That Was Us - Jack & Rebecca's First Date | "Nine Bucks" (301)

Episode Date: April 29, 2025

We’re back for the breakdown of a whole new season of This Is Us! This week, we dive into Season 3, episode 1: Nine Bucks. The Pearsons are facing major life shifts: Kate and Toby begin their emotional fertility journey, Deja struggles with the acceptance of her mother leaving, Kevin and Zoe spark a romance, and of course we can’t forget, we flash back to the very first meeting between Jack and Rebecca! Mandy, Chris, and Sterling also talk about creator Dan Fogelman’s genius writing to weave in the true-life story of Steelers Franco Harris and his “immaculate reception” during the 1972 AFC playoff victory. Support Our Sponsors: - For your next trip, treat yourself to the luxe upgrades you deserve from Quince. Go to Quince.com/TWU for 365-day returns, plus free shipping on your order. - Take control of your data and keep your private life private by signing up for DeleteMe. Get 20% off your DeleteMe plan today by texting TWU to 64000. - For a limited time, go to SpotandTango.com/twu and use code twu to get 50% off your first order. That Was Us is produced by Rabbit Grin Productions. Music by Taylor Goldsmith and Griffin Goldsmith. Follow That Was Us on ⁠YouTube⁠, ⁠Instagram⁠, ⁠Facebook⁠, ⁠TikTok⁠, ⁠Threads⁠, and ⁠X⁠! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's episode of That Was Us, we will be discussing Season 3, Episode 1, 9 bucks. Kate, Kevin, and Randall celebrate their 38th birthdays while each facing their own personal challenges. Plus, we flash back to the very beginning to see how Jack and Rebecca met and what they're memorable first date was like. Yo. Hello. What's going on, gang? What's happening?

It's good to see you guys. It's always good to see you. It's been a real pleasure. I just finished the entire first season of Paradise. Did you? I'm behind. I'm behind. It's all right.

Non-stop, baby. Thank you very much. I texted you, I texted you. I think I texted pretty much everybody. Yasu. Everyone involved. You're all giving me classic you while giving me something

completely new. I loved it. It was great. Thank you guys very much. We're about to start shooting season two. We've actually started shooting season two right now. So it's off to the races. And I think season two will be just as good as season one.

So crossing my fingers, hoping for the best. What have you been up to? Yeah. Nothing. Just, you know, mom-in and hanging out. Same old, same old. At the time of the recording of these podcasts, it is Aries Nation going on. SKB is one step closer to a half century.

49 years. Yeah, you just had your birthday. Happy belated. Thank you very much. I appreciate it. And Mandy Moore will have her birthday. In three days time, is that current? Yes, yes, on Thursday, 41.

41. Let's go. How do you feel like you're into the 40s now? I love it. You love it? Yes. Yes. Better than the 30s?

Oh, yeah. Why is that? Because my family. It's like very at the end. Yeah. You're 30, no kids. 43 kids. Yeah, exactly.

Like a crazy person. So I feel like everybody says you're 40. and your 50s, like, it just gets better and better. These are, like, the best chapters of your life. So, so far so good. No complaints. I would agree. I feel, I don't feel, I feel like I'm getting older because I am.

I don't feel old. No. You know what I'm saying? You don't look old. You know what I mean? They don't crack, baby. That's what they say. You know what I'm saying?

But it's, it's just a joy to live life. Yeah. You see this family growing up around you and with you. My kids are almost 14 and 10. Wow. And it's just, you remember seeing like them when they were babies on set and everything. And it's just their joy to behold. And you see them grow up.

And it's like, kind of like the show. Yeah, you understand the passage of time through them. Indeed. Indeed, you do. So, yeah, this is the beginning of season three, gang. That's right. We've done two seasons of this old podcast thing. We've been enjoying ourselves.

We're keeping the show rolling. That's right. Right. What's popping in season three? What are we going to talk about first? Well, what? I think is like an interesting delineation is that, and Dan sort of spoke to it when he was here recently, this is sort of like a big change for the show, right?

Yeah, it feels it. Yeah, because like we've explored Jack's passing. We know how he passed now. And that chapter has sort of come to a very, like, it's come to a close. So now moving forward, I feel like all bets are off. We could kind of do anything. We have, you know, We're very grateful that the audience has come with us on this journey thus far and they trust us enough to know they're in good hands and we're going to be respectful and sort of let the story of this family unfold in the way that Dan and the writers sort of intended. But I think with the introduction of Vietnam, it's a really big swing. We're a network TV show with 42 minutes and 30 seconds each episode. And we went to Vietnam.

And this is such a huge plot point, I think, for the. entire third season. Yeah. And it's a big question, like, it paints a more fully realized version of Jack. Yeah. It shows him to be more complicated and complex than I think America and the audience has sort of come to know and love of this man. And it's really, it's just, it's such an interesting toolbox that they've sort of

allowed themselves. And I think, like, again, we're a third of the way through the series, right? And this is just an interesting turning point, I think, for the show. And it starts off in such fashion because it's sort of a montage, episode one of season three opens in the form of a montage, as a lot of our episodes do. But we're sort of fixating on this family and on this man that we've never seen before. And we're not quite sure, is it present day? Is it the past? Like, there's some indicators that, like, okay, I think this is in the past.

It's a handsome man with an afro and a beard And we're like, okay, who is he? How does he factor in? Yeah. Who is he in the family? And we follow him and it's sort of intercut with Kate and Toby deciding they want to make a baby. Fertility clinic factoring in. Deja's running with Randall.

We recognize that Shauna has given up her parental rights. We see Kevin and Zoe in bed with each other. Yes, we do. Bum, bim, bonging boots. We keep singing. this flashing back to this mystery man who's now suiting up in a Steelers jersey. That's right. Come on.

Okay, okay. This football family we're starting to sort of we're also playing on the same night of Jack and Rebecca meeting. Right. And then it sort of is revealed that this is what's his name? His name is Franco Harris. Frank O'Harris, that's right. That's right. Thank you.

The most important part, right? The most important detail. And this is the night of something they called the Immaculate Reception. Come on, man, you, boy. You're going to bring it home, dude. I'm talking too much. I'm talking too much.

No, it's great. The show, if the show is a pendulum that swings, right, between the past and the present, this is like a clear delineation that the pendulum is starting to swing further into the future and further into the past. And the show, like, widens its scope to, obviously, when you guys first meet. And then as we get a few episodes in, we see even back into your high school days. But I love that Dan and our writers are able to weave in the sort of historical context for a family like the Persons who love football, footballs their life, the Super Bowl. Like all of that is sort of woven into the fabric of the family. And sort of being able to draw upon this other part of the Steelers history, Pittsburgh, like all of that that makes sense for the family.

Again, like you said, widening the swing of this pendulum is so fascinating. feel like it's only setting us up and the audience up for more of that to come as the show continues on. Should we start there in the flashback? Sure. And walk through that? Yeah, let's do it. Because it, like you said, it starts with that montage, and we start by seeing this football player. Yeah.

And we essentially very quickly land in Ray's Tavern. Mm-hmm. Yep. Where Jack and Rebecca first met. Where you are singing. Yeah. Yeah. And Jack is watching you sing because he's about to rob this place. Yes.

While the football game is going on in the background. That's how that factors do. And he gets transfixed. And interesting fact, I completely forgotten about this. There's two guys sitting off to the side who are watching you sing. Who are like, look at this. And the guy who says, look at this guy. He's a goner. Yeah. That actor's name is Paige Smith. Okay. He is an old friend of mine from Chicago. Get out of here.

He is also a photographer and took Rachel and I's engagement photos. What? Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. What in the world? What in the world? I, of course, knew that at the time and hung out with him at that time. And I called him, I'm like, we got to go get a coffee or something.

But I was like, that's right. That's right. Page Smith was, you know, back in the late aughts, walking up and down some center media on Michigan Avenue, taking photos of me and Rachel, you know, holding hands, doing like the classic, like, coy look away, fake laughing, getting married. And there he was, and there he was in the bar, watching you sing. And he was, he was totally smitten, like the look on Milo's face checking out, man, he is like,

that's it. He goes out to his buddy and he's like, I met the girl. And he's like, oh, you met her girl's like, oh, you met the girl, man. How much money do you have? How much money do you got? Yeah. He's like, I got five bucks. He's like, I don't have anybody.

That's why we're here. That's why we're here. He's like, I got four bucks to my name. He's like, I got to show her like the time of her life with nine bucks, right? And the title of the episode, nine bucks, right? So he takes her to the carnival. That's right. No, wait, before you even go to the carnival, they have a little conversation.

That chit chat on the table. Yeah. And you're so just like excited and vivacious and lively. and he's just listening. Yeah. He's just like everything that he said, he's like, oh. Hanging on every word. Every single word, right?

And it's so cute. She's like, well, we should probably go somewhere or do something. He's like, yeah, yeah, let's go do something. He goes to get the money, and then the thing, we find them at the carnival. The carnival cost how much to get into? Five bucks. Cost five bucks. More than half your money gone.

Right? I got four dollars left, right? Who loves candy apples and hot chocolate, baby? Rebecca has a real sweet too Seriously I'm like that's a Oh you know I like to dip my candy apple In hot chocolate too

Could you It softens it up a bit If you could just get me some Also the amount of candy apple How many did you? So that's the thing too Let me say this folks And you commit to eating on camera

Because sometimes people will be like They didn't even take a bite There's a reason there's a reason there's a nibble If you can make the choice I had no choice in this particular case Yeah She was supposed to, like, get into that candy apple immediately. Did you do a spit bucket?

I did. I did a spit bucket with the candy bar, too. Back in the Super Bowl episode. There was just, like, a trash can next to me. I was like, I'm done with the Mars bars. One of my first, like, high-paying gigs, have we already talked about this on the podcast, was a Snickers campaign? What? No.

No. So when I was in Chicago, I auditioned for this campaign of Snickers commercials called Feast. Okay. And it was a Viking, a pilgrim, like a King George type character, a Polynesian, and a Roman. Five people associated with feasting. Okay, okay, sure. This was in the era of, do you remember the Skittles commercials where it was like the little berries and cream, berries and cream? I'm a little lad who likes berries and cream.

No, I don't. Do you remember this? Okay. Everyone's laughing. in the room right now. Pause the podcast. Go find it on YouTube. Look it up.

Wait, don't pause. Unpause it. Listen to me. Go look it up. Now pause the podcast. Watch the commercial. Anyways, it was a time in commercials where commercials were like psychedelic and bizarre. Okay.

Okay. There was a whole phase. Like puppy monkey baby? Super Bowl commercial? Puppy monkey baby. Puppy monkey baby. Kind of. Kind of.

Puppy. I can't say I do. Listen, we've got a lot to watch at lunch A lot to keep up with Anyways, so it's a series, it's a series This is a long story for no reason It was a long audition process Were you the Viking?

I was the Viking. Okay, okay. Jeff Hiller, who was a... What? No way. You know Jeff? No, but I mean, I know who he is. Okay, so he played The Pilgrim. Okay.

And you can still Google these, they're on YouTube, these commercials. Okay. And it was, they got five of us together in a Ford Taurus in July in Staten Island, driving around, driving around, doing Snickers commercials, eating Snickers all day. Did they melt? Yes, every day for five days straight.

But you're early in your career, so at what point in time did you choose to use the bucket? Well, here's the problem. Okay. A lot of these were like one-tay, one-ers, which is like, chew it, talk through the chewing, feasting. Got you. Gotcha. Right? And I haven't had a Snickers since. Yeah. But Snickers, you can sponsor us. That's okay. You've been fine with that. Listen. We'll eat right now. Of all the candies to advertise, I was into it. They satisfied. But yeah, it was when I first, when I was first offered a spit bucket. How many do you think you ate? In the course of that week, I probably ate two dozen Snickers bars. That's a lot.

I just started having proper BMs last week. Like, you know what I mean? That's a track. This dude was crazy. This was over a decade ago. Okay, so candy apples, it was a lot of, of really gross, sticky, hardened sugar. Yeah. You're outside.

Outside. It was actually, it was humid. It was humid. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, a nice sticky. And the fake rain that they had to use for the scene. Wasn't helping anything.

It was a lot. But you look cute when you eat them. Oh, you're sweet. And you have a little cute thing. Yeah, I had to leave. I had a beret, but I had to have a little bit of, of the candy apple on my lip so he could sort of wipe it off. There you go. Yeah.

The beret was such a, that's a strong. It's a signature. It's a iconic. It's a signature. And it's a strong choice. And it works. It was Hala, our costume designer. It was her idea that she engineered that.

Was there any pushback? from you? No, were you at any, no, come on, come on, Chris, stop! At any point were you like, a beret? A beret? There was no question mark ever, not just one like, a beret? No, actually. Because it works.

I really liked it. Yeah, I do, too. You're adorable. You know, Hala and I had a good working relationship. I think she was so, she was so excited about dressing Rebecca. Like, I think it was a real, and I've mentioned this before, and I've mentioned this before, but Zoe and Michael, like, whenever they got the chance to sort of, like, focus on early days, Rebecca, like Jack and Rebecca courtship or early marriage or something, I think

everybody got super excited because it meant that they could, like, live out there late 70s, early 80s, like fantasy. So I never questioned the bray. I always loved, like, yeah, I love that that was sort of became her signature, her signature accessory. Absolutely. You got you. Absolutely.

So you guys are at this carnival. and it starts to rain. Things are kind of starting to go downhill. They're going down hill. You're like, you know. Let's play a game. Rebecca says like, oh, good thing that a guy's selling umbrellas right over there. He's like, yeah, but it's not really raining.

I don't know. And she's like, yeah, no, I guess. I guess not bad. In my mind, I'm like, am I crazy? Because it feels like it's actually raining. People are using umbrellas. They're ducking to stand under. Because let's go back to it.

guy gets struck by lightning. $5 to get in. How much was the hot chocolate in the community of the apple? $2. We got how much left? We got $2 left. Yeah, she's like, you sure you don't want anything? He's like, no, no, I'm good.

You know, he's chilling. And so the next time we see them, they're like standing under a canopy just like, silent. Not having. Have they already played the this or that game? Or is that about to happen? I think that's about to happen. Because Rebecca just, Rebecca throws it out there.

He's like, okay, let's just, real quick. I'm going to throw out something out. And we answer at the same time, right? Dogs or cats. Go. Dogs. Cats. Yeah.

And it is like that. Pepperoni or cheese. Pepperoni or mushrooms. Oh, yeah. He says pepperoni. You say mushrooms. And it's just like nobody. The vibe isn't there.

Yeah. Right? Like it's falling. It's a real Russian roulette for a date. Yeah. Like you're like, all right, we're at a crossroads. Let's see. Let's see which road this date's going down.

So wait, before we get to this. All right, Trump or Biden. No, stop. Before we get to the end of this date, the question that occurred to me, can any of you guys recall your first date with your wife or husband? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Who wants to go? You go.

No, no, I want to hear. Y'all, Rache said no to me like two or three times. Really? Then she said yes a couple of times and canceled. Okay. What were the excuses? Work stuff. Okay, got it.

Legitimate. And then, so maybe, I thought, I don't know, I don't know this woman, right? Yeah. But I, but I kept trying. Okay. And on the, like, the third one, I, I'm a get there early guy. I always have been. And it, and it's actually not good.

Like, I would, like, get to my, like, prom date's house 30 minutes early and, like, knock on the door. And, like, you quickly learn. Like, I'm being prompt, sir. Like, she's in the shower. Yeah. She's not ready. Yeah, she's not ready. And so I couldn't stop, because it's also my acting thing, like for auditions, like, get there early.

Sure. I need to get there early and, like, lower my heart rate. Absolutely. And, like, see the door. There's the door. I'll sit over here. I'm with you. And so I got to her neighborhood and, like, went and got a coffee.

Okay. Like an hour before I was supposed to pick her up. And I got a phone call. Listen, I can't. I have to, I have to make 10 copies of this of this presentation. Yeah, I've told it on that. Zoom we did over the pandemic, too. Maybe that's why I remember it.

Where I played the song, where I played... Oh, yes. Yes. And I was like, 10 copies of a presentation. It's 7.30 on a Friday. I have to go to Kinko's. And for anybody listening who doesn't know what Kinkgo, it used to be an all-night copy center because, let's face it, you used to have to go somewhere to print those examples.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And so I said, I'll go with you. and just because I was like just like calling her bluff it's like okay we got in a cab and we went to kinkos where she had sent her order in and it's seven seven o'clock at night we're the only people in this kinkos waiting for these presentations I'm kidding it's a kinko's like two blocks from her boss's house she's going to walk the presentations to her boss's house and while we're standing there in there's like seven employees working at this kinkos and two of us and over the like house audio sound system comes Purple Rain by Prince I've heard of

you've heard of it yeah yeah you know what I'm talking about and I was like oh hell yeah and I asked Rachel if she wanted to dance and the kinkos yeah in the kinkos

to Purple Rain and we did and then we walked the presentations to her boss's house so it was a real thing and then we were supposed to go to this little Italian restaurant in my neighborhood where I knew the owners. It was like a little basement joint with like 10 tables.

And by the time we did all that, they were closed. Went to Dominole? And so I called, and the guy was, and the owner was like, no, no, come, come, come. And so the owner, who was also the cook and the server, let us in and cooked for us. And we had our first date. That is true romance.

Yeah. That's pretty awesome. Yeah, it was a good date. Did she say anything to you in hindsight after, like, he, you really wanted to take me to Kinko's? Like, was she thinking anything about, like, no. She was focused on what she, she was like, whatever. I was just like, I was like, yeah, along for the ride. It worked.

Yeah, it worked. It worked. I love that. More that was us after this short break. This episode is brought to you by Defender. 626 horsepower twin turbo V8 engine. The Defender Octa is taking on the

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You know, the bird and I have known each other since a freshman year of college. But we didn't actually start dating until junior year of college. And we didn't even go. We went on a date after we got together. Because you get together. You're on campus and you're in college or whatnot. So the circumstances under us getting together are sort of like weird, because she was dating this other guy and she's hiding it and then she broke up with the guy and then we wound

up sort of like hooking up and so we're together but i was like we should go on a date so we go to this place close to stanford is called armadillo willies it's like a barbecue sandwich place i know do you really yeah so we go to armadillo willies i think this is our first date we get sandwiches or whatnot and what i notice about ryan michel and to this day her favorite sort of food is french fries right like for lint for lint it's usually like one of the things that she'll steak fries shoestring she more shoestring more you know

waffles she'll go waffle too because like a traditional fry but armadillo willies has like a seasoned sort of textured for a tempura batter there you go yes yes yes yes I know my favorite too Ryan that's my favorite so what I'm noticing at this date is like they give a big bowl of fries for the date so that you can kind of share it with each other. And I'm eating my sandwich, and if I grab a fry, she'll grab a fry.

And she's very particular about which fries she wants. You see her looking through the thing. Looking. And this woman, I was like, oh, she's going to eat all the fries. So I was like, I have to get in there. And so they're the small but subtle tug of war over like the good fries. Oh, yeah. I was like, let me get the fry.

And she's like, oh, yeah. We're talking about middle potato. We're talking about middle potato. Not the end. Not the butter of the potato. talking to each other, but there's also like, you ain't going to eat more fries than you. We dip in? We dip in fries.

We're dipping. What do we dip? There's some, well, I'm trying to think of what that. Special sauce, special sauce. At Armadillo Willis. These days, though, I like a good a oly. Like, I'm a man, I've been converted with the European ketchup is passe. I'm all about the mayonnaise.

I'm serious. Okay. But Heinz, if you're listening, listen. If you want to, Heinz makes mayo too. That's right. Come on, now. Yeah. This episode is brought to you by Heinz 57 manis.

What about you and Tay? We met, okay, I heard a song of the Arizona. I've said this stupid story. I heard a song on the radio. Yeah. I'm on the radio. Remember when we used to listen to the radio? And I was like, oh, I really liked this song.

Who's this band? And I was waiting for them to back announce that they didn't. I went on the radio station's website and deduced who it was. Look at you. I was like, oh, yeah, there was. David Bowie and then so I figured I was like never heard of Dawes I went on iTunes I mean this is 2015 so this was a while ago and saw they had a new album coming out I posted about it on Instagram these were this was the days of like no DMs no tagging anybody I just was like

just posted about them said like can't wait for this album to come out and so you're not seeing him you just heard just heard him okay okay and a friend like a mutual friend of ours is like Hey, Taylor, did you see that Mandy posted about your band? He figured out how to send an email through his manager to my manager. And she was like, oh, some guy in a band like forwarded you, or I'm going to forward this email. And it was a very innocuous, like, very typical Taylor. Like, thank you so much for like the kind words or something if you ever want to come. I'd love to send you some merch. Yeah, totally. He was like, we'll send you an album. If you want to come to a show like in L.A. or something, let me know. and we started emailing back and forth

then that led to texting and then that led to like we should go have dinner and I still had not looked him up didn't know what he looked like Really? Yeah, man Because I was in the middle of a divorce

Understood So I was like not really I love that you tried to find it That's the way I'm saying it How would you call it? How do you say? How do you say in French? The end of a marriage

I did not so I was not like looking to be in a relationship I was not looking to date Taylor thought otherwise so we finally like choose to go out to dinner and I walk in and he's the only guy

in this restaurant because it's early it's like five or six o'clock and I was like God damn it he's really cute like this was not what I wanted and we ended up having this like and stylish stylish and cool and funny all the things

And we had this, like, epic three-hour-long date, closed the restaurant down, ended up going to a bar. Neither of us are big drinkers. So we just, like, we got a sparkling water. We ran into his brother. Which a picture of San Diego. We ran into his brother and his brother's girlfriend, who now is my sister-in-law, and, like, his best friend, they were all at this bar. And we just, like, hung out and I got to meet. It was a real froggy's moment.

And then he left. or we, we parted ways, and he left for four months to go on tour. So we proceeded to court, like have this courtship via FaceTime and texting and stuff, and I totally fell in love. We fell in love with each other without holding hands, kissing, nothing. Because this date, it was just sort of like hug goodbye. We parted ways and then didn't see each other for like two months. And just like stayed in touch FaceTiming.

And then when we did finally see each other, I met him in cessation. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Say it again. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan. You had it. Saskatchewan. The planes of Canada.

Yes. And he met me at the airport. He was on tour there. And it was like a rom-com. I met him down at baggage claim. And we, like, had our first kiss while we were waiting at the baggage carousel for my suitcase. And that was it. Been together ever since.

So we waited two months to have our, like, first kiss. It was very cute. Wow. But that's such a cool thing In a way, it feels similar to mine I had three years of knowing Ryan and sort of developing this friendship before anything ever happened

But it's like you loved that person Before you The other part wasn't even as important Or it was just like the icing on the cake Oh yeah, right? Yeah But like the person connection was there So there

That was how Taylor and I fell in love too Yeah It was pretty much. You guys have a real romance. I met him at, it was like, on the Fox lot. Yeah. It was like some event. Some event.

And you were there and I was there. And I, that's when I met him for the first time. That's where I heard of Dawes for the first time. Yeah. Which, when I heard Dawes, I was blown away that I had not heard of them sooner. You're like, what? It was like, this is my band. Yeah.

Like, this is my band. And I downloaded every single album that had ever recorded and started listening in order. and then just texting Taylor as I listen. I remember that. I was like, hey, so album one, track three, I had all kinds of questions. I remember that. I was so into it.

And I just, yeah, anyways. That's fucking awesome. But we haven't kissed yet. No, not yet. Okay. We're saving it. Good for you. I can't wait.

That's very, okay, back to the show. White Lotus. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It is White Lotus. White Lotus coated. Okay. So they drive.

he'd pull up the date's going poorly right and jack finally fesses up he's like they're sitting in the car right sitting in the car in front of your in front of her place and he's like um i didn't have money to get the umbrella because i wanted to save money in case you wanted to play games right like you don't take a girl to the carnival and not be able to let her play the games and rebecca says i don't play games oh wait games at the carnival sorry and and and and And they admit that it's, you know, not gone the way that they were hoping that it would go. Rebecca says, it's like, there's some moves my friends told me, like, if you have a good date, supposed to leave something behind in the car, right?

But that's not what this is. Hasn't been that kind of date. This is, real quick, this is one of the sexiest conversations I've ever seen on camera. Beck, Beck's got a game. The way both of you are playing it. Yeah. And looking at each other. And the script is just, like, perfectly playful and vague.

Really, really good. It's good. But it's also like, I like seeing Rebecca slash Mandy more and be like, she's got game. I don't have a game. It's all. It's all a facade. Thank you. But no, I definitely don't. So this is a moment.

It's clearly like a moment in the timeline of the show. What was it like? Filming it? Falling in love. It was so easy with Milo. And it was so easy because at this point we had such a shared history. We had built so much together that it was, it was a relief. It was sweet to finally meet this moment.

Like, oh, we've been waiting for this. To not have to do it like episode two. Exactly. And in my mind, obviously, we had to sort of like figure out what that looked like when you're building the building blocks of your relationship. But to actually get to be there and experience it and allow yourself to fall into it was very, easy and effortless, and it was Ken. I mean, it's just like the familiar apparatus of our show

that made everything feel logistically safe and you knew to trust it. So well written. So well written. She says, so it's a no-on-cats. He's like, I'm allergic. And now on mushrooms, he's like, I hate him. He's like, I really hate him.

And she says, like, gosh, like, I'm supposed to take this off and leave. And, you know, it's not supposed to have him, but, like, there's something about the way. that you look at me dog dog something about the way you look at me dog that I'm like

I like the way you see me and then as you come over and this kiss I love the I love the Jack Rebecca kiss mouth's open full full on open

and just like tasting each other baby do it slow right and then she leave but as she leaves the car

you see this little thing slip off the back she's like bye jack i know you got gary man anymore don't lie to me i would never do that yeah she would just figure out how to get that email yeah exactly just figuring out how to find out there you go the proverbial sweater yeah he sees her go but he also sees that she left her garment in the car and he kind of smiles like all right it's a good day it's good stuff right so the episode doesn't in there right no the episode well in that storyline in particular ends with like jack coming back the next day or whatnot sort of feeling good about himself he actually went home his dad who we know he has a complicated relationship with his dad and he's like what are you smiling about it boy he's

like nothing man like even you right now can't bring me down off the high than i'm on yeah because i met the girl yeah you know and he goes back the next day to see the girl and we hear the on the voiceover from the sports announcer because he's talking about the immaculate reception and Franco Harris and how the ball ricocheted off of one player he winds up catching it running in for a touchdown and as this is playing over there's some dude at the door standing with Rebecca and this dude starts kissing yeah leans in for a kiss on my mama right while my daddy is watching this happen and my man says Chris

take it from here. A reminder for all of us I think that sometimes a ball has to bounce off one person a few times to end up in the hands of the right guy and make a story truly immortal. Come on dog. How does Fogman do come up with this crap man?

I know. That's what I mean. Tying this to get. Like we're like what does Franco Harris got to do? With the Pearson's besides him being a stealer. Even when I watch it for the first time. I was like, this is kind of a stretch too far. Until. Because at first I'm like, okay, okay, Steelers. And I'm like, how is he going to pull this on? How's it going to pull this off? Yeah. And the interesting part that I thought right

before that, they show Franco Harris arriving home. Yeah. After the game. I love like Franco took the bus to Steelers there. Like it's a different era. Back when athletes, it was like a blue collar job, like a nine to five. Did you see people like pouring onto the field, too? Yeah. I thought that was crazy. I was like, in what world? Like, the game ends and people are freaking out.

It's a frenzy and they're like jumping over there. Security's not the same. Oh my gosh. Wow, that must have been so fun. And to show his family. Yeah. And the family nature of. Very similar to.

Yes, the Pearson. That's right. Exactly. Exactly. Yeah. It was great. But it is also a little bit of a head fake, too, because there's another storyline that we'll get into talking about Dajja's father. Yes, there is.

And you're like, wait. Oh, so you know what's funny? Like from being on the inside, I never thought about. Oh, really? Like, I know there's the scene. I know there's the scene where they pass the bicycle shop and they look in. There's the knowing glance with the man in the bicycle shop. And there's also this.

So you're like, which is the head fake? Which is the, what's Dan Fogelman going to do here? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But then it occurs to you, like, Dan Fulgman's certainly not going to rewrite history that Frank O'Harris. He's her father. No, no, no. That would have been a big swing. Let's jump into, like, Black Pearson's, right?

Yes. Because Dage, we see that she busted up the car at the end of last season. She's apologetic, and she's doing some things to try to get herself together. She's running, like Randall had suggested, and he's trying to keep up with her. And it's real quick. She talked about how she started running. and how fast she was going. And she wanted me, this is lyrics, saying, like,

that's fast, right? And I'd be like, yes, that's really fast. And she was like, how fast do you run? And I was like, as fast as I need to for this scene. Right? And she's like, but can you run as fast as me on the treadmill? And I was like, I do okay. She was like low-key challenging you.

Yeah. But like what number do you go up to? I was like, don't worry about it. Whatever you do, I will struggle cinematically right behind you. It's hysterical. It was really, really good. Yeah.

And then we see that, you know, custody is shifting and that Shauna is giving up her parental rights. And the dad is not going to be present. He's made it clear that he doesn't want to have anything to do with the situation, which is all... And we learned that this is permanent. Yeah. This time it's permanent. The judge uses the word permanent.

Yep. There we go. It is the Pearson's birthday, right? Right. So Randall finds a note in bed, his birthday. Deja thinks back to her dad as like all the kids are doing things for dad and sort of preparing for the birthday celebration. And you see, I think we see for the first time, do we see the bike shop in that moment or not? There's a flashback with her. It's her and her mom walking by the bike shop.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. That's it. I guess I kind of have to touch a little bit on with the Beth and Randall part is also Zoe is staying with them while she's working on her dad. documentary. Yes. And Beth, and Beth is, uh, convinced. That Kevin and Zoe are hooking up. That boots are knocking. And she happens to be right now. Yes. Totally. We don't know it for sure, but. And this scene has one of the best written and best delivered lines in the series. Which one? She tells you, you need to talk to your brother. And you said, say what? And she says, to get your hands off my cousin or I'll murder you in the face.

I'll murder you in the face. I don't even know if that was as written or that might have just been too. That's Sue. That's got to be Sue. And you make her promise not do anything. And she has to swear on Oprah. On Oprah. It is, you know, it's funny.

When I watch us in that scene in particular, I said to myself, I was like, these are two people who love each other. Oh, yeah. Like, it comes across really, as an audience. It's not the first time. It's so evident from, like, the beginning. From episode one. It's really, really cool to watch.

Randall and Deja, so because they talk about it in that scene also, like, I think it's time for me to have the conversation. And you're like, oh, what conversation does he want to have with her? So he takes her to the apartment building that they bought where he first met William, where he lived and whatnot. And he tells her that this building sort of defined my life, or being adopted, as defined my life, right? And I didn't have any say anything.

And I don't want that to be the case for you. So I want to let you know that Beth and I would like to officially adopt you. But we want to make sure that that's something that you indeed want. And this little girl, she just sort of hits you right in the gut. She's like, look, man, every time you try to come up with these scenarios where we're the same, I get a little cringy or whatnot because we're not. Like you had two dads who loved you very much. I had a dad that didn't want anything to do with me, right?

I've had the bounce from family to family to family. So you're trying to come and act like we're the same. Like, just stop, right? And I'm like, man, he tried, dude, tries so hard. And he tells her lady, he's like, you know what, I'm sorry. I thought long hard about this. I'd planned this speech. She's like, I could tell.

And it just never quite goes the way that he's hoping that it would go with her, right? Then, I think you're an exceptional person. Exceptional person I had written down to. He says, I think you're an exceptional person, and I miss talking to you. And at the end of that scene, she says, I'm sorry I screwed up your birthday, Randall. And he's like, you didn't, like, all these moments of, like, attempting to connect sort of work antithetically to what he's hoping for. Yeah.

So he thinks, right? Because ultimately, something happens where Deja leaves the crib. And she says, I got something I got to go do. Well, I think she's watching everybody get ready for the birthday party and whatnot and how much love they have for Randall. And so she goes to see her biological dad. Back to the bike shop. Back to the bike shop.

And she's like, you don't have to pretend like you don't know who I am. I'm going to be something great. I'm going to do something great with my life. This family, they want me so bad that they plan out weird conversations to tell me. And so I came to ask you for one thing. You'll never have to hear from me again. And in that conversation, she also says, they told me that I'm exceptional.

That's the word that they use with me. And it's like, to the writers, I get this sort of like, we think sometimes as parents that like our kids, and maybe as they get older for you guys, but like as I'm talking to the teenager, I'm like, I don't know if this dude is hearing what I'm saying. So I'll say it a couple times and it's probably going in one ear or out the other. And then you hear it reflected back to like, oh, they did?

she did hear it and it did mean something you know like the effort does mean something even though it doesn't go the way that he wants it to go in the moment like the effort the fact that

there's a dude who wants me there's this family that wants me it's such a beautiful thing for her to reflect back to that dad of hers so she comes back and she has like running shoes yeah well she left

right she left Because at the end of the episode, Beth and Randall are, like, calling for the girls to come downstairs. They're going to sort of cut the cake. And she comes in the front door and it's like, oh. Her opening line is, I snuck out. And Randall starts to, like, reprimand her. Like, we have rules in this house. And she was like, yeah, but I have this.

And then your tone changes. One of the best shifts. Ever. It's so funny because you're like, you can't. Oh, did you give me a gift? Is that for me? Is that for me? I love presents.

It's so... But it's genius. It's perfect. It's a lot of fun. And it's a pair of running shoes. It's a pair of running shoes, which is just like this thing that I've talked to her about. Like, it's a real knowing sort of gift. You know what I'm saying?

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Should we at least remark On the fact at the end of this episode, we flash into the future again. We do flash into the future. To older Randall. Older Randall? Older tests. Yes. Again saying, it's time to go see her.

She's not ready. They now walk out of her office. She excuses herself to go to the bathroom or something, right? Something like that. And Randall calls. Get on the phone. Call my man, Tobe. Toby.

Call my man, Toad. That's right. And very much like your first experience in old folks make up. Toby looks like David Letterman. Which is cool. It's a cool true. He's like Toby looks like he's running a tech company in the year 3,020. His beard is like perfectly like sitting in like a perfectly modern,

it's futuristic bedroom. Yeah. And you make this phone call. Are you making a phone call on like a like a see-through plastic? Yeah. It's a fancy future phone too. It's a future phone. Yeah.

It's a fancy future phone. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like these little future things. Nondescript future phone. The thing to notice is that he's in a big bed. By himself. Por Solo, by himself, and nobody's on the other side of the bed. So that ignited speculation of where is Kate?

Lots of speculation. Is she alive? Is she not? Are they together? Are they not? Behind the scenes on that scene, we shot that two ways with another lady in the bed. Oh. did you there was a lady in the bed and we shot it and we shot it with her like a sleep next to me yes and we shot it without because they didn't know which where they wanted to

go oh wow I love those little fun yeah with and without with and without a wedding ring covering our bases yeah yeah yeah so you didn't have the wedding ring on in it actually didn't catch if I had it on her I don't think you did I got to go back to see that now I don't think you did I don't think you did and I don't think I did and I think it was like a like a like People are like, oh, shit. What happened? Should we have had him wear one? Oh, really?

Oh, you think after the fact people were like... Yeah, yeah, it was like, yeah, nobody's going to know. Well, so, okay, let's go into Cotoby right now. Sure. Because I, this storyline, I think, is really powerful on two levels. It's because we end last season knowing that Tobe has taken antidepressants, right? That that's a part of his history, essentially. Because I don't think we'd learned it until just before the wedding or right at the wedding there.

Yeah, correct. We know about his history, though, with depression. But we do have the flash forward to season three, and we see Toby lying in the bread almost in a comatose state. With Kate. With Kate being like, hey, man, you know, take it easy. We'll get your medications adjusted. We'll get your medications adjusted. So now we're starting a happy moment.

We've just gotten married, you know, we can make this all right in the eyes of God. let's knock these boots officially and get another child up in here right so they're excited but we're getting lots of negative pregnancy tests what have you yeah we go to see the doctor um and the doctor's like you know we're we're going to try and figure some things out there's different options toby i'm going to check you out too this is there's this is obviously a heavy storyline but this is also very silly storyline because it seems like dan and the writers cannot get enough of toby talking about his sperm starting right now yeah And it happened so much. Do you talk a lot?

Yes. It seems like at every turn, he's like telling you, like, listen, you're going to hear about my sperm? And guess what else? And now this is going to be clipped. And it's going to be me talking about my sperm again on the Internet. What else is new, Chris? We get it.

Oh, my goodness. Yeah, so we're checking, we're checking. We're checking your sperm. We're checking the viability, but the doctor else says, But have you been checked? Yeah. Yeah. But Doc says that, you know, she can't, ultimately, I think it's in this one.

She can't take Kate on as a patient because of her weight. Right. It's a liability issue. And is this discussing IVF specifically in this particular? Yeah. I think the egg retrieval, they think, would be too dangerous. Yes. And this is true, right?

Like, it is dangerous. I would imagine. And there are issues with regards to someone who is plus size, right? And it's interesting because, like, I'm taking a moment to pause in terms of, like, how we talk about it, you know, because there's a sensitivity that you have to pay to it. But there's also, like, real considered consequences, right? Because later on, when we get to the next episode and Rebecca finds out, she's like, oh, this is dangerous. Yeah, right? And then you have to respect the wishes of the family that, like, we have considered the dangers.

and it is still something that we wish to do, right? And it's interesting to hear doctors say, like, look, it's not even just my choice. I got partners in this firm, and there's liability issues, et cetera. So they leave that feeling pretty bummed up, right? And Chrissy, like, the way Chrissy ends that scene and says, it's nice to meet you as she's like choking back tears, broke me. Yeah. Oh, goodness gracious.

And again, it's their birthday, too. Let's not forget. And then she's got to go to a birthday party thrown by everybody's favorite best friend Madison. These were the dark ages on set for Chrissy and I, I think. Were it? Like, it was just like one heavy thing after another that was just like, oh, boy, okay.

Another, you know, like, it was, I remember it feeling different. We got into this storyline where it just was not as playful. I can believe that. Yeah, I mean, you usually are a part of providing. the levity of the show. And so to really sink into new territory is... And it's also, listen, because Metz is the divine human being that she is, it's like, it's all...

There. It's all there. You know what I'm saying? So if she's feeling it, she's feeling it. And everyone is. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. You pick up on that. Absolutely.

Yeah. Absolutely. So I'm trying to make sure I don't skip anything. And please help me out here, Chris, because there's anything significant happen before you get the phone call. Well, at the party, she sort of reveals to everybody, which is so vulnerable. Like, just so you guys know, we want a baby. And we're trying for a baby and we're trying to figure this out. We just got this news. And she even lost 40 pounds. Yeah. And it doesn't seem like it makes any difference at all. It's like a black cloud that follows me around. And every time I get away from it, it catches up to me. I am so tired. I am tired of smiling and pretending like it's sunny out.

I know I loved about that scene Madison tries to break the tension there with a little joke or not but I love the way that you just listened like it was just just you're like oh my wife is and because the listening also plays into the fact that and we should reference this

that in that earlier conversation with the doctor you take antidepressants and she's like well maybe that's also bringing your sperm count down he's like but it's also keeping me from crying myself to bed You know what I'm saying? So I should probably help me from crying all the time.

You know what I'm saying? So maybe I should stay with this. But in listening to the wife, I think that was one of the catalyst for you going to the medicine cabinet and being like, you know what, I got to get these swimmers up. That's right. I'm going to throw these things. Doing the most medically advisable thing and just throwing all your medication in the toilet. Cold turkey. Maybe not talk to a doctor about how to do this.

No. I need strong semen. And that's what I'm going to do, right? I'm going to have to talk about it. next three or four episodes. So we've got to get rid of these antidepressants. Yeah, man. And they come home from the party and have a conversation where they essentially decide,

like, you know what, there are other ways to have. Other ways to do it. A kid. Screw IVF, I believe. He says it was stressing him out. Yeah. He was really nervous. He's worried about her.

Yeah. It's just, why have this pressure on this new marriage? Screw IVF. And as that's happening, they get a call from the doctor. She wants us to come back in. Yeah. Right? So, and a doc says, she wants,

wants to make the impossible possible, there's a 90% chance of failure. But if you want to take that on, I'll take you on as a patient. Toby Fane's enthusiasm. That's what I wrote in my yes. Yay, here we go. But what an interesting crossroads to be. Like, I don't know if you guys have had this sort of experience, but have you ever been at a crossroads with your partner as to a major life decision where you guys see it like fundamentally from like two different perspectives? We haven't yet, but I'm sure there will be a time. But that's about the biggest one that could be.

I mean, this whole process of shooting these episodes was before I had kids. Yeah. Just before. Yeah. Yeah, it was before. 2003, yeah. Not 2003, episode.

301. I had two kids now. And I was not aware. I certainly had had friends that had gone through the IVF process. I was not aware at how common miscarriage was. Right.

How much a part of a lot of people's stories. Yes, sir. This, when you're trying to conceive that this happens a lot. And that, and that it's not something that's talked about because when are you supposed to talk about it? Sure. But the IVF of it all is another thing that's, it's like an impossible thing to talk about.

Like the financial stress, the physical stress, the hormone therapies, the like, you know, just the act of having to inject yourself or is a different, it has a different level of stress involved. And there's pressures, you know, there's pressures, a whole different kind of pressure around that process that I just had never. There's pressure not only just in the success rate, but it's also like, you're spending a great deal of cash. You're like, am I going to get an ROI?

Like, I don't know, at a very base sort of level. Depending on how many cycles you have to go through. Yeah, it's another 10, 25, 30, 40,000, whatever the cost is. Right. And it's not something you think about when you're planning a family. Right. You're like, wow, the expense will be incurred once the child arrives, essentially. I think that's what we're all sort of raised believing.

Yeah. And when it's not as easy as one hopes, and we do have to employ these methods of starting a family, you're right. It's like, it's the last thing you want to be thinking about. It's so stressful to begin with. Yeah. Child, please. So, thank you, Chris, for that. That does conclude that Cotoby's storyline for that episode, right? Yes.

So that we should dig into Kev and Zoe. And Zoe. Is it open with them? Kevin Zoe, they're trying to hide things. Yeah. Right? We saw at the end of season two, they were on a plane to Vietnam. Yeah. Yes.

That's not a spiel. Yeah, that's what it was whole. So now we're back in season three. There's boot knocking. There's fun that's being had or what have you, but we're trying to, you know, keep things on the low, low. But because there's a birthday party at your house for you and Kevin. Me and Kev, right?

Kevin is coming to the house. And Zoe's always like, Kevin coming here. Which is fine. And she's casual. Yeah, it's going to be casual. But she's like, you're going to blow it. Like, I can't, if I see you in front of her, Beth's going to know. Very cute conversation.

And she does not want Beth to know. It's a totally. Nobody does phone calls like, this is us. It's, nobody does phone calls like this is us. Nobody does phone. We do pretty good. We do pretty good. Well, well, you got half the family on one coast, you better figure it out.

Yeah. A lot of phone calls. Whittiest phone calls on television. A lot of phone calls, right? But they decide that they're going to keep things under wrap or what have you as soon as Kev walks into the house. Beth looks at him and he says, y'all two are screwing. Yep. Yeah.

And they're just like, right? That's out of the bag. They go, Beth is chewing out Zoe in the kids. Zoe in the kitchen. And I love when Kev gets to talk to my daughters. Because they're just like, are you and Zoe, like, dating right now? He's like, ah, you know.

Spending a lot of time together. Spending a lot of time together. You know, it's not that deep. I think it about inviting her to my premiere. Yeah. That's when you know Kev is like, yeah. It's like, it could mean

a little bit more to me. Yeah. Right? He's like, I did date Jennifer Love Hewitt. Yeah. Whatever. And he's like, he dated the girl from part and five. Like, you hear like the split.

I love. That was great. Yeah. That was great. That was great editing. Yeah. The way those two scenes were going back and forth with each other. But you see, like, Beth's upset.

Yeah. Right? And you're not quite sure why just yet. Yeah. And the assumption would be because Kevin is unreliable. Sure. She's protective of her cousin. Very much so.

Very much so. A great switch when she calls him into the kitchen and she says, you, leave, you sit down. And as soon as he sits down, I can't even look at you get out here. I can't even look at you get out. but it ultimately turns out like she winds up telling him like I adore you brother-in-law like you're a good dude you have a kind heart you're the only person that talks to my daughters like they're not little kids etc i know my cousin she will break you yeah she's complicated and this is the reveal that she's actually protecting trying to protect kevin you know what i'm saying and so now because zoe has just seemed like a breath of fresh air. Yeah. So we're kind of now waiting to be like,

all right, so what is it about Zoe that we need to be wary of, right? And the reveal is she makes documentaries. She makes documentaries. That shit's going nowhere. Yeah. Do we end with them going to the premiere? Are they? I don't think so.

I think that's the next episode. That's in the next episode. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. So that's everything in this episode. It is. It is. Indeed. That was a good episode.

Yeah. It was good to get back into it. Like, to your point, Mandy and Chris, we go to the future at the end of the episode. There's sort of a curiosity as to who they're going to see. Right. Right. We also know that Toby exists in this future timeline as well. Without Kate, question mark, with Kate, et cetera.

Then we go, let's go back to the carnival. for a second because for a moment Rebecca says something to Jack about it must have been tough going to the war something about the war and you see him just sort of instantaneously goes there's a flash there's a flash to the battlefield and he goes quiet right and he tells her like I don't really like to talk about the war and I don't like to talk about my brother right that's also the moment we realized he lied about being a mechanic he lied about being yeah it's just being a being a mechanic which is not true. But he does also say, I do like talking to you, right?

Like talking to you is, feels like home. Feels like home. I was like, that's what you tell the woman that you want to marry. Don't say that to people that you don't want to marry. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? Because otherwise, they'll think you want to marry them. That's not cool.

Then next thing you know, you'll be married. And maybe you don't want to be. Maybe you don't want that. You got three kids. Don't tell somebody they feel like home. And then you can't say, this doesn't feel like home anymore. You know what I'm saying? I changed my mind.

You can't say there's too many people in this house. This feels like an HOA, and I want something that's more permanent. You know? But so I say that because now, man, you were saying again, like, Jack, there's mystery. And there's, I think Milo is mystery. Yeah, he is. And I think the writers are saying, like, we need to, like, cater to this man's sort of mystery. You know what I'm saying?

And the public, so it's like, we love Jack. And I actually love, you still get to love Jack. Yeah. Because you start off with love. But now you're like, oh, this is what I signed up for. Like, I signed up for more than I actually knew that I was signing up. He's not just a superhero. Right.

He is a human. Yes. He is fallible. Yeah. He has a lot of different colors in the mix. And we get to find out more about him more than he ever really reveals to his wife as well. Yeah. Which I love.

I love when we see like a fuller picture that maybe other characters aren't aware. But we as the audience get insight into that. Absolutely. Absolutely. So, like, that I think is a great springboard into three because we solve the sort of mystery of how Jack passes away, but they introduce new things as well. What's this whole Vietnam thing? What's the situation with this brother?

Yeah. Right? Like, what happened in the war with this brother? Absolutely. What's going to happen in the future? So it goes back to that question that we said to Dan, do you, is not, is the drama of itself enough? And I think we as actors, that's the thing that we enjoy digging into. Yeah.

It's just sort of like the character. But in terms of a narrative, like he gives you that and. Yes. And the and is the engine that really keeps people being like, what is going to happen? He reminds people to be curious. Yeah. And he asks the questions. It's interesting, as we've said kind of all along.

Like, it's the story of this family. It's just told out of order. You're watching the video cassettes of like this family's life. they're just not in order. So that's inherently what provides the mystery because we're not watching things in sequential order. Which is interesting, because to me, that's not gimmicky. It's like, oh, this is just, we're just playing things out of order as all.

Yeah. So should we get to the fan segment? Our favorite part of every episode? Let's do it. Sounds good. All right. See in a second. All right, gang.

It's time for one of our favorite. favorite parts of the podcast, our fan segment. And today, we are talking couple origin stories. We love a good How Did You Meet Moments? We obviously talked about the three of our moments with our partners. And this week's episode gave us a big one, too. It was Jack and Rebecca's very first date. So we asked you, our listeners of the podcast, to send in your couple origin stories,

along with photos from your early days of day. I love this. Oh boy. Here we go. Let's get into it. Let me do number one. Let me do it. This email one.

It says, Hi, Chris Sterling and Mandy. My husband and I met at a party in college, hashtag Hail Southern. I had seen him around campus a few times and honestly thought he was so cute. Oh, look at them right there. Got to see this on YouTube if you want to see these beautiful people. When I saw him at a party, he was eating celery off a wing platter, and I thought that was interesting. was interesting. Since I had a little bit of liquid. Say it the way she read. I said, that was interesting. That's interesting. That's interesting. That's how she said. That was interesting. Since I had a little bit of liquid courage in my system, I approached him and asked why he was eating celery off the wing platter and not the wings since it was being a wing platter. He ended up telling me that he was a vegan. And we've been inseparable ever since. I guess that's how you do. Just don't eat meat. That was in 2017. We got married in 2021, and we're currently expecting baby number three.

She did it like you, man. Y'all are knocking these babies' ass. Fun fact, This Is Us was a major part of the early days of our relationship. We used to watch new episodes the day after they aired when they made their way to Hulu. Watching the show weekly became a ritual for us, and it was such a special time. I've attached some of our early photos along with a few of our newer ones. We love the show and we love you guys That is from Naila Ferrar What up, Naila, thank you. Look at them and Joshua.

Her husband's name. Oh, it's Joshua up top. It's Joshua. There we are. Okay, Naila and Joshua. Wait, look at them. You have their proposal picture. They do have their proposal picture.

Look at her face. You have to see her face on the phone. She's like, what is happening? Folks, this is why you want to find this on YouTube. His sweet smile. Pull the car over. It's adorable. pause the podcast. Go to YouTube. Look up our channel. Fast forward to the fan segment.

I love them. You guys look cute. Congratulations, Naila Joshua. I love you guys. I'll do the next one. Go for it. Hi, guys. I love you all so much in your podcast is the highlight of my week always. Thank you. My partner and I met while I was dating someone else. She had feelings for them. So we hated each other when we first met. Okay. Wait a second. Hold on. Hold on. My partner and I met while I was dating someone. I was dating someone else. She had feelings for them. She had feelings for them? Yeah. I think for the partner.

So we hated each other when we first met. Okay. That's how I'm taking it. Maybe I'm wrong. So, wait a minute. Sally's got a right. He needs to understand. So Lindsay and her partner.

Yeah. Had feelings for them. For them. And them is perfectly vague. We hated each other when we first met. Got it. I think her partner had feelings for Lindsay's ex. And so they didn't like each other. Cut to a year later, my ex had moved across the

country, and her and I slowly became best friends and bonded over our love of Taylor Swift. From there, we had a year and a half of hiding feelings from each other and a true will-they, won't-they, cliche. Finally, I got the courage to have a conversation after we went to an Eros tour together, and I looked over at her and thought, oh yeah, you're my forever person. I can't let you go. Now we've been together for two years. We've lived together. Have cats together. Real marker of a relationship. I did that with my husband. And I'll be popping the question next year. I got it. I have attached our Halloween costume from our first year of dating. You can probably guess what we were. And yes, I still have the jersey. Life's funny like that. Anyway, sending my best

to you guys. Cheers. Lindsay, thank you. And Chris and I both are guilty of heteronormative. No, no, no, no. I think so. I know. I got that. I mean. What I didn't know was, did her partner have feelings for the person or did the person have feelings for the partner? Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. I got you. So there's Lindsay and Kira. I did the hero. Norman thing. Travis and Taylor. They're Travis and Taylor for those not watching on YouTube. Cute. Beautiful. Don't tell them who they are. If you're not watching, you go to YouTube. You do your own work. Lindsay, I hope we're not, I hope Kira doesn't listen to this podcast. Because she says she's popping the question next year. I mean, that needs to be a bit of a. That's true.

And if not, why doesn't Kira listen to this podcast? Wait a minute. I hope she does it, but also... No, no, we give Kira a pass. Don't give it away. Do number three. After you pop the question, tell her about the podcast. Start from the beginning.

Don't forget to like and subscribe. Oh. I love the way this one's written. Let's go. Email three. You don't need that title. That title's nothing. You read the damn thing.

That's just the 30 mail. Look at these people. Look at Dave and Helen. Oh, God damn. That's back of the day. That's back in the day. That's back in the day. A pay phone.

Hold on. Okay, let me get in this. Oh, here we go. All right. Guys, you're in for a treat. A pay phone. A wrong number. In the beginning of a life together.

It's Liam Neeson. I'd like to tell you the story of how my parents met. It was 1967. And my mother, Helen, was 15. years old in a okay hold okay you're good you start over i'm gonna start over a payphone a wrong number and the beginning of a life together i'd like to tell you the story of how my parents met it was nineteen sixty seven and my mother helen was 15 years old in a small town in vermont after school each day she called her best friend and they watched their favorite television show general hospital

one day her life changed because she dialed the wrong number but not just any wrong number It was the number to a payphone in the public park. Get out of here. My father, Dave, happened to be walking by and picked up the ringing payphone. They both lived in the same town, but on opposite sides of the quote-unquote tracks, and all that implies. My mother went to the Catholic high school, my father to the public. They began talking by phone for several weeks. But my mom used a fake name, the name of her favorite character from General Hospital,

until she was sure my dad could be trusted and she was ready to meet in person. Good for her. Their first date was to see the scandalous movie, The Graduate, starring Dustin Hoffman. This choice, especially when paired with my father's sideburns and brown leather jacket, meant my mom's mother, my grandmother, was not an immediate. fan they were the only two people in the theater save for the two catholic nuns in their habits that's pretty funny my father ever the joker led my mother through the aisles and rose pretending to find a seat and went right up to the nuns and sat next to one of them is this seat taken sister

he joked they didn't stay there for the whole day my parents dated through the rest of their high school years at rival high schools, and then moved to Providence together for college. They graduated college in 1971, got married in 1973, and then years later, in 1983, had their first child, a daughter named Alyssa. That would be me. There you go. They were married for 40 years when my father died in 2013. The story of how they met and their first date has always been my favorite family story,

and so I am happy to share it with you. I have attached photos of their early life together. Their names are Dave and Helen Hadley. Oh, I love Dave and Helen. Wow. Look at those pictures. You guys. What a couple.

She accidentally called a pay phone. A public pay phone. And my man said, Dave is walking by. That must be for me. That's my destiny calling. He said, hello. How amazing is that? Incredible.

There are no coincidences. Now, what, if you're, If you're not on our YouTube channel, the brown leather jacket is one thing. The pompadour and sideburns, the horn-rimmed glasses. The cigarette dangling. And the patent leather white shoes are just blowing my mind. This couple, maybe wrong side of the track,

but they clearly meant for each other. They're killing it. Yeah. They're killing it. They look absolutely gorgeous, man. I love it. Look at that tuxedo. 71, married in 73.

Yeah. I've got to say 10 years back then. It's a long time to wait. My goodness, Alyssa. You got beautiful parents. I'm sorry for your father's passing, but what a beautiful story. Thank you for sharing it with us. Thank you for sharing.

That warms my heart. I love origins. I love. I love. And I love our fan segment. As do I. Should we sign off here? If you guys have anything else that you would like to share with us via fan segment,

you can always hit us up at that was us pod at gmail.com. And if you want to call and tell us a fun story about that, you can always call us at 412501-3028. That's 412-501-3028. We should know it by now. One more time, Sterling. Go ahead, Sterling. What was it? 412-3028 is the last four.

I can't remember. 4-1-501-301-38. There you go. There's been another episode. episode of that was us. If you haven't subscribed by this point in time, I don't know what you're waiting for. Like, subscribe. Tell a friend. Tell a friend, man. Tell one friend. We still got another four seasons of shows and we'll have standalone shows as well or whatnot. You listen on YouTube. That's fine. That's great. We want to see you on you. If you're listening to anywhere else,

go to YouTube anyways and just subscribe. It's fun. It's a great time. It's friends talking about one of their favorite things. There you go. It's free to click it. Listen, click it. Click it. It's free. Let me come up. That's the new tag. Subscribe, because it's free. And that's our show. I love you guys. We'll see you next time. Take care, y'all.

That Was Us is filmed at Rabbit Grin Studios and produced by Rabbit Grin Productions. Music by Taylor Goldsmith and Griffin Goldsmith. Da da da da da-da-da-dum. That was us.