.
" Many fans showed their enthusiasm for Brian's hometown team. One commented: "Go Cubs! Lifelong cub fan 60 + years", while another simply added: "Go Cubs Go". Brian married Kelly back in 2004.
On Instagram, he revealed the couple have two children together, a daughter and a son, although he doesn't share information about their names or ages. This year marks the couple's 21st wedding anniversary. In a June 2024 post, Brian said about his wife: "I am beyond blessed to have met someone like you, Kel.
I’m so glad you’re my person, and we get to do life together. "Thanks for the smiles, For our family, For saying yes. Here’s to all the memories to come.
Happy anniversary my love." The sweet message captioned a photo of the pair looking cozy. But life has not always been easy for the couple.
In 2020, Brian suffered a stroke at home. While he has since recovered, he needed major surgery. Brian recalled the terrifying event in an interview with Variety in 2022.
“I’m going to say something that’s going to sound like an advertisement and it’s not, but the Apple Watch saved my life. I was on the floor of my bathroom, throwing up, and I pulled out my phone and I was like, ‘Oh s***, I can’t use my fingers.’ And so I said, ‘Hey, Siri, call Kelly,’ and called my wife and I said, ‘I need help,'" he recalled.
According to Brian, Kelly said: "You sound like you have marbles in your mouth.'” Brian was then able to call the emergency services using Siri, before going to hospital for an MRI. He shared his thoughts while going through the test.
“‘I don’t think there’s much that I’ve left undone, because everyone that I love knows that I love them’ — that sort of thing. But then I was like, ‘Whoa, no, I can’t start thinking that way,’ and then I started trying to get my mind in the right place," he recalled..
