Castle has been married and divorced twice. His first wife was Alexis's mother, Meredith (Darby Stanchfield), an impulsive, free-spirited actress, and red-haired like her daughter. She and Richard occasionally meet for a sexual liaison, causing Richard to refer to her metaphorically as a "deep-fried twinkie" (something that is a treat on occasion, but to have it every day would kill you) when she contemplated moving back to New York. His second wife was Gina Cowell (Monet Mazur), his publisher, a role she continues after their divorce. Castle and Gina became involved again, briefly, when she spent a summer with him in the Hamptons supervising his second Nikki Heat novel, but they soon ended their relationship.