Patton Oswalt Loves Having ‘Daddy-Daughter Times’ When Wife Travels

Patton Oswalt cherishes his quality time with 15-year-old daughter Alice.

“My wife, Meredith [Salenger], travels a lot. She just went to Vienna. So, I am very happy to be home and have daddy-daughter times. It’s the best,” Oswalt, 55, exclusively told Us Weekly at Amazon MGM’s upfront event on Tuesday, May 14. “I’m not looking to get out of that house. I’d rather hang out with them.”

The comedian noted that the father-daughter bonding time is particularly special as Alice becomes more independent.

“Our daughter is now 15, and ever since she was 13, she clearly digs when Mommy and I are like, ‘Well, we’re going to be out of town for a couple days,’” he said. “She likes being a little adult, but I’m always looking out for her.”

Oswalt shared Alice with Michelle McNamara, whom he was married to from 2005 until she died at age 46 in 2016. McNamara died in her sleep from an accidental drug overdose, with previously undiagnosed heart disease being a contributing factor. Adderall, alprazolam (Xanax) and fentanyl were found in her system at the time. McNamara’s true crime book about her investigation of the Golden State Killer, I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, was posthumously published in 2018.

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“You did it, baby. The book is excellent, the writing brilliant. You tried to bring kindness to chaos, which was your way,” Oswalt wrote via X in 2016, sharing a photo of McNamara’s book next to her tombstone, which reads, “Daughter, Sister, Wife, Mother, Crimefighter, Writer, Poet, Perfect.”

Oswalt later moved on with Salenger, 54. The pair confirmed their engagement in July 2017 and tied the knot that November.

“We talked every single night on Facebook for three months and really got to know each other,” Oswalt told Us of his connection with Salenger in February 2018. “I got to know what an extraordinary human being she was. So it was just a no-brainer for me to know that this is the person that I want to be with. It took talking to her nonstop every night for three months and then it took knowing her for a month and then it was like, ‘Yeah, this is the person I’m going to spend my life with.’”

Oswalt also recalled a sweet moment he shared with his daughter during his and Salenger’s nuptials.

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“My favorite moment was when I was standing up at the altar and my daughter came down the aisle — she was a flower girl. And she just spontaneously gave me this huge hug,” Oswalt said. “It was like, we’re safe now. Things are OK. I almost started crying. I was so happy the way that she held me. Like, things are OK now. It felt amazing. That moment.”

The actor said on Tuesday that coparenting with Salenger has been “pretty cool” and noted that he’s leaving this year’s Father’s Day plans up to her and Alice.

“That is up to my wife and daughter. My wife is very much like, ‘This is in my hands. You do not make plans,’” he joked.