NEED TO KNOW
Kaitlin Olson is a supportive wife.
The High Potential star, 49, shared her reaction to husband Rob McElhenney legally changing his last name to “Mac” during an interview with PEOPLE at the It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia 20th Anniversary Celebration on Tuesday, July 1. Still only a few days into the switch, Olson says it hasn’t affected her life much.
“I’m legally Olson McElhenney, but I go by Olson, so I don’t really have to change anything,” she notes. “We can call each other whatever we want. Whatever makes him happy, makes me happy.”
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Stewart Cook/Disney
Mac explains that his decision was partially motivated by learning about his heritage.
The star and creator of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia tells PEOPLE he was researching his family’s past when he learned they didn’t always go by the last name McElhenney.
“When I did a full family tree and realized that it had been spelled differently six or seven different times since the late 1800s,” the actor, 49, reveals. “There was always a part of me that thought this is my name and it’s a connection to a long lineage of people and my family. But I realized that it was just a series of letters and syllables that was smacked together by some government official in the late 1800s, and I thought maybe we can do things a little differently.”
He also offered an update on their two kids, Axel, 14, and Leo, 13, who Olson told Variety in May were “really not happy about” the name change. Now that it’s official, Mac says he isn’t pushing them to do the same.
“I said it’s up to them,” he shares. “It’s their name, and just like their first name, if they decide they want to change it, then they could be called whatever they want.”
Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty
Mac joked that McElhenney is “not even really our f—— name.”
He has gone by Mac — which is also the name of his It’s Always Sunny character — for a while, although he only signed the formal documents on June 26, per TMZ. Going forward, he will be credited as “Rob Mac” in all his projects.
“Yes, I am shortening my name to Rob Mac,” he said in the minute-long clip posted to X on July 1. “Mostly a stage name, but I digress. Is it kind of douchy? Sure. But the amount of time that I have wasted trying to get people to either say or spell is literally days of my life. Trust me, I added it up. More importantly, it means thousands of you have had minutes of your lives stolen by me because of my last name.”
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“Times have changed and most people already call me ‘Rob Mac’ anyway,” he later added. “My family knows me and loves me regardless of how many syllables I have, and that’s the only thing I really care about.”
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“There are so many things going on in the world, and this is a silly one to continue to waste your time with,” he concluded. “Maybe we just keep it simple and try ‘Rob Mac.’ Let’s see how it goes.”
Season 17 of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia premieres Wednesday, July 9, at 9 p.m. ET on FXX, and can be streamed on Hulu thereafter.
