Julie Benz

After quietly dating for more than a year, Dexter stars Michael C. Hall and Jennifer Carpenter eloped on New Year’s Eve!

The pair, who play brother and sister Dexter and Debra Morgan on the Showtime series, were married outdoors in Big Sur, California, Hall’s rep told E! online. The area is known for its natural beauty, where rugged mountains plunge into the Pacific coast.

The stars’ marriage follows Hall’s character’s on-screen wedding to Rita, his long-suffering girlfriend, at the end of Season 3. Whether Hall and Carpenter’s nuptials were inspired by the on-set wedding, we’ll never know.

But we do know this: Although Deb helped Dexter pick out a killer rock for Rita’s engagement, in real life Jennifer prefers the simple route. At their elopement, Carpenter carried a bouquet of white roses with her grandfather’s wedding band attached. She was later spotted wearing a simple gold band.

Co-star Julie Benz has her say on both Jennifer & Michael about their marriage to Access Hollywood:

“I kind of always thought they should date. I was always saying, ‘You two should go out.’ I felt that there was a connection between the two of them. They’ve always had a special relationship,” Benz added.