The Men of “Desperate Housewives”: Where Are They Now?

For 8 years, scandals, mysteries and secrets plagued the lives of four (sometimes five) women of ABC’s “Desperate Housewives”. Through the fun-filled and sometimes silly mind of creator Marc Cherry, we were able to join in on the manic environments of Lynette Scavo (Felicity Huffman), Bree van de Kamp (Marcia Cross), Susan Meyer (Teri Hatcher) and Gabrielle Solis (Eva Longoria) – but even though the show centered on the female leads, their male counterpart swere just as important to the story line and brought just as much fun and life (and yes, generous eye candy) to millions of viewers.

So what has become of the men of Wisteria Lane following the show’s end in 2008?

James Denton (Mike Delfino)

A gorgeous, yet rough handyman with secrets of his own, we were introduced to Mike Delfino in the very first episode of the series when he turned up at the wake for Mary Alice Young, the pinnacle character for the show’s very first mystery. As the layers slowly began to peel (as well as the shirts he wore), he eventually warmed up to divorcee Susan Meyer and the two eventually married. However, his heroic nature, which was played up during the series became his downfall and his character was killed in a drive-by shooting during the show’s final season.

The handsome Denton, who hails from Nashville, quickly became one of the show’s biggest draws from the very beginning with his natural good looks. Since his surprising end on the series (which was prematurely revealed thanks to a lawsuit brought upon the show’s creator by actress Nicollette Sheridan), he’s continued his already 20-year long career and appeared on other shows such as “Hot In Cleveland” and direct-to-TV movies such as “Grace Unplugged”, which shows ties to his Southern Baptist background.

He’s also part of an charity band called “Band From TV”, which contains members from – obviously – other television shows such as Hugh Laurie from “House” and even his former small screen wife, Teri Hatcher.

Sorry ladies, but he’s also happily married: he and his wife, personal trainer Erin O’Brien have been living in holy matrimony since 2002 and have two children.

Jesse Metcalfe (John Rowland)

We all felt a little bit dirty lusting after Gabrielle’s teenage gardener, John back when he first appeared on the series, considering he was only supposed to be 16 (in reality, the actor was actually 10 years older than his character). But his amazingly built body was surprisingly filled with a kind and romantic spirit. However, following the discovery of his affair with the married Gabrielle as well as his youth, it was a love that was never meant to be. He popped up on the show a few more times as the series went on, always believing that he and the woman he called “Mrs. Solis” would end up happy together. She eventually gave him the final heave-ho in season 6 after he was attempting to date Gabrielle’s niece, Ana.

It was really touch and go for actor Jesse Metcalfe following his role on “Housewives”: in 2007 and 2008, the now 34-year old actor ended up in a couple of public scuffles and accidents that were surrounded in obvious substance abuse, including falling off of a second story balcony while attending the after party for the 2008 World Music Awards. Obviously realizing his problem, the actor went into a susbtance abuse program and got himself together.

Nowadays, you can catch him on the reboot of the 80’s drama, “Dallas” as Christopher Ewing, the son of hero Bobby Ewing (played by Patrick Duffy).

Ricardo Antonio Chavira (Carlos Solis)

Hot tempered Carlos Solis initially seemed to parade around his wife, Gabrielle as nothing more than a trophy, which led to her affair with the sweet-natured (yet underage) John Rowland. It seemed to go from bad to worse for him as he was eventually arrested on embezzlement charges and hate crimes (he beat up two gay men, but believed they were actually sleeping with his wife), but was released from jail in the second season – only to face a wife who was dealing with a miscarraige following switching out her birth control pills.

Eventually, he got his greatest wish with Gabrielle (following a quick divorce and eventual reconciliation) and had two daughters, only to find out that one of them actually wasn’t his – or hers – thanks to a faulty switch-up at their local hospital, yet somehow managed to brave through the insanity and fights. Even a murder (which was due to self-defense) couldn’t keep the twosome apart and they lived, or as Mary Alice tells us in the finale, “argued happily ever after”.

At the end of the series, Chavira solideried onward away from the camera, providing the voice of John Carver in the video game, “Dead Space 3”. He also is an honorary spokesperson for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure charity; a cause close to his heart after losing his mother to cancer when she was only 43 years old.

He currently is starring in the new NBC comedy, Welcome To The Family, which begins it’s run in October. His former TV wife, Eva Longoria, is set to make a special appearance on the show!

Kyle MacLachlan (Orson Hodge)

If the near-Stepford wife Bree van de Kamp ever met her match, it was truly in the qualities of dentist Orson Hodge. The man, who seemed to love cleaning and perfection just as much as she did, entered the show in the second season and was initially introduced as a love interest for Susan Meyer (she and Mike had broken up for a while following a lie to his recently discovered son, Zach Young), but his chemistry with actress Marcia Cross (who plays Bree) changed the mind of the show’s writers and he was brought on full time for the show’s third season.

As many before him, he came with some skeletons in his closet: a missing ex-wife and a dead mistress weighed heavily on him and brought loads of turmoil to his character, but all was eventually revealed as

time went on (his ex-wife feigned the disappearance and the mistress was killed by his loony mother). However, as forced perfection always does, the hinges began to fall off: crimes commiited in hopes to keep his secrets uncovered eventually came to light and he turned himself in for a five-year prison stay. However, absence only made the heart grow darker: his now checkered past didn’t allow him to continue on his medical career, a tragic plane accident left him paralyzed moments after finding out about his wife’s affair (they eventually divorced) and a hope of reconciliation was eventually declined and the man who once seemed completely flawless ended up with a life full of them.

The life of Kyle McLachlan definitely doesn’t mirror his Wisteria Lane counterpart: the Golden Globe winning actor, best known as the star of 90’s noir “Twin Peaks” has continued onward is his nearly three decade long career.

Following his return to “Desperate Housewives” for the show’s final season, he popped up in the IFC Channel’s hit series, “Portlandia” as well as CBS’ now-cancelled, “Made In Jersey”. He also appeared in the 2013 drama, “Breathe In”. His personal life thrives in leaps and bounds as well: he and his wife, “Project Runway” executive producer Desiree Gruber live in Manhattan with their son, Callum and have a popular YouTube series and website all about the love of their other “children”: their two dogs, which they say they created out of “too much affection” for the animals.

Doug Savant (Tom Scavo)

Tom Scavo was pretty much the “every man” of the series: the sometimes dim-witted but loving dad and constant foil of wife Lynette’s harsh exterior. The man was put through the ringer more than once with his rambunctious kids, his wife’s illness and even a bout with postpartem depression in season 7, but the final straw comes toward the end of that particular season when he and his wife, finally coming to an impasse they can’t seem to cross, decide to separate and head toward divorce.

During our final views of Wisteria Lane, he comes to his wife’s support over that of his current girlfriend when Lynette becomes involved with the murder of friend Gabrielle Solis’ stepfather (he molested and raped her for years during her childhood and came back to town for revenge when Carlos killed him in defense of his wife). The two eventually reconcile after the charges are dropped and eventually move to New York City when Lynette’s new job takes her to new heights, while Tom is more than happy to be her loving husband.

Following his run on the show, Savant has made guest appearances on “Hot In Cleveland”, “Rizzoli and Isles” and the NBC’s “Vegas” before that show was cancelled. Doug seems to live a quiet life – not much can really be found about him online other than the odd article related to the ABC show, but considering a near two decade long career in entertainment, not much needs to be said.

He met his wife, Laura Leighton on the set of another popular series he was a part of: the just as scandalous 90’s hit, “Melrose Place”, which featured another “Housewives” co-star, Marcia Cross. He opted not to make a guest appearance on the show’s relaunch, which just lasted one season back in 2009.