How old were Ray Romano and Patricia Heaton in ‘Everybody Loves Raymond?’

It’s been nearly 30 years since viewers were introduced to the Barone family during the 1996 pilot of “Everybody Loves Raymond.”

Ray Romano and Patricia Heaton starred as married couple Ray and Debra Barone. The show centered on the duo’s everyday life in a Long Island suburb with their three children: daughter Ally (Madylin Sweeten) and twin sons Geoffrey (Sawyer Sweeten) and Michael (Sullivan Sweeten).

Ray and Debra also lived across the street from Ray’s overbearing mother, Marie (Doris Roberts), his gruff father, Frank (Peter Boyle), and his neurotic older brother, Robert (Brad Garrett).

When “Everybody Loves Raymond” premiered, Romano and Heaton were both 38. Their characters were supposed to be around the same age. By the time the CBS sitcom came to an end in 2005, the actors were