Fun Facts About Annie Murphy's Husband, Menno Versteeg
Meet Menno Versteeg!
Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock You probably know Annie Murphy as Alexis Rose, the spoiled brat who walks through life in really nice shoes. But contrary to the character she plays on "Schitt's Creek", in real life Annie Murphy is happily married to her husband, Menno Versteeg.
The couple has been married since August 20, 2011. That means they will be celebrating a decade of marriage this summer!
Who is Annie Murphy's husband, Menno Versteeg?
Menno Versteeg is a musician.
Meeno Versteeg is a Canadian musician who used to be in a Canadian indie rock group. He was the former lead vocalist and guitarist of the band Hollerado, which split in 2019.
They announced their formal "break-up" after the release of their fourth album, "Retaliation Vacation." Versteeg and fellow ex-bandmates — Nixon "Nick" Boyd, Dean Baxter, and Jake Boyd — addressed the end of a musical era on Instagram.
"It was 12 years ago yesterday that we played our first ever show at our friend's bar in Montreal," the band wrote. "Since then we’ve had the best time, all the time, and now it’s time to move on to other things. We are all still best friends in the world and will cherish every second that we got to spend playing music together.
After nearly 2,000 shows in too many countries to count, the thing we are most grateful for is the friends we made along the way. Still, all adventures have an end and we feel that we have reached ours. And, we wanted to say goodbye by making one last record. It’s the first one we made entirely ourselves (produced, engineered, mixed) and it was a total blast."
Breaking up is always hard to do, but at least it happened on respectful terms.
After his musical hiatus, he joined the band Anyway Gang.
On August 27, 2019, Versteeg posted to his Instagram about the formation of his new band.
"Last summer," Menno explained, "I got together with a few of my tour buds who also happen to be some of my favorite songwriters. We mostly made dad jokes but we also jammed on a bunch of 3 chord songs we all had lying around. We recorded a bunch of stuff in a few days and over the year we’d add some ideas here and there and all of a sudden a year had past and we realized we had kinda an album so we said let's name ourselves the first thing we thought of and release these. Anyway, we’re called Anyway Gang."
In addition to Versteeg, the Canadian supergroup Anyway Gang is made up of Sam Roberts, Chris Murphy (from Sloan), and Dave Monks (from Tokyo Police Club). In 2019, their debut album was released with Royal Mountain Records.
Menno Versteeg founded the record label Royal Mountain Records.
Royal Mountain Records signed Mac Demarco, U.S. Girls, Ought and Metz. It also discovered acts such as Alvvays, Pup, and Calpunia.
In an interview, Versteeg claimed that the biggest challenge he faces as the founder of a record label is "the pressure of knowing that every single band wants their project to be a success, that they want to quit their job and be a professional musician for the rest of their life, but also knowing no matter how hard they work and we work, that sometimes it just doesn’t pan out."
Menno Versteeg eventually went solo.
On March 9, 2020, Menno Versteeg released a solo album, "Reno Tapes." But instead of using his real name, he released the EP under the stage name Mav Karlo. He went on to release a full-length album, "Strangers Like Us," in October of the same year.
The album was one of the most highly-anticipated drops of the Canadian music scene that fall. Both albums are available on Spotify.
He's an advocate for mental health.
In January of 2018, Versteeg created a mental health fund initiative for artists connected to his label. Full health benefits for all artists is the long-term goal, but until then every band signed with Royal Mountain Records will have access to $1,500 for their mental wellness.
In the past, Versteeg has struggled with his mental health. It wasn't until his wife was cast in "Schitt's Creek" that he was able to afford a therapist.
In an interview with The Globe and Mail, Versteeg commented on the fund initiative, saying, "You go to the doctor to get a checkup for your body. Why getting a checkup for your head isn't seen as just as important blows my mind."
He also composes music for television.
When he's not strumming his guitar, Versteeg is composing soundtracks for television. His music has appeared on "The Trotsky," "Kim's Convenience," and, of course, "Schitt's Creek."
Versteeg has also worked as an executive producer and actor for the TV series, "The Plateaus."
Murphy and Versteeg have written songs together.
In an interview, Versteeg reported, "When you're married to someone who's in a band, it's a very specific type of relationship. For the first half of Hollerado’s career, Annie was a struggling actress — she would get the odd commercial or bit part here and there, but she had a lot of time off. So she would often come on tour with the band, and that would involve sometimes coming onstage to sing with us."
This lead to the creation of songs "Good Day At The Races," for which Murphy wrote half of the lyrics, and the iconic "A Little Bit Alexis," featured in "Schitt's Creek."
Murphy said, "We knew it had to be funny and we knew it had to be kind of spoofy, but we all secretly wanted it to be a banger of a song that people would actually put on to pre-drink to and, you know, dance to at the club."
A love life created out of touring and performing together. Swoon!
The couple survived a horrible fire.
In 2013, a massive fire burned down the couple's Toronto apartment. They lost nearly everything, but Versteeg turned an optimistic mind toward the tragedy.
“I think it’s really going to be okay,” Versteeg told HuffPost, “I’m not worried at all. It’s just stuff.” The "just stuff" included Murphy’s childhood teddy bear, a house plant, and an autographed Michael Jackson photo.
In their minds, at least they weren't hurt in the fire.
Annie Murphy is currently set to lead in a new dark comedy series called "Kevin Can F*** Himself," which follows a woman named Allison who is forced to play the perfect housewife to her husband, Kevin. Murphy is worth $3 million as of 2021.
Izzy Casey is a writer who covers pop culture.