Harvard professor of African-American history presenter Henry Louis Gates Jr delivered some shocking home truths to the famous pair.
People have been shocked by the news, with fans taking to social media to air their disbelief.
One jokes: “The less fun version of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon!”
Another pens: “One of the best Hollywood couples around and someone’s gotta try and bring them down. Not today internet!!”
“Their podcast on Spotify is hilarious. What an amazing couple,” adds a third.
While a fourth writes: “Beautiful couple growing old together! True love.”
On Finding Your Roots, Sedgwick began by expressing her fears about finding out she is related to her celebrity hubby.
And it seems her fears were founded.
Bacon was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania but his father’s line goes back 12 generations to a Quaker named Henry Comly.
His family is traced back to Bristol, UK, in the 17th century.
He then learns that King Edward I, the ‘Hammer of the Scots’ who fought William Wallace, is his 22nd great-grandfather.
“You and Brad Pitt are 13th cousins twice removed,” presenter Henry Louis Gates Jr tells him first.
And that’s not all.
“You and President Obama share a common ancestor named Anthony Woolhouse. You are 12th cousins, three times removed.”
Bacon jokes: “No kidding. I knew I wasn’t getting enough respect.”
Sedgwick’s ancestors are revealed to be one of New England’s most prominent families.
They were involved in the freeing of Massachusetts from British control and the creation of the American Republic!
At the episode’s crux, Gates Jr shows Sedgwick a picture of her ninth cousin once removed.
“And his name is Kevin Bacon,” he reveals, as Sedgwick recoils in horror.
Sedgwick exclaims: “See. I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!”
However, soon after, Bacon’s actress wife assures her husband: “As long as we’re not first cousins, it’s fine.”
Bacon felt a little more philosophical about the discovery.
“It’s a beautiful concept that we are connected,” he says. “That we all, essentially, kind of climbed out of the same swamp. It’s fun to be at the forefront of that idea.”
