Who Is James Murray's Wife? All About Melyssa Murray

James “Murr” Murray may be best known for his role on Impractical Jokers, but he isn’t kidding around when it comes to his wife, Melyssa Murray (née Davies).

The couple met in 2018 and for James, it was love at first sight.

"You know, I never thought I would get married, I never thought I wanted to get married," he once told PEOPLE. "And I met Melyssa and it was instantly different. I knew I was going to marry her.”

James and Melyssa got married in 2020. “We have the same love language in terms of how we love each other and receive that love,” Melyssa told Millenium Magazine at the time.

So who is James Murray’s wife? Here’s everything to know about Melyssa Murray and her relationship with the comedian.

She met James at his book launch

Melyssa met her husband when she attended the launch party in June 2018 for his debut novel, Awakened.

"We hit it off that night immediately. We had immediate chemistry and our relationship was immediately different than any other I've had in my life," James told PEOPLE of meeting his now-wife. "It was the first time in my life that I felt like myself. Thank God I wrote that damn book!"

She is a nurse

Melyssa graduated nursing school shortly before James’ 2019 proposal, but her career in the medical field is largely private.

She got engaged to James in 2019

James proposed to Melyssa on Aug. 30, 2019, outside the home they had just purchased together.

"I set up a picnic and champagne and a Scrabble board. I took her there to sign 'documents' [about the house] — there were no documents to sign," James told PEOPLE of the engagement. "And thank God she said yes."

But the picnic set-up wasn’t James’ original plan. The comedian planned to propose in Turk and Caicos during Labor Day in 2018, but Hurricane Dorian made landfall and he was forced to pivot.

"Melyssa and I took our first vacation together in Turks and Caicos, and that's where I first said I loved her many, many months ago," he said. "So I was going to propose in the same spot, playing Scrabble, the same exact way I told her I loved her and spell out, 'Would you marry me?' "

In 2022, Melyssa shared the sweet Scrabble moment from Turks and Caicos on Instagram.

“It was a very peaceful and quiet moment. And it was just us, being us, doing what we love,” she captioned her post.

They bought a house shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic

The move to Princeton, New Jersey, was a little bit of an adjustment for James, who had previously only lived in larger cities.

“I remember the first night we slept in Princeton, I woke up the next morning, and the back door was open. Just wide open,” James told Community News.

He continued, “I must not have locked it correctly because in a Manhattan apartment, when the door closes it’s bolted shut. In the suburbs, you’ve got to lock everything, and the door was open. I lost it, man. I was so scared.”

Adjustments to the suburbs aside, the move had a silver lining for the couple.

"We moved in not too long before everything happened, and having both of us home, I think, really helped decide what we wanted and what we needed more of and less of,” Melyssa told PEOPLE in 2020 of staying at home during the COVID-19 pandemic while planning a wedding together.

“We got to spend a lot more time in the house — which I don't think would have been possible before all of this — and with our puppy. She got spoiled during all of this!" she added.

James and Melyssa wed in 2020

James and Melyssa got married on Sept. 25, 2020, in a ceremony officiated by Impractical Jokers costar Joe Gatto. Friends and family gathered at the Lake House Inn in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, to celebrate the couple, but not without extensive planning and COVID-19 precautions.

"We had four different weddings being planned simultaneously, depending on how everything worked," James told PEOPLE at the time. "We had four different wedding lists and four different plans, and one version of it was just our bridal party in our backyard, at the most extreme."

The couple later took a two-week trip to Soneva Jani, a five-star resort in the Maldives, for their honeymoon.

"It's spectacularly beautiful, and I've wanted to go my whole life," James said. "I never thought I would, and when I met Melyssa, I was like, holy cow, I get to go to the place of my dreams."

She’s active on social media

James isn’t the only joker in the family, given that Melyssa frequently posts funny video clips on her Instagram account, including a tribute to Scream and a family Thanksgiving prank.

She even managed to laugh about having a poison ivy rash on her feet at her wedding in another clip.

Melyssa is also active on TikTok, where she shares more behind-the-scenes clips of her life, which includes plenty of cameos from James.

They have a dog named Penny

James and Melyssa are the proud pet parents to Penelope Murray, a Havanese-mix (according to a recent DNA test shared to the pooch’s Instagram page) that they nicknamed Penny.

She launched a business in 2019

After moving to New Jersey in 2019, Melyssa launched WithoutTheRoots, a woman-owned small business that sells candles and a small selection of other homewares, such as wooden letters and moss creations. She was inspired to launch the business while decorating her then-new home with James.

“Melyssa thought to take it upon herself and try to create artwork that meant something,” the site states of how the brand was formed. “She spent long hours creating and experimenting with various products until she found what worked for their home. Each product is unique and gives the home a warm and cozy feeling.”

Melyssa is listed as CEO and Master Designer on the brand’s website. She later changed the name of her business to No. 95 in 2022.

She hosted a charity event benefiting Alzheimer’s research

In September 2022, Melyssa announced a fundraiser initiative on Instagram alongside James with No. 95. All proceeds from the event, which included dinner, drinks and dancing, went to the Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation.

It’s a cause that is close to the couple as James’ father, James Patrick Murray, had Alzheimer’s and died on April 4, 2023, at age 81.

The event was so successful that it was held for a second time in October 2023 in Montclair, New Jersey.