Couple Things with Shawn and Andrew - 104 Matt and Abby Howard

Episode Date: February 23, 2022

This week on Couple Things, we sit down with Matt and Abby Howard! We talk about their journey to marriage and internet success, boundaries with protecting your (future) children from the internet, a...nd play a fun game at the end! At only 23, Matt and Abby shared so much knowledge on their experiences as a couple. You won't want to miss this one!   We are sponsored by these companies that we love. Check them out below:    Athletic Greens ▶ Athletic Greens Is going to give you a FREE 1 year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs with your first purchase. All you have to do is visit athleticgreens.com/eastfam.   Reel Paper ▶ If you head to reelpaper dot com slash EASTFAM and sign up for a subscription using my code EASTFAM at checkout, you’ll automatically get 30% off your first order!   RASA ▶ Right now, we have an awesome deal to get you started: 20% off your first purchase! Just go to WeAreRasa.com and use our special promo code EASTFAM20.    If you haven’t yet, please rate Couple Things and subscribe to hear more.    Follow us on Instagram to keep the conversation going at https://www.instagram.com/couplethings...   And if you have suggestions/recommendations for the show, send us your ideas in a video format – we might just choose yours! Email us at couplethingspod@gmail.com.   Subscribe for more! http://bit.ly/3rnOdNo   Follow My Instagram ▶ http://www.instagram.com/ShawnJohnson   Like the Facebook page! ▶ http://www.facebook.com/ShawnJohnson   Follow My Twitter ▶ http://www.twitter.com/ShawnJohnson   Snapchat! ▶ @ShawneyJ   Follow AndrewsTwitter ▶ http://www.twitter.com/AndrewDEast   Follow My Instagram ▶ http://www.instagram.com/AndrewDEast   Like the Facebook page! ▶ http://www.facebook.com/AndrewDEast   Snapchat! ▶ @AndrewDEast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 It's Rona Week, now until Wednesday, and the best part, we're ready to help you extend your summer. You know the saying the grass is always greener on the other side? Well, this summer, make sure it's your side of the lawn. Head to Rona today for 5.2 kilograms of Scott's Turf Builder Fall Lawn Fertilizer at only 1499. Build it right, build it Rona. Conditions apply, details in store, and more offers at rona.ca. So back in, we were both actually in eighth grade when we first met. Shut up. This is adorable. All right.
Starting point is 00:00:42 Hello and welcome back to couple things. A show all about couples and the things they go through. This week I'm obviously doing this introduction solo, which I believe is my first time doing this. But we had no babysitter. We had no one to watch our kids. So Sean couldn't make it for this intro. section. But today we are interviewing Matt and Abby Howard. They are social media sensations and we had a blast with their conversation. So they're young. They're 23. They're married. They have a kid on the way coming soon. And they are now doing social media full time. So it's fun to hear their story and how they got into this career. They transitioned from studying acting. And actually Abby wanted to be a teacher. Matt wanted to be in the financial industry. And then they started making YouTube
Starting point is 00:01:29 videos during the quarantine and here they are they do it full time they just moved to Arizona they have a lot of exciting things going for them and I think you'll really like them so if you want to find out more about Matt and Abby we'll also link their information down below they make hilarious videos and they're also kind of documenting their pregnancy process so we'll include all that information down in the description and please if you're having it subscribe to the show give it a rating we love to hear your feedback we love to have this community around to listen to these fun people.
Starting point is 00:02:02 And yeah, let's go ahead and get in this one with Matt and Abby Howard. Matt and Abby, what a pleasure it is to have you on today. What up? Oh, the pleasure is fine. I am so honored. We are very excited. So we got connected through a mutual agency who, I'm not going to lie, from our end, speaks so highly of you guys.
Starting point is 00:02:24 They were like dying to sign you. They were dying to have you. And then they were so, so pleasantly surprised when they actually got you. And they just say, you guys are the best. Oh, my gosh. That's so sweet. Thank you. That's so, so sweet.
Starting point is 00:02:38 Also, Matt, just want to ask right out the gate, what's your teeth cleansing routine? You like whiten with anything? How does it? What's the deal? I literally just got off Envisaline. Like, I had braces in high school. And then I had Envisaline because a super nice orthodontist, Dr. Heatonist here in the Phoenix area, like, hooked me up. and I just got it off.
Starting point is 00:02:59 So now I have no more Invisaline. It's literally like two days ago. And, yeah, I just brush them. I try to floss when I can. I don't know. The smile is what got me, honestly. I'm so happy that I have, like, my teeth back. Like, I have no more, like, retainer during the day.
Starting point is 00:03:15 So it's great. Congratulations. Hot off the press. Matt no longer has Envisaline. That's great news. Do you mind me asking how old you guys are? We're both 23. 23.
Starting point is 00:03:25 I'm married for how long? Two and a half years. how's it going it's been good we're still married yeah we spend all day every day together and we still miss each other and we go to the grocery store you guys it's weird like we'll be so the other day um i was gone for like two hours and came back and like i was shocked at how much like i missed abby stop stop wait okay so that leads me to the question how did you guys meet I need to know the story so I can put two and you together. About the story for you.
Starting point is 00:04:00 So back in, we were both actually in eighth grade when we first met. This is adorable already. Didn't start dating then, but we actually met. We lived about two hours apart, but we met at a summer theater in the St. Louis area called the Muni. My mom would drive me down in the summers if I got in a show there because I'm from a really small town. So then we'd go to the big city for the summer if I got in a show. and we were so excited. And that's where we went Matt and his mom. And our moms kind of became friends. And then I had a massive crush on Matt. But I didn't notice Abby until like fast forward
Starting point is 00:04:38 three years later, it's the summer before our senior year of high school. And I just like started noticing her. I was like, wow, this girl is really cute. She's really sweet. Like I need to ask this girl on the date. And so I asked her on a date for my 18th birthday. We literally went on our first date on my 18th birthday it was my golden birthday it was my first time asking a girl on a date and then i even kissed her on the date and it was our first time like kissing first date kiss wait what it was your first date first time asking girl out and you kissed her on the first date and it was your first kiss she yes yes i wasn't expecting that it was awesome it was like a super awkward kiss too but it felt amazing it was incredible it was every just
Starting point is 00:05:22 lasted actually it was crazy we dated like long distance for like the rest of high school which is about a year and then we went to college together we were acting majors we did theater in college four semester and then we switched our majors because he wanted to focus more on our relationship and prioritize that because a lot of people we knew that the theater would be gone for like six months on a Broadway tour or something and not theater spouse for a really long time. Wow where did you guys go to school. Missouri State University. Mizzou. Not Mizzou.
Starting point is 00:05:56 The zoo is University of Missouri. Missouri State is different. It's so confusing. It's confusing. Sorry to get that wrong. I'm sorry to get that wrong. Wait, okay, so we need to know the proposal story then. So Abby, like Abby loves Disney.
Starting point is 00:06:10 She went to Disney every summer as a kid. And so she told me it would be magical if I, if I proposed in front of Cinderella's castle. And I told her, I was like, yeah, that's cool. but like I don't know how that happened and I did this like leadership training camp one summer in Orlando Florida and she came to visit me but I like basically told her hey I don't think we should get engaged this summer I think it's too soon like we would have to be engaged for like over a year and it would just I don't want to be engaged for over a year it would stink well I changed my mind
Starting point is 00:06:41 I called up her dad literally last second I was like how long did you know you were going to do this And he's like, like a couple days before I like just decided. But I had the ring for like a month. Like I knew I was going to do it, but I just didn't know how I wanted to time it. And so I just kind of sent it. And Abby had no clue. Like she had absolutely no idea because I convinced her that. Love that.
Starting point is 00:07:02 So you did it in front of Cinderella's castle. Yeah. And I was like shaking too. It was super low key. Like he handed his phone to this random guy on vacation. He was like, can you like press record? and then Matt, this is the only reason I knew something was up because he, like, was insisting on taking a picture.
Starting point is 00:07:20 And I was like, right away. We have to get on these rides. These lines are going to get so long. We don't have fast passes. Like, I was like, my Disney brain. And he was like, no, we need to get a picture. And I was like, what in the world? We didn't do anything like social media.
Starting point is 00:07:34 So I was like, no, what? And so he was insisting on it. I was like, fine, quick picture. And then I put my arm around him. His back is shaking. like trembling and I was like what's up and then he's like hitting this guy he bro taps me gets down on one knee and then we don't even kiss it's just like super awkward he just hugged and then they just hugged and I said thank you he said thank you and I had
Starting point is 00:08:01 Abby put the ring on herself I didn't even put it on for her oh man that's great yeah that's great that is really cute you've been pretty open about how you've set boundaries right before marriage what's the background what's the inspiration for that oh man yeah i think like we just wanted to we wanted to wait till marriage like it was it was definitely something that was like very hard it wasn't it wasn't like we were perfect or that we like thought we were better than other people but we were just like trying to like wait and we and we did wait until marriage um throughout our dating relationship um i think it's more so just like to protect like the special like relationship that is a married relationship and like the lifetime commitment for that
Starting point is 00:08:48 and how you want to share that just with one person yeah so yeah it was really hard but it's definitely you know it's definitely been special that like we were each other's first kiss and first date well abby had been on dates but i had never taken a girl out on on dates it was my literal like first date ever um but abby had never dated anybody um she had just been on like dates talk like talking to guys but never anything more than that so it was just like it was special that we got to share that together um i don't know i guess i forget sometimes that most people don't just have that with like that one person not that it needs to be that way but it worked out that way for us and then like we're super super grateful for that yeah really set a great foundation
Starting point is 00:09:27 for our marriage so here's i appreciate that so much uh and i worth i'm 30 now and i feel like I'm at the phase of life where people's habits now are, like, forming what their lifestyle is and, like, how they approach life. And so I feel like that aspect of how you have approached that part of your life has set you up for, like, you don't have habits of looking around and doing other stuff. And that's very important. It's so cool that you've set that foundation, as you've said. And I think, you know, we're kind of marriage hypeman over here. I think it's the best thing ever and and it seems like you guys are excelling at it so far so well done well yeah i mean we're definitely perfect at all but like we we are just each other's best friends and like i can say
Starting point is 00:10:18 that for a fact like that's the other thing too i think like when we were dating and like even in that engagement period we were just like building our friendship out that whole time and i feel like that's like the best foundation for definitely like that was the core and it was actually a blessing that we dated long distance too because we enforced us rather than making out all the time we had to talk to each other over the phone so we would FaceTime for like an hour every day like minimum I'm not I'm not kidding like just talk yeah like we just like talk so much so we got super cool okay so you guys are basically like the all-American couple on social media where did social media start and how did it how did it even become a thing for you guys when we got married we were still
Starting point is 00:11:01 in school, like, and had very low income. We were basically broke. And so my parents were so kind and they paid for the wedding, but they're like, we're not going to pay for video, like, for this wedding. And Matt's like, no big deal. We will just buy a camera and kind of save a little bit of money and then we'll be able to keep this camera and just use it. And so he had his cousin film a bunch of clips from our wedding, but he's like, I kind of know how to edit. Like, I'll put, I'll piece it together. And then after the wedding, he still had this camera. He's like, we should make a YouTube channel now that we have a camera. And so we vlogged every week.
Starting point is 00:11:40 We made weekly YouTube videos for almost a year. By the way, we did the same thing for a little, a little stint. That is so hard. Blogging is so hard. Especially when nobody watches the video. That's what happened. No one watched them. You put in so much work.
Starting point is 00:11:55 Like I'm talking like hours and hours of work and we're full-time students. We're working part-time jobs. we're trying to figure out being married for the first year like so much is going on and so it was a ton of work so we weren't really focused on it but matt was like determined to upload consistently on youtube and then I was just like this is sweet you know whatever but then when it led to is once quarantine hit we lost our jobs due to the pandemic um yes we were just like doing school online from our little tiny apartment in springfield Missouri and we were trying to put out more YouTube videos and One of the videos we made on YouTube was attempting viral TikTok dances.
Starting point is 00:12:34 And that video, we downloaded TikTok that day. We made five TikTok dances. And we checked back later that night. And one of them had like 20,000 views. And we were freaking out because like that, that was crazy for us. Like we all of our YouTube videos had like maybe 100 views. Like they, we were getting nothing. We had 300 subscribers on YouTube after making videos for a year.
Starting point is 00:12:54 And then we just started making TikToks. We pretended like it was our full-time job, even though we were getting paid nothing. And by, like, August of 2020, we hit a million on TikTok. What was, did you, you graduated college or no? I dropped out. Abby graduated. I graduated in December of 2020. So I was, like, trying to do his thing, trying to finish school.
Starting point is 00:13:14 I was still trying to babysit all the time because I was like, Matt, this isn't, I need to make money. It was like, Abby, I promise you, you just keep doing this. What gave you, what gave you that optimism about it, Matt? man um you're just naturally the most optimistic i love entertainment and i love business and so it was kind of combining my loves for uh those two things into one and we were starting to make like a little bit of money off of youtube ad sense from our youtube videos and that was paying the bills and i was like man if we just keep like really pushing this like working super hard and don't give up like i know
Starting point is 00:13:53 that this will work especially once we gain traction on ticot um and i and the reason i dropped out of college is because like I was working myself to death. I was up to like 4 a.m. every night editing and I just was getting no sleep. And I'm like, dude, if I like stay in school and try to finish out this degree while like our social media is really taking off and say I don't have enough time to put towards our YouTube, TikTok and Instagram, then if everything falls apart, I will never like be able to forgive myself for not like giving it everything I had. So I dropped out as like a temporary thing. But then it just ended up working out. So yeah, I mean, I mean, we had to convince me.
Starting point is 00:14:30 I was dead set on being a, like, I was like, I'm going to be a teacher. That's what I was going to college for. I was like, I need a job. And he was like, no, we can do this thing. You're doing it. When it comes to your guys' relationship, though, social media can be very unforgiving and can almost be like a third party to your relationship. Have you guys found that it has caused any, like, negativity between you two?
Starting point is 00:14:54 or have you had to set boundaries around your relationship with social media? I mean, anything that we put out there, we have both approved ahead of time. Like, there's nothing that goes out to the public that one of us doesn't know about. And I think that that really helps, like, safeguard our relationship. And it's like we both have to be on board and comfortable before, you know, anyone else sees anything. In general, I feel like it hasn't been, I don't know, what would you say? I would say there's been a learning curve to it just because, like, we were so new to this. I mean, we literally started TikTok in April of 2020.
Starting point is 00:15:34 So, like, this is all fairly new to us. But there's definitely been challenging times where we're like, okay, how much are we comfortable putting out there? How much are we wanting to just keep private? And we just kind of came to the conclusion that, fortunately, with this job, which is crazy that it's like our job now, we are like, the producer, we're the editor, where all those, you know, we play all those roles and we can control what we put out. So if there's something that we film and we're like, you know what, I really don't want to release that. Like that just doesn't feel comfortable. We just don't put it in the video. We cut it out of the video or if it's a TikTok, we just don't post
Starting point is 00:16:10 the TikTok. Yeah. So that's been a huge blessing because if we're on like a reality TV show, you sign those papers, like you're screwed. They can tell whatever narrative they want to tell about you. They can make you look like the villain. You don't really have control, but we luckily have control what we put out. Yeah. So that feels really good. And I think that it's just having that separation between the work life and our relationship life has really helped too. Definitely. That's great. With Amex Platinum, access to exclusive Amex pre-sale tickets can score you a spot track side. So being a fan for life turns into the trip of a lifetime. That's the powerful backing of Amex. Pre-sale tickets for future events subject to availability and varied by race.
Starting point is 00:16:49 Turns and conditions apply. Learn more at MX.com.com. Today's episode is brought to you by Athletic Greens. Athletic Greens is a company that we've worked with literally for years. We were so excited to have them actually be a part of our tour. And many of you got the samples that they handed out there. And we've heard that for those of you haven't tried it yet, loved it. And just like us, have made it a part of your daily ritual. So every morning, Sean and I wake up, get a glass of water,
Starting point is 00:17:14 poor athletic greens, AD1 powder into there. And with just one scoop of athletic greens, you're absorbing 75 high quality vitamins, minerals, whole food, source superfoods, probiotics, and adaptogens to help you start your day right. It truly is a part of our daily routine and feels like a really easy, fun, and tasty way to better ourselves. So I feel like the Athletic Greens AG1 has kind of a mild tropical taste that's pretty interesting. I like how it tastes.
Starting point is 00:17:48 So they also have different kind of formats that you can, consume it with. So they have these big bags of powder that you can scoop out of. They also have travel packs that are kind of one dose. And they also make an amazing vitamin D and K droplet that you can add to it. Anyway, right now, it's time to reclaim your health and arm your immune system with convenient daily nutrition, especially heading into the flu and cold season. It's just one scoop and a cup of water every day. That's it. There's no need for a million different pills and supplements to look out for your health. And to make it easy, athletic greens is going to give you a free one-year supply of immune-supporting vitamin D and five free travel
Starting point is 00:18:24 packs with your first purchase. All you have to do is go to athletic greens.com forward slash eastfam. Again, that's athletic greens.com forward slash eastfam to take ownership over your health and pick up the ultimate daily nutritional insurance. We'll also link that down below. Matt, you've inspired me to do a video where I'm shirtless for 24 hours straight. Thank you for the for the inspiration there I'm very excited about you're already shirtless 24 hours of the day I do have a reputation for that but do you see mad is freaking ripped out of his face that's a weird question that wasn't a question it's a weird question that's a very question you know we've been doing social media for five years now and there was definitely some friction before we had kids but now that you guys are pregnant congratulations by the way very exciting
Starting point is 00:19:17 it gets a little more complex but I think at the end of the day for us this is this is words of wisdom maybe it like comes down to priorities where it's like with a kid it's just like a third person who doesn't really have an opinion yet and so it's like huh you know what do we put them in the YouTube video or not and I think there is so much benefit to sharing your journey as you guys have been and as we have been you know like the community and stories that you hear and the and the uh i think conversations that you're able to start is amazingly impactful but never lose out of the priorities so like you know you're matt and abbey and your family number one and then as tempting as it may be to like do a thumbnail of like baby gets her and cries
Starting point is 00:20:10 or whatever it is like don't it's just you know keep the priorities that that's that's that's preaching right now i'm just i'm freaking i i like them and i'm just trying to share what we want we have so much to learn i so appreciate that yeah like because we've we've already been talking about that like what do we feel about as far as our kids being in videos i feel like it's going to be constantly changing too and i think they'll definitely change um over i mean yeah just i don't know it's it's such a big it's a big topic like everyone's talking about it i think i'm sure there's me laws that come out in the coming years as far as like protecting protection for these kids because you think about what was the kid in home alone the home alone movie so he got like yeah his parents took
Starting point is 00:20:51 advantage of him and I'm pretty sure took money from him or something like that when he was a child actor and so there needs to be laws protect these kids on social media but as far as what we think like we want us to I think be the focus and not like not our kids because I would hate like that's such a weird situation where like say one day your kid you know loves being on videos and then they say I'm done I don't want to be in it and then as a parent having the pressure yes like this is our business like this is our business like that would just be a really weird awkward like terrible place to be so I would never want to have that be our situation yeah we were very fortunate when we started doing the whole YouTube world
Starting point is 00:21:29 we got to witness a lot of families firsthand and how kind of they operated and from an outsider's perspective and from like friends that we got to see personally the the families that did that that kind of made their children the forefront always had something that was a hard issue later on when the kids got older because it became exactly what you said and that was our big conversation of how to that was always our conversation of like how can we continue the story from a parent's perspective and not like we're showcasing our child so on that though you guys have kind of breached the topic and shared with all of your followers that you are pregnant what what um what conversations have you had around that about how you share it what you share and how
Starting point is 00:22:28 involved your kids will be yeah i think that we just said that we want the main focus to always be Matt and Abby. And of course, naturally, like, our lifestyle is our content. So they will naturally be a part of it in some extent. But I think that, I don't know, I specifically have like boundaries I've discussed about it. First of all, I think health things, I feel like those should be kept private as far as like kids go. I think it's kind of weird to like, I don't know, maybe I shouldn't say weird, but it wouldn't be something that me personally would want to do. Like, I don't know. Anything related to health in our children, like that should be kept private. Yeah, there's definitely, there's like a very fuzzy line there, I think. Like it's,
Starting point is 00:23:09 yeah, but I don't know. I think that you just have to be super careful and something we've talked about is like how we can evolve our content over time. Like Abby, Abby loves watching Good With Good Mythical Morning. Like this is one of her favorite YouTube channels to watch. And they like, those guys were at Link, they just kind of do their thing. And it's they sit down and like rate pop tarts and coffee creamers. And it's so fun. I'm like, Abby, like maybe we. should evolve our content for that one day because and it's completely separate from like their family life right because we could just like make her content and then be done for the day and just spend time with our kids i don't know so we'll see how we evolve our content but we definitely want to be
Starting point is 00:23:45 extremely um cautious our kids will just be a fun feature in our content and then it'll be like us yeah yeah that's good the inspiration for this show actually was because we were like i we really want to have an outlet for our content where there's no reason to have our kid a part of it so you guys have maybe some unorthodox things, Matt, you dropping out of school to pursue social media, you guys getting married so young, how you have approached the dating and marriage process. I imagine there's been like, I don't know to what extent, some pushback or like questions from friends who are not doing it that way. I'm curious what some of those subjects have been and how those conversations have gone.
Starting point is 00:24:33 I'm like, you sure this is a good idea to get married when you're 21? I was 20. I drink Sprite at my wedding. I had just turned 20 when I asked Abby to marry me. So we were both basically teenagers when we got engaged. I mean, I had just turned 20 a few days before. So yeah, we definitely had, we had massive pushback. We had a lot of deep conversations with a lot of people close with us.
Starting point is 00:24:56 Telling it to be selfish. We wanted to, well, we wanted all the wisdom because, like, I mean, we realized. we're like we're young crazy and love like infatuated still like people like we need older people to like speak into this and like advise us and um we started to realize like the more pushback that we received was more so coming from just like that's not how it's done whereas like we were more so looking for pushback and be like okay I just don't think that like maturity wise you guys are ready or maybe you're not financially stable or like I have this concern about Matt's character, like things like that. There's none of that. The main
Starting point is 00:25:37 pushback was just like, that's just not how you do it. And so that was something we needed to make at, like, like the bottom line, like that was needed to be made by us. Yeah. And you can talk about your decision to drop out of college. That was. Yeah, but just like Abby said, the pushback was just you're too young to get married. Be more selfish with your time. Enjoy college. and get married once you finish college. And we were like, no, we're going to get married. And if it came to a point where we weren't going to have, like, support from our families, like, which our families came around.
Starting point is 00:26:14 But we were of the mindset of like, okay, sick, like, we're just going to, we're going to elope if it comes to that. But luckily, luckily it didn't come to that. And it all worked out. I think in general, the people that knew us the closest when it came down to it, they were so stoked for us to be married and to commit to that. Have you guys been surprised at all since you got married? And since your marriage and everything has been put on the internet, has it tested your relationship at all? I think it can be hard, like working with your spouse, especially.
Starting point is 00:26:44 We're actually listening to one of your podcast episodes about working with your spouse. And it was so, so relatable, you guys, because yeah, like we're business partners, but then we're also married. So it's hard when like, you know, someone, a regular person goes to work and then comes back home and their work separate from their home life. And if they got in an argument with their co-worker, like, it's separate. But if I get an argument with my, with my coworker, well, my co-worker is awesome with my spouse. You can't talk bad about your co-worker to your wife. It sucks. Yeah, it does. Hey. Okay. So. Yeah, I say like, not as far as, like, comments-wise, because I feel like we had a good foundation of like, okay, these people don't understand
Starting point is 00:27:28 the ins and outs of like our complexities of our relationship but it was more so like going about our day and every single decision we made life wise and business wise was together and i was kind of like whoa i kind of just want to run something by like do something and not run it by that and won't wait in my day this episode is brought to you by defender with its 626 horsepower twin turbo v8 engine, the Defender Octa is taking on the Dakar Rally, the ultimate off-road challenge. Learn more at
Starting point is 00:28:04 landrover.ca. Also, today's video is sponsored by Real Paper. Real Paper is toilet paper and paper towels that change lives. Did you know, every day, tens of thousands of trees are cut down to make single-use paper products
Starting point is 00:28:21 that are either flushed down the toilet with toilet paper, or throwing away into landfills. And here's a little fun fact to help describe how important trees are to our environment. Our forests currently remove one quarter of the carbon humans put into the atmosphere, which makes them a crucial part of the fight against climate change. And that's where Real Paper comes in. They're here to help in that climate change fight. It's a sustainably made product that helps reduce deforestation and single-use plastic waste. Real has developed a premium, sustainable alternative.
Starting point is 00:28:56 Making this small change can have a big impact. So far, Real Paper has eliminated over 250,000 pieces of single-use plastics. Each purchase of Reel-Festead helps fund access to clean sanitation around the world. Real Paper is available in easy, hassle-free subscriptions or for one-time purchases on their website. All orders are conveniently delivered to your door in 100% recyclable plastic-free packaging. If you head to realpaper.com slash eastfam and sign up for a subscription using our code EastFam at checkout, you'll automatically get 30% off your first order.
Starting point is 00:29:30 That's R-E-E-E-E-L-P-A-P-R dot com slash EastFam or in our promo code EastFam to get 30% off your first order. Real paper is toilet paper and paper towels that change lives. Okay, I want to switch to kids a little bit. So going back to your pregnancy story. how did you one like how did you feel when you found out you're pregnant and then how did you tell matt and how matt how did you feel so when we had like decided we're like okay i think we're like ready i was like abby do not be crazy because i felt the feminine urge to take like a million pregnancy
Starting point is 00:30:08 test right away and i was like abby you got to reel it in like don't do that plus the test was actually shockingly expensive so i was like i'm going to wait until i really think so and so I was like I'm gonna wait until like it was a week late I'll wait and so one night I just like could not sleep I was like I'm doing this like I just like when Matt was like dead asleep and I'm like we had a tiny little cottage in Hawaii at this point and so I'm like trying to be so quiet not wake him up and like take the test and it's so weird because like we're adults like we know how people get pregnant but I don't know there's something weird that happens when it's like you and you're like, I'm pregnant.
Starting point is 00:30:50 Like, what in the world? I was surprised by how shocked I was. Like, I knew it was a possibility, but I didn't have any gut feeling. I really didn't think I was. But I was just really, I was shaking. I was like, well, what do I do? Like, I have no idea. So I didn't wake mad up because I was like, I need to process this.
Starting point is 00:31:10 I, like, journaled. I like sad. I was like, I didn't go back to sleep. I was just like stunned. And then that day, I was like, okay, I need to come up with a plan. And so I make an excuse to Matt, like why I'm going to go to town because where we were, we were an hour from like where I could get anything to create a fun surprise for him. And so I go to town and I'm like, we had been in a bookstore like a few
Starting point is 00:31:35 days before this actually. And we were like looking at books and I had seen this book at this used bookstore that was called like the first time dad's handbook. And it's literally called we're pregnant. So I was like, if I can find this book, there's one book in the bookstore. So I'm like rummaging through and I'm like trying to be all. Like I was like so shocked. And so I go to the front to like buy the book to surprise Matt. And the lady's like, who's pregnant? Like what's like that's exciting? And I was like, hey. I was like so weirded out. And everyone was like talking in the bookstore about it. I was like, but wait, I haven't even told my husband that. So I like ran back home and I had to make an excuse for the cameras being set up.
Starting point is 00:32:19 So I was like, Matt, it shouldn't be too hard with our life. I was like, Matt, I'm going to make a TikTok, but I can't tell you what it is. He's like, all right. And I like just woke up. Like I was up really late the night before actually editing our YouTube video. And so I'm just like just getting out of bed and my like messy hair. And I'm, you know, shirtless as always because we're in Hawaii. And then I like open up this packet, this, uh,
Starting point is 00:32:43 gift box and I like see it and I'm like like just it completely shocked me and I I knew right away that it wasn't like a prank like we had agreed we'd never agree that we would never prank with stuff like that I was like that's not funny to me I don't like that holy crap I'm gonna be a dad like it was so we didn't know what to do with ourselves we just went and got food and just like chilled the rest of the day that's so fun um did you have any like feeling that something was up Matt uh no I had I had literally no idea. She completely caught me off guard. I must be way better acting than I thought I was because I thought it was going to be all over my face. I had no clue. I thought you were going to
Starting point is 00:33:24 like decorate the house more for Christmas or like I was going to come out to like some Christmas tree being in our house. I didn't know what I was thinking. But like, yeah, I was so shocked. Wow. Do you guys know what you're having? We just found out yesterday and we're keeping it a secret for a whole month. It's going to be so hard because our family's coming to town. couldn't come until a month a month from now. So we're like, we needed to tell them first and in person. It's going to be amazing. Do you guys have names?
Starting point is 00:33:53 Don't tell me, but do you have names? Are you like locked in? Yeah, we have the names. Oh, my gosh. I feel like we've had this name for so long. But we keep just like every day, I'll be like, is that the name? He's like, I think it's the name. I'm like, okay. And the next day I'm like, is that the name? That's funny. I did the same exact thing to Andrew, like every single day of the entire pregnancy. I'm like, is this what we're going with? Is this it? And then you just decided to go with it, lock it in last minute. We felt like we had the name dialed in until at the hospital.
Starting point is 00:34:25 Yeah. They hand you like the paper to solidify it. You have to write their name down? I was like, I don't want to do it. We're not going with that. So I wouldn't recommend that. Maybe that's why we should wait to announce it until the day of because what if we just freak out and do something else. So here, here is just a little advice or just like to prepare you. Okay. So with our daughter, we didn't find out what we were having until we had her. And we had names picked out for both, but we didn't share either. So at the hospital, we chose the name and then announced that it was a girl and her name was true hazel. And then with our son, we did the opposite. So we found out and we actually, like, announced names or, like, told people names and named, name ideas.
Starting point is 00:35:12 And just be prepared that names are so personal. Names are for you and for your baby. And people will always have opinions. And none of that ever matters. So just know that. That's why I'm afraid to say the name. Because I'm like, I don't want to hear anything bad about this name because that's the name of our baby. I would just, I would just always say, like, this is the name and not like, what do you think?
Starting point is 00:35:36 Because you don't care what people think. It's your baby's names. Oh, you're going to hear it either way what they think. That's what I've come to realize. So we have a little game for you guys. We love games. I thought we would play it for you. Ready?
Starting point is 00:35:52 Yes, it's called, who does that with Abby and Matt? Okay. Okay. You can get protein at home or a protein latte at Tim's. No powders, no blenders, no shakers. starting at 17 grams per medium latte Tim's new protein lattes Protein without all the work
Starting point is 00:36:11 at participating restaurants in Canada Today's episode is brought to you by Rasa Rasa is an adaptogenic coffee alternative with an incredible selection of blends that you need to try. Our go-to right now is a well-wellelderberry little playoff of elderberry because it helps us boost our immune system
Starting point is 00:36:30 and as you know we need that with a couple of young kids But each of their blends is formulated by clinical herbalists and can support decreased stress, better sleep, and energy throughout the day. After handling the daily grind, it's great for us to have a source of nutrition that helps keep us going throughout the day. Rasa energizes you using herbs and 15 different adaptogens as well as six mushrooms across their different blends. Rasa sustainably sources their ingredients and buys fair trade or. direct trade. We're telling you, you have to try Rasa. They even have an online quiz that you can easily find the perfect blend just for you. Right now, we have an awesome deal
Starting point is 00:37:13 to get you started. You can get 20% off your first purchase. Just go to we are Rasa.com and use our special promo code EastFam 20. That's promo code EastFam 20 for 20% off at we are rasa.com. That's RASA. We'll also link it down below. Let's get back to it. So, kind of like quick fire. Who said, I love you first? Matt. My dude. Who's messier?
Starting point is 00:37:39 Abby. Wow. Wow. Are you just answered the same time? I think so. Okay, I'll take that. Abby will walk into a room with, like, stuff in her hands and just, like, throw it. Just, like, dump it.
Starting point is 00:37:51 I don't want it in my hands anymore. That's my husband. That's Andrew. Who's the first to apologize, like, after a fight? Me. Okay. We'll go with that one. Yeah, that feels like it's up in the air.
Starting point is 00:38:05 Who was more awkward on the first day? Ooh. Me. I didn't even eat my food. We went to Chick-fil-A and I, like, couldn't eat, which is not me at all. I was, like, a nibbling on a chicken nugget. If I had to draw up a perfect first date, I think a kiss, like a little smooch, and chick-fil-A would both be on the list. Kissed in the movie theater.
Starting point is 00:38:27 And how about a hike and singing movie? Oh, come on. The best start to any relationship. It was like a marathon date. What movie? We went to see the conjuring part too. I was like if it's a scary movie, she'll get like so scared and we'll like cuddle. It worked.
Starting point is 00:38:47 I actually did that. That's a play right there. That's really not a cute first date movie at all. No, not, no. No, no, no. I would just be hiding the whole time. Who is grumpier in the morning? Abby.
Starting point is 00:39:01 yeah me too what do you expect yeah I'm really happy the second I wake up dude I'm pumped to get out of bed I'm like what's fucking go we got another one
Starting point is 00:39:12 it's great yeah who's a better listener me yeah oh definitely yeah he said what'd you say
Starting point is 00:39:22 he's like what was the question you repeat that question who brought up marriage first Matt Oh, I like this guy. Who's a better cook? Abby, definitely Abby.
Starting point is 00:39:35 Who initiated the first kiss? Me. I think I actually did, which is, I don't know if that's embarrassing. I think this is a sensitive question. Who's closer with the other person's family? Oh. Honestly, you might be close from my family. Yeah, I'll go with that.
Starting point is 00:39:57 Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I would say you're, I mean, it's not, I don't think it's like a dick, but Hander's probably closer to my family because they live two doors like down. Oh, really? They're in our house every day. You guys have siblings? Yeah. I have a little brother. He has an older brother and a little brother. Yep. Oh, I guess. I have, I'm the middle of five. Sean's an only child. Wow. Wow. Yeah. Totally dead.
Starting point is 00:40:22 Five. Holy cow. Yeah. Who is funnier in real life? Abby's way way funny who does more behind scenes work for the biz. Oh, Matt. For sure. You go out of editing and stuff. Yeah. Same with him. He makes a better first impression when you meet someone.
Starting point is 00:40:44 Oh, I'm thinking you. No, you. Abby does not. Look at a smile right there. Abby could care less. Like if we were hanging out with, I don't know, like Justin Bieber or some like random person. random person. Like, Abby's always herself completely. And, like, I get in my head sometimes and, like, get really nervous. Abby's just, like, so real. But you're Mr. Friendly. Like,
Starting point is 00:41:06 you, it's for sure, Matt. I don't know. I just love that Abby doesn't care what other people think about her. That's good. Who's better with kids? Abby, you're so good with kids. Okay, I'll say me. I have more experience with kids, I will say. But Matt, kids freaking love Matt because he just plays so hard He is a kid That's why it works
Starting point is 00:41:30 Same with Andrew They're gonna love being a dad It's the freaking I'm so excited I'm so excited I'm gonna take our kids surfing, snowboarding, skating We're getting
Starting point is 00:41:40 I think I want to get a Once we go to house I want to have a skateboard ramp Like a mini ramp or like half five in the back I think that'd be super fun This baby is not even born yet Yeah, the baby will be two months old and be on a skateboard.
Starting point is 00:41:56 I have our two-year-old hanging from bars and, like, doing burpees and handstand push-ups with me, so. That's awesome. Yeah. Who's a better singer? Matt. Oh, my gosh. Who is most likely to run late?
Starting point is 00:42:11 Abby. We're both so bad. It starts off as Matt, and then he rubbed me. Now it's bad. Yeah, he rubbed off on me so bad. And now I think I'm probably worse. I don't know, though. We're both.
Starting point is 00:42:23 so bad. You're like three more. Ready? Who does the most household chores? Me. Who is more pet peeves? Abby. Who's more romantic?
Starting point is 00:42:35 Me. Me. Yeah, me, Matt. And then last one. Who picked out the baby's name? I think he was Abby. Yeah. You proposed that name.
Starting point is 00:42:47 Yeah. I picked out Drusin. I was like the first to like. I view to kind of as like a team effort. Yeah. Yeah, Abby's picked out like all the names. All the names for all of our kids that we don't have yet. Do you guys think your acting career has helped in what you do now? Definitely. I think the creative aspect of it, because we love being creative and we get to use that creativity in a different way on social media.
Starting point is 00:43:15 So definitely. Also, so you just moved to Phoenix. Yeah. It seems like you both come from really. strong support groups and the sense of family or friends. For sure. Do you have that in Phoenix? We do.
Starting point is 00:43:31 I mean, we're still making friends here, but we have like some really close friends that we've made in the Phoenix area over the past year. So that made the move a lot easier because we weren't just coming in with like no friends. We definitely do miss our family support system so much. So it's our master plan to get them all to move out here too. Yeah. Awesome. So here's what I like about Matt.
Starting point is 00:43:58 First kiss, you got a plan, or sorry, first date, he has a plan coming in. With school, he has a plan going in. And I feel like, you know, we talked about a little bit of pushback, but it is so rare to have someone who has a vision for what they want out of life. And for you to not only have that, to execute on it is awesome. So I'm pumped for you guys as a couple. Pump for you guys as parents. Pump for you guys as creators.
Starting point is 00:44:27 I think we need more content like what you guys are putting out. So we're big fans of you over here at the East Fam and keep doing what you're doing. Likewise. We're huge fans of you guys. And we think you guys put out awesome content. And yeah, it's such an honor to be here, seriously. So thank you. We're really impressed by you guys and love, like he said, everything you're doing because
Starting point is 00:44:49 we need more like wholesome content out there people putting good stuff out for a good good reason we just need to be better singers and dancers like you guys but you're like mad mr entertainer well it was our pleasure talking to you guys if you guys want to check out matt and abbey we'll like everything in the show notes down below and that's all we have thanks a bunch guys pleasure to make you it was a privilege thank you it was a privilege thank you You know, I'm going to be able to Thank you.

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.