DeFreitas was born in Newton, Massachusetts and spent his early years in Hudson before his family settled in Darien, Connecticut.
[2] His father was a computer salesman and his mother was a teacher who worked as a banquet waitress after her children were born.
[3] He became interested in acting at age fourteen when a neighbor, who happened to be a casting director, urged him to audition for commercials.
DeFreitas has said that he fell in love with his ATWT co-star Maura West when they danced together at an industry function on October 16, 1998.
[10] DeFreitas and West agreed to have the birth of their first child filmed for an episode of the TLC series A Baby Story.