When did Shawn Ashmore and Michelle Trachtenberg date? Relationship history explored as X-Men star mourns actress' untimely death

American actress Michelle Trachtenberg passed away on February 26, 2025, at the age of 39. She was found unresponsive in her apartment in Manhattan, New York by her mother on Wednesday morning. While her mother contacted 911, Michelle was declared dead at the scene by the NYPD and emergency responders.

In the wake of the news, the actress' former boyfriend Shawn Ashmore took to social media to mourn her untimely demise. The Canadian actor shared a throwback photo of them together on Instagram on Wednesday. In the caption, he called her an "incredible person," adding that he would remember their time together "fondly."

“Incredibly sad to hear about Michelle’s passing. She was an incredible person and I will always remember the years we spent together fondly. She was loving, quirky and would never pass up a law and order SVU marathon:)” Ashmore wrote.

The X-Men actor also offered his condolences to Michelle’s mother Lana and sister Irene, calling her demise an “incredible loss.”

For the unversed, Michelle Trachtenberg and Shawn Ashmore dated from 2004 to 2006 after they met at an Oscars party.

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More about Michelle Trachtenberg’s relationship with Shawn Ashmore

During a 2005 interview with Black Film, Michelle Trachtenberg shared how her relationship with Shawn Ashmore happened. She joked as she said that she "put out an ad in the classifieds.

“Well, I put out an ad in the classifieds: Wanted, superhero. I'm a damsel in distress.”

She added that they met at an Oscar party, noting how Shawn was "like Mr. Grumpy," because he was "so not into that world." She mentioned she was the “forward one,” and took full credit, adding they had been together a year for a year at the time.

“No, we just met, which is funny, knowing Shawn, he hates anything publicity. He’s so not into that world. We met at an Oscar party and he was just like Mr. Grumpy unhappy to be out in public and I totally approached him," Michelle said at the time.

However, the couple ended their relationship in 2006 and were in several other relationships before Ashmore married film executive Dana Renee Wasdin in July 2012. He met Wasdin on the sets of his 2010 psychological horror survival movie, Frozen. The couple have a son together, born in 2017.

Michelle Trachtenberg was in a nearly five-year-long relationship with her talent agent Jay Cohen of Gersh (signed in 2014) before her demise. They had been together since 2020, and Cohen often appeared on Trachtenberg’s social media.

Michelle shared a Valentine’s Day post for Jay on February 14, 2025. Posting a throwback photo of her partner with his face painted as Frankenstein on Halloween, she wrote that Cohen was “the man who sits still long enough for me to paint his face.”

Trachtenberg had previously dated other celebrities including Pete Wentz, Scott Sanford, Jason Lewis, Joshua Radin, Jason Segal, Josh Groban, and Kid Cudi, among others, as reported by Stylecaster.

In 2020, the Gossip Girl actress pranked the internet after flaunting an engagement ring on her finger via an Instagram post. Her co-stars Tia Mowry and Sarah Michelle Gellar were also deceived by it. In fact, after Gellar commented under Trachtenberg’s post, she clarified it was meant as April Fools.

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Michelle Trachtenberg's mother found her “unconscious and unresponsive” at her apartment, around 8 am local time on Wednesday. She called 911 and later NYPD and other emergency responders came and declared her dead at the scene.

In a press release, the NYPD confirmed “criminality is not suspected.” However, the investigation is ongoing and an autopsy will determine the actual cause of death.

Notably, earlier this year, the Michelle Trachtenberg star underwent a liver transplant. While there were speculations that the actress was having some trouble with her health, earlier this month, she assured her fans that she was “happy and healthy,” after they expressed concern on social media over her frail appearance.