‘1883’ Star Isabel May Says Tim McGraw and Faith Hill Are the Ultimate #CoupleGoals (Video)

You may recognize Isabel May as Elsa, daughter of James and Margaret Dutton, played by country music royalty Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, in the “Yellowstone” prequel series “1883.” Although May had never listened to a McGraw or Hill song prior to filming, the self-proclaimed “oddball” said that the real-life husband and wife were the ultimate #CoupleGoals on set.

“What I love about their relationship is how much they respect one another,” May told WrapWomen during a recent Zoom interview. “When one of them would wrap for the day, they would sit and wait for the other to finish, no matter how late it got.”

May reminisced on a time while she was observing the couple on set, “they were unbelievably supportive of one another, but also respectful… neither was domineering about the other’s performance. It was just a really enlightening experience.”

Although May claims not to be much of a romantic herself, she admitted, “I certainly hope I have something like that in the future because that is the ideal marriage for sure.”

But it isn’t only McGraw and Hill’s relationship that makes this show so compelling. May’s personal bond with Hill was also key in crafting their on-screen mother-daughter relationship. According to May, the relationship between Elsa and Margaret is one of her favorite parts of the show. “That dynamic between mother and daughter is complicated, it’s beautiful, it’s challenging, you see all of those layers… the way Faith and I always talked about it was Elsa is a version of Margaret, and it’s something that Margaret was and could no longer be at that time.” said the 21-year-old actress.

Prior to her discussions with Hill, May had been involved in the early development of Elsa’s character, even before series creator Taylor Sheridan began writing the pilot episode. Sheridan called the actress two weeks after she auditioned for another project from the “Yellowstone” creator and told her about a spinoff series he was working on. According to May, “He said, ‘I need you to be Elsa Dutton. Will you do that?’ And I went, ‘Yeah you’re Taylor Sheridan. Of course.’”

The fact that she didn’t even need to audition for the role surprised May, since she only had a few credits under her belt. But this was an opportunity the “Alexa & Katie” star couldn’t pass up, so Sheridan and May began writing Elsa’s character together and the rest is history.

Audiences can watch Elsa, James and Margaret Dutton make their journey west on Paramount+ with new episodes every Sunday.

Watch Isabel’s full interview with WrapWomen at the top of the page.  

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