The Unplanned Podcast with Matt & Abby - Living alone, working a job, and season 4 of Love on the Spectrum with Tanner, Midge (sister) & Nicci (mom)
Episode Date: July 9, 2025Tanner Smith from Love on the Spectrum joins Matt & Abby — alongside his mum Nicci and sister Midge — for a conversation full of heart and humour. They talk about how Tanner got cast on the show, ...what it's really like living alone, and Tanner shares why marriage makes him uncomfortable. Smalls: For a limited time only get 60% off your first order PLUS free shipping when you head to https://Smalls.com and use code UNPLANNED50. Dupe.com: Stop wasting money on brand names and start saving with https://dupe.com today! BetterHelp: Visit https://BetterHelp.com/unplannedpodcast today to get 10% off your first month. LiquidIV: Go to https://liquidv.com and get 20% off your first order with code UNPLANNED at checkout Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Transcript
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Tanner, would it be true to say
that you're more looking for friends than looking for love?
I don't want to get married to a lot of work.
I'm sorry.
Oh no, don't be sorry.
Don't be sorry.
Has anybody ever told you
that you have golden retriever energy?
What does that mean?
You're just very smiley and joyful.
Yeah, I am very smiley.
You live alone. You have some roommates, right?
No, I don't. This is brand new. I'm guy cuz I go into bed at 10 o'clock. I'm not a night owl.
You seem like a very confident person. I am a very confident person. Do you know what makes you feel confident?
I'm very smart. I spread joy all around the world. Season 4, Love on the Spectrum. Do we know if it's happening?
Tanner, Nikki, Midge, welcome to the Unplanned Podcast.
Thank you. Thank you. So excited that you're here. Tanner, Abby and I were so overjoyed
to see that you met Jack Black. Hey, it was the best day of my life. Hey,
hey, Matt, Abby, our friends, Ms. Lori, our friends, they surprised me. I told them that
I wanted to meet Jack Black on 31. I didn I think it was going to happen that day yet.
Do you see the part where he got the view on where he was wearing his green clothes?
He said, what's up Tanner?
I still I'm so excited to meet you.
What I mean, and he waited the part we said I've come for powers to come to the door to see you now that that was wow.
But when the surprise I like Jack, it's you.
Yeah, and that's a really big deal too, because he's a busy guy.
He's been he was just in the new Minecraft a busy guy. He is a busy guy.
He was just in the new Minecraft movie.
Did you see that movie?
Yes.
Hey, he threw his axe at some of the zombies and he took one of the zombies arms off and
he defeated a lot of the zombies and a lot of the skeletons.
Jack Black is strong in every movie.
I haven't seen the movie yet, but I am a big Jack Black fan as well.
Nacho Libre is one of my favorite movies.
I love that the humor in it.
I think it's so funny. Have you seen that one? I have not. I have not seen the Nacho Libre is one of my favorite movies. I love that the humor in it, I think is so funny.
Have you seen that one?
I have not. I've not seen the Nacho Libre.
Tell me, what are some of your favorite Jack Blacks?
Kung Fu Panda, Short Deal, I like Ice Age and School of Rock.
When did your love for Jack Black start?
Because this doesn't seem like a recent thing.
Oh, well, because Jack Black taught me what actors are.
Tell them how.
Oh, they have.
Well, when we had the Shrek 3D third DVD, one of the previous was that.
Jack Black was very young in that video.
He was very young in that video because he was very young.
Yeah. And he was explaining what the definition of an actor is.
I tell you, and he told me that he told us that Angelina DiGiulio
plays Sagris, that Lou Sulu plays Viper, that Dust Hoffman plays Master Shifu
and that Jackie Chan plays Master Monkey.
Wait, I didn't know that.
That's how you figured out what an actor was. Exactly. Exactly. And that's
kind of tanks like little gift is he like knows all these actors and actors. I know what actors
are. It's very hyper focused on certain details about actors and musicians and artists and
can just reel them off. Tell me more about your hyper focuses. What are other things that you
really like? Act singers, singers like Luke Holmes, Morgan Ballen. Yeah, it's like, I like singers. Singers like Luke Holmes, Morgan Baldwin. He asked like, let's see, I like Real Mars. Uh huh.
Tana, when you were a little boy, what were your special
areas of interest? Like what were the things that you
really wanted to think about and talk about and look at?
Dinosaurs. Mm hmm. And what else? And do you think gorillas?
Mm hmm. Dinosaurs and gorillas for sure. And wouldn't you say
like just movies in general? Movies in general movies in general. Yeah, lots and lots of movies
Uh-huh. What did you think when Netflix told you that you were going to be on a TV show?
I felt really good. I felt good back to
Never really he wasn't that shook up about it on any level like he just kind of you didn't really you were you were never really nervous
No, I was no really nervous. I know it was never really nervous
It was more just sort of like an
adventure just like like let's just see where this goes. And how did that even
happen? I mean I've never you know submitted for like a TV show like did
you did you see just like some listening somewhere? And things happen on like a
random Tuesday. They say like you know you're going through your life and you
think this is gonna be a huge moment. And then it's like nothing.
And then some really big thing happened so randomly.
It was exactly that.
I had watched the show.
I'd watched the Australian version and the first US season.
Obviously, anything autism I'm drawn to.
And so I'd watch it and I thought, wow,
you know, that's really thoughtful, really well done.
I really liked the way Keon was portraying people
and the stories he was telling.
Thought this is well done.
And I just randomly saw Northern Pictures
had posted an Instagram ad saying,
we're gonna be in the Southeast United States
looking for possible candidates for season two.
In the US, we'll be in Greenville, South Carolina,
which is right, oh sorry about that.
Right where he was, Charlotte, Atlanta.
And I just, I was just sitting at the kitchen table
and of course, I think he's precious.
So I thought, I think he's the cutest. And I was like, I'm just sitting at the kitchen table and of course, I think he's precious
And I was like I'm just gonna send his picture and it was like a
Brief brief bio. I mean like very short and we had a call that night
They said we really really like his picture. We'd love to talk to you and one thing led to another
So there was and we never we had never talked about being on TV
Matt Abby, I want to tell you did you both know that Jack Black was born in California? I did not know that but he was born in a different part. He wasn't born in this part in California
I mean Santa some kind of Santa Barbara Santa Barbara. I think yeah
And now you're in California. That's right now. I'm gonna come for now
Hey also down there me my mom and Mitch go going to Hawaii the summer on 34 and that like real Mars
I mean he was born in Hawaii. That's right. I actually knew that he's on your bucket list.
Hey, hey, I work at the Sherpas Hotel. I told you, hey, one of our friends work, his name's
Miss Donna. And one thing's on my bucket list is go see real Mars and meet him in person with Miss
Donna. Yeah, I do want to talk about your work a little bit. Yeah. You work pretty hard at that
hotel, don't you? What are some of your duties at the hotel? I clean the bathrooms, I vacuum the blue mats, I vacuum
the blue mat up on floor that goes out to the valley, I vacuum the carpet on the fun
shirt, I vacuum the carpet under the welcome desk, and um I clean the third floor bathrooms,
I put more toilet papers and more paper towels in the bathrooms where they need more. Wow.
Hey can I tell you, can I tell you my friends names there? Yes. So our boss, Miss Katrina just retired.
And our new boss's name's Danielle.
And Heather, and Dwight, and Nolan, and Charlie,
and Anzie, and Ryan, Krista, Hannah, Lola,
Cheryl, and Michael, and Dennis.
That's so thoughtful.
Tanner, what is very special about a lot of the people
that work at The Shepherd?
They are, some of our friends have disabilities.
Like our friend Ryan, he was in Glimpse Life,
he has Down Syndrome.
Oh wow.
And one of our friends who worked there,
his name's Patrick, he was in Glimpse Life,
and Patrick has Down Syndrome.
Do you feel like you relate well to them?
Yeah, I mean, yes, I feel like I relate well to them.
Yeah, we actually talked to Abby
from the same show that you were on,
and something that she described to us was that,
especially growing up, she felt like,
almost like she was a mermaid.
Have you ever seen the little mermaid?
Oh yeah, do you mean Abby Romeo or a different Abby?
Yeah, Abby Romeo.
That's the one.
Yes, I love, I've seen the first one,
and the little mermaid too returned to the sea,
and the real one.
Oh, you know exactly what I'm talking about then.
Hey, I've seen all the episodes one.
Hey, have you seen the little mermaid too
returned to the sea?
You and Matt, did the little mermaid too
return to the sea?
I have not, actually. Because Ursa's sister Morgana is in the littleermaid 2 return to the sea. You and Matt, did the Little Mermaid 2 return to the sea? I have not, actually.
Because Ursa's sister, Morgana, is in the Little Mermaid 2
return to the sea.
Hey, Morgana, you should scare me while I was little,
but not anymore.
We'll have to check that one out.
I didn't even know there was a sequel, honestly.
Hey, when you watch it, you'll see how they defeat Morgana.
Okay, we'll have to check it out.
But Abby was saying that she kind of felt like Ariel
when she was growing up, how she just kind of wanted
to fit in where the people were.
Did you ever feel like that growing up
because of your autism?
Maybe, maybe a little bit, yeah.
Tell Miss Abby, what were some of the things
that were harder when you were younger
because of your autism?
I had trouble paying attention in school, some of it.
And what else, Tanner, what was the big lesson you learned
that has helped you so much as a young adult?
How to ask people questions
while I don't understand something.
I think you're great at that.
Isn't there one more?
No, that's pretty much it because remember,
we always talked about how you used to be so quiet
and now you're very talkative.
And you told me, well, you didn't say a lot
because sometimes you didn't know what was going on.
Tanner, I can tell you, it really surprises me
to find out that you used to be quiet
because that you found it hard to relate with your peers
because now something I saw you on the show and I realized you are really good at making friends.
Yeah, yes I am. And you're good at starting conversation even when it's kind of hard.
Yes I am. What are your go-to conversation starters? Oh, he's got a lot of those. Yes, yes.
What do you like to talk to people about? What do you ask them? I ask them things about themselves.
Yeah, that's what he does.
That's very nice. Tell them your questions. It's fine.
Hey, Matt, can I ask something? Yeah.
What do I do for fun? What do I like to do for fun?
Yes. Ooh, great question. Recently, it's been swimming
in our pool with my boys. Oh, I love that.
That's a good thing to do for fun. Hey, I'm with Matt because I swim too.
Hey, let him tell us things I do for fun. I, I'm with on that because I swim too. Hey, love those things, but I do for fun.
I do a plate, I do play apples to apples,
I do a guys cream.
What do you do when you're mad or upset?
Oh, when I'm mad or upset, I like this question a lot.
Because I was listening to a podcast with you and Connor,
and Connor said something that I like to do
also when I'm mad or upset, and that's listen to music.
It really calms me down.
That's a smart thing for you to do when you're mad or upset. I'm with on that
because while I'm mad or upset, I listen to music too. Hey, love me till you well so I do.
I talk to my friends and family about it. I listen to music. I go on walks. I take deep breaths.
So Tanner, tell Matt and Abby, what are you doing right now that we've been working so hard on?
Like you asked Matt a question. He gave you his answer and what did you just do?
You did it really well.
I commented back.
You commented back.
Hey, Matt, Abby, because the truth is at first,
before me, my mom and Mitch practiced that,
I've been having trouble with that.
Like, what was the part I was doing at first
before me and my mom practiced?
Remember we talked about a real,
what's a real conversation?
Both people what?
When people are talking.
Both people are talking because when we have when we like to ask questions what happens if
you just ask question after question after question? It's not really a
conversation. But you don't really give them time to give a full answer? Right.
It's not a what? It's not a real conversation. That's not really a conversation. And we've been working really hard on that.
And Tanner. Being a thoughtful listener. And Tanner you are a good listener. You're a
great talker too because on the show there was something that you said,
I think it was in season three,
you said the quote,
"'I don't know what to say right now,
"'but I'm happy to be here with you.'"
And I love that.
And Abby and I loved that quote so much,
we say it to each other now.
Yeah, yeah.
We don't say much.
Have a good time.
Oh yeah, yeah.
That's right. Did I misquote it?
No, we got it.
I can't think of anything else to say but I'm having a really good time.
That's what we say because we spend so much time together and I'm like,
can we just be quiet but we're happy, we're next to each other.
Who taught you, who helped you figure that out?
Jenfer Cook.
Oh wow.
She's from the show.
I love Jenfer.
Oh that's sweet.
I love, that's a good line to use.
Especially when you're with someone that you're with a lot and you kind of run out of things
to say but you want to know that you appreciate having them next to you.
Yeah.
We need to like normalize that of just being like, hey I don't really want to talk right
now but I'm so thrilled.
You don't have to always be a sparkling conversation.
I'm glad you're here.
Yeah, I love that.
And I think one of my favorite parts too is the fact that you, like your guys' relationship,
Midge and Tanner, it's so, so, so, so sweet.
Thanks, thank you.
And you can tell that you guys really relate in a unique and special way.
Have you guys always been that way?
I think all four, we have an older sister and then a younger brother, and we've all
four always been really close.
And actually Taylor did a lot of stuff with Tanner when we were really young.
She was kind of close to him and helped him a lot. But because I live up in Clemson, we've just kind of been
like close.
Really bonded.
You know, and just he's helped me out. I was a teacher this past year and he did so you
helped me a lot.
I did, Mitch.
Tell them what you did to help me.
When Madeline had some really hard days, what did you do so sweet for her?
I walked to Walgreens and got Mitch on two bags of candy.
Yep, he would go get me candy or he would give me flour. So I would come home from school like,
uh, crying.
And he'd be like, it's gonna be okay.
So we really got close. It's been fun.
You have a really big soft heart.
I do have a really big soft heart.
That's really sweet.
What's Mitch's favorite candy that you like to get her?
What's your favorite candy, Mitch? I like Jolly Ranchers. I think you usually get me chocolate. You get her good brother. Yeah, I'm a good brother. What's Midge's favorite candy that you like to get her? What's your favorite candy, Midge?
I like Jolly Ranchers.
I think you usually get me chocolate.
You get a chocolate and a fruity most times.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I think you did a chocolate.
I'm a big candy girl, so.
My favorite candy is M&M's.
M&M's.
Yeah.
Yeah, I have to brag on Midge because I cannot, I could not have ordered up or dreamed up
a better younger sister.
And I think the relationship is even more special
because she's the younger sibling.
And there's just a real maternal, but also friendly love
that's just very self-sacrificing
and very just unconditional.
And it's been amazing to watch.
But honestly, it's all four of them.
I mean, Taylor, our older daughter,
was that for Tanner all through his life, really,
because they are actually the two closest chronologically.
But then she left Clemson right before all this happened.
He was with her at Clemson the first two years.
She graduated and moved back home, or back in our area, not to our home.
And then Madeline came up.
So when all the love on the spectrum stuff happened.
It was like the perfect timing.
I came in right after she left.
He literally went from having one sister in the same town to the other.
And so Madeline just sort of fell right into Taylor's shoes
and took over.
Just being a comfort spot, just looking over the shoulder,
making sure everything's okay.
I've heard it said that siblings of people with disabilities
are like the fiercest protectors.
The best.
It is so crazy how maternal instincts
are just like even like protective
things like come in just naturally.
Have you had to, have you had to do anything crazy?
You know what, I'm a very like, I'm pretty, I'm not like super rough or tough or anything,
but we were in Nashville for CMA Fest and there was a couple moments where people were
just like getting in his face of just, in a friendly way but just very like, ah.
But being a little overbearing and I had a little mama moment of like you need to step back.
But I'm like people just don't think about like he's so friendly they want to get in his face but
he's overwhelmed. Was there some drinking involved? It sounds like I mean I know people are drinking
they might get a little too much in your grill. People are just like want to just love him and everything
so I was like we're not playing that game. What did that interaction look like? want to just love him and everything. So I was like, mm-mm, we're not playing that game.
What did that interaction look like?
Did you just have to, did you have to kind of raise
your voice at people and say, hey, this is like-
No, I think I just kind of like stepped in between.
I'm like, hey y'all, we're going to do one big photo
and then we got to keep moving.
Right, rather than 15 separate photos,
we're going to do one group.
And it's hard when he's so talkative,
like you're saying, like he loves to meet people.
Helping set boundaries, sometimes that's an issue,
like helping to set good healthy boundaries.
That's where we sort of have to come in and troubleshoot and, you know, make sure things don't get overbearing.
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And it sounds like, I mean,
fame has changed things in
your life. It seems like you get stopped a lot when you go to the grocery store,
you go out and about. I do. How often does that happen? How often does that happen?
Well, I don't think Mr. Matt means like a specific number of times. Would you say
it's most of the time, a little bit, or some of the time? I would say it's some of
the time. Yeah, it kind of depends where we are. Yeah, it kind of depends where we are.
Like, yeah, if we're in a bigger city
and lots of people, it's a lot.
But we're from a small town,
and I tell people all the time,
Tanner's always kind of been,
everybody knows who Tanner is,
and you were talking earlier about community
and stuff for him.
Our whole town's always been supportive of him
and taking care of him and kind of like taking him
under their wing, is that the right way to put it?
A beautiful thing about, well, our small town
where the kids grew up has always been that way.
Just incredibly supportive, incredibly protective.
We dealt with very little bullying or very little meanness
or anything like that.
A little, but I mean minimal.
But Clemson University, huge shout out.
The Clemson Life program, which Chandra graduated from,
not only are those kids given the opportunity
to have a secondary education
and given the opportunity to live on campus,
they are already rock stars
just because they're part of Clemson Life.
And one of the things that cracked me up so much
before season two came out, of course, you know,
you're doing Zoom meetings with psychologists
and people are checking on you and it's new.
And Sweet Sweet Gal called us, we did a little Zoom with her
and she was like, okay, Tanner, now when the show comes out,
especially because it was filmed in Clemson
and people know where you work, they may come in
or stop you on the street in Clemson
and they might know your name.
And they may say, hi Tanner, is that going to upset you
if people come in the shepherd and know your name?
And he looked at her like, everybody knows who I am.
I went to Clemson.
I was like, why is that any different than any other day?
We just laughed so hard because,
but that's beautiful because not just Tanner,
every kid in Clemson life,
you're walking down the street in Clemson,
high fiving, how are you bud? Hugging people. I mean, and it's just so cool to see all these young adults
with disabilities living independently, walking downtown, they're known by name, they're
loved, they're celebrated. It's amazing. It's just an amazing culture.
Yeah. Speaking of him, like people living on their own, when Tanner was growing up,
did you ever think that was a possibility for him? Did you ever expect him?
Not even remotely.
Really?
No, no.
Not really until probably 16, 17, did I even consider it.
When we started toying with the idea
of applying to Clemson Life.
And that was very, very cautiously.
I was not at all sure that I was ready for him
to go live away from home.
I just didn't know how that was gonna go.
Okay, with Clemson Life, did they live on their own within that program?
Tanner, tell them when you go to Clemson Life, when you're a new student,
where do you live the first two years?
Dowthin.
And what is Dowthin?
It's a building, right?
Well, it's an apartment dorm.
It's an apartment dorm.
It's an apartment dorm. And who do you have that lives with you as a Clemson Life student
the first two years?
An ILA.
Tell them what an ILA is.
It stands for Independent Living Assistant.
Yeah.
No way.
Clemson has an unbelievably just incredible, incredible framework.
The kids are accepted into the program.
They take 50 kids and a mix of diagnoses, autism, Down syndrome, Williams syndrome,
all different things.
They live with an independent living assistant who is a typical student at the university.
And so it's three Clemson Life kids to one ILA in an apartment-style housing.
And they live together, the four of them.
And the ILA kind of is in a big brother, big sister role.
They're on duty from 6 p.m. until the next morning and the weekend.
And then professors, of course, are in charge during the day.
But they're helping with cleanliness, routines,
managing your calendar, getting to where you need to go,
navigating campus, managing your money,
cooking, all those things, just the dailies of life.
That's what the independent living assistant does.
So the first two years of Clemson Life
are really about learning to manage your life
and live independently.
The second two years, you move into a different apartment,
but you no longer have an ILA, and it's more focused on job training. to manage your life and live independently. The second two years, you move into a different apartment,
but you no longer have an ILA,
and it's more focused on job training,
and you have job coaches.
I feel like you're a spokesperson for Clemson Life.
I'm sold.
Yeah.
Honestly, it's an amazing program.
I really think every college freshman in the world
should have to go through Clemson Life.
Oh yeah?
Because it's amazing the way they do it,
and everything is earned.
You start level one, then you earn level two,
which is basically how much freedom and autonomy you have.
And like, but you start with very limited
and then you earn your privileges.
And it's like incredible.
I mean, the timeliness, learning to manage your money,
learning to manage your responsibilities,
your obligations, it's incredible.
And then second two years, you're really working more
than you're in the classroom,
a little bit of classroom time but mostly on on the job
training with job coaches which they taper off so it's incredible and then
you have a employable able to be independent person with a disability
very cool incredible Tanner what was your favorite class you took at Clemson
Life I'm a cooking class cooking classes are you good cook I'm a good cook what's
your favorite dish to make?
What do you like to cook?
Spaghetti.
Spaghetti!
He likes to make spaghetti.
That's fun.
Yeah.
What else do you eat a lot?
I feel like you have a lot of,
what's your favorite chip that you always eat?
If it, what, what means?
Your favorite chips that you always eat.
Your favorite chips.
Doritos.
Oh, Doritos.
My favorite are ranch, I like nacho cheese.
He loves Doritos.
Do you ever cook for your friends?
I do, sometimes. Well, you and Frankie your friends? I do. Sometimes.
Well, you and Frankie used to do cooking shows. That was fun.
That was a big theme on his social media for a while. We
would just find a recipe or do an all family recipe. I also like to
be treated to my friends sometimes. You do. Tanner likes
to bake too. He likes to bake too. We like to do a lot of
like my old family recipes or from his dad's side. That's the
best. Yeah. It's fun. It's fun. And I think cooking is just so
educational. I mean, you've got's fun. And I think cooking is just so educational.
I mean, you've got to measure.
Oh, it's necessary.
You've got to think about steps.
That's true.
You've got to think through the timing.
You've got to also work on your cleanliness skills.
There's so much learning within cooking a recipe.
There's so many things happening at once.
It's a really good skill to have.
It's a really good skill.
Now, Tanner, you live alone, just fully alone,
but you have some roommates, right?
No, I don't.
I'm glad, too.
I'm glad, too. This is brand new. No more roommates. I was going to say I wanted to show just a...
No tell her about it. My apartment is so good and I got my own kitchen, I got my couch, an old man chair, my own TV, I got my room to go upstairs and sleep in.
I can go bed at 10 o'clock every night and I'm glad because I go into bed at 10 o'clock every night. I'm a guy because I go to bed at 10 o'clock, I'm not a night owl.
And hey, after they paint my apartment, I'm going to put my tag pictures and grill pictures
in my animal picture and I'm going to get my fat head of me in Jack Black.
We got a fat head of him in Jack Black.
That's exactly right.
It's in the closet.
We just haven't gotten it.
Renovations are still happening.
We're still painting and they're going to redo a bathroom.
Do you guys know what like lazy boy chairs are?
Oh yeah, yeah.
His old man chair, he has like a blue chair
in his living room.
It's so comfortable, it's the best.
And he just loves it, you love your old man chair,
don't you?
I do love my old man chair.
Take some good naps in there.
It really is amazing like, Tandre,
cause you're really using all your skills
you learned in Clemson life.
Yeah.
He's very routine, he has a place for everything.
He walks to work.
He washes his dishes. He's really good about timeliness. place for everything. He walks to work. He washes his dishes.
He's really good about timeliness.
Really good.
Much better than him.
And Tanner, were you able,
I noticed on the Kelly Clarkson show,
you asked Jack Black for his phone number.
Did he give you his phone number?
Not yet.
But we saw him on Amy Poehler's podcast
and talking about that experience
and he said he left a number with somebody.
Oh, I'm not sure where that number is, but we'll see. But we still are. You still want
to do what with him and work out with him? We still want to get a workout. What type
of workout would it be? Oh, lifting weights. Uh huh. And like, um, do bench press and triceps
and biceps. What's your bench press? Uh, one rep max. What do you mean by that? Do you
know? Okay. So it's the, it's the most you can lift. So
track of the exact weights that you live. We do. Do you know the numbers or does he write them down?
I don't remember all the numbers. I bet Zach might have it written in your book. Hey Matt, um,
I just asked people that are teenagers and people who are in the 20s. Um, if they're any fun things
they're hoping they'll be able to do one day in the future while I'm asking them things about themselves.
Oh, that's a good question.
I ask teenagers and people who are in the 20s.
What plans they have.
Exactly, what plans they have.
Those are good questions to ask.
Yeah.
Tell them some of your goals.
What are some of your goals for the next few years?
So one day in July this summer, I'm going to Six Flags with Ms. Donna, who's from Mr.
Troy, and their grandsons, Ethan, Worth, and Liam.
And I'm going to Disney world with Miss Donna the summer 128
I mean, I mean my mom is going to Africa South Africa the summer on 30
And I'm going to Australia with Cal in the summer on 31. I told you about that's going to Hawaii the summer around 34 and
My last future plan is to move back home St. Matthews 144. We got it all planned out. You've got a really good memory
Yeah, we got a really good memory. He does we've got we got the next like 15 years off
Or 18 years off. I get to go on some of the trips to us. Yeah
In because we're going on the trip. Yeah, I
Love that. I I also I wanted to bring up cuz you're bringing up all these trips when you mentioned going to Hawaii,
I couldn't help but think about when Abby and David
on the show went on their safari.
I thought that was so cool.
So cool.
I'm curious, one day, would you ever want to go on a safari
to look at gorillas or something like that?
Oh yes, when we're in South Africa.
Wouldn't that be fun?
One of the other things on my bug list
is the whole baby gorillas.
That's one thing he really wants to do.
He loves gorillas.
Yeah, I want them to have names so I can talk with them.
Would you talk with them?
Yes, because I like talking to gorillas,
just like I like talking to Patrick.
Yes, tell them who Patrick is.
Hey, he's one of the gorillas who we met
at the Zoo in Columbia with three of the Zookeepers,
Indy and Jay and Tina.
Yes, Matt, yes, Abby.
Why did you get to meet him?
What were you on?
What did you get for a special gift?
Because I'm on my own special, is that why? Right, but what was that called when we went to meet him? What were you on? What did you get for a special gift? Cause I'm on the special, was that why?
Right, but like what was that called
when we went to see Patrick?
You had a private what?
A private gorilla tour?
A private gorilla tour.
And is there another reason why we got to do it, mom?
Nope, it was a private gorilla tour.
Is that, I just wanna know how it came out.
Why?
Well it came because they were proud of you
for doing such a good job on the show.
The Indian Jane Tina were.
Yes.
I loved it, so I loved the Indian Jane Tina.
That was fascinating.
Tell them some more things about him. Hey, can I tell you three of the, before I tell
you more things about Patrick, can I tell you three of the other, Gula's names at the
zoo? Zucco, Moe and Macy. Mm-hmm. Oh, and Zucco and Moe are brothers. Hey, so, wait,
how much does he weigh? How many pounds does he weigh? I don't remember. It was a lot.
He's a heavy guy. He was a lot of pounds. He was big. Yeah. And so, he can sit on his
ball in the cage and he likes peanut butter
He likes less and he likes warm melon and so he made a grunting sound too because he was happy
I think Patrick understand what we were saying. I told Patrick my name and my mom's name
He did he on the gate
But when he when he does all that that my mom said that must be the way he might be trying to communicate to me
I think he's letting you know that you heard you know, So what did we learn that we thought was so interesting from India?
Why did we have to stay back? Because we didn't want to get Patrick sick. Right because we were
more likely to make him sick than he was to make us sick. Because human germs are not good for
gorillas. And I never knew that. I thought it was so interesting. We were probably from him to maybe those cameras, you know
But obviously he's caged in it, you know
But like they were like no closer like absolutely no closer because anything you might be carrying would be danger
It's not interesting. I never knew that is really yeah. I didn't know that how I'm actually really curious
When was season 3 filmed because it probably was a while ago, right? I mean, it's not like
It wasn't live. So so how long has it been since a while ago, right? I mean, it's not like you filmed it.
It wasn't live.
So how long has it been since all that happened?
Tana, let's think, let's think, let's think.
So season two came out in January of 24.
And then I believe we filmed season three
over that summer.
Okay, so about a year ago.
Over the summer of 24.
It was not quite a year
because it came out in April 2nd of 25.
And it was filmed maybe between like June and September.
Got it.
So like about a nine month span.
Yeah, like a nine month span until it came out.
And did they let you see the show before it aired,
or was it your first time seeing it?
Not one second.
We don't see anything until it's-
We see it when the public sees it.
Really?
Which is quite nerve wracking.
That is very nerve wracking.
And we don't see him, like, they pick you up for your date and we don't, we sometimes
knew like where they were gonna go. Yeah, I'm like we knew the location. But we didn't
know like who they were gonna take him on a date with. And you don't know who their
date is. Where like timing, they just take them. No and the crew takes him and they go
to the date site and like they filmed him in his apartment and sometimes we were. Like
I helped him get ready for one day. And then was like okay love you bye you know but and like
Connor's family now they filmed in their home and they filmed a lot more with
the whole family so of course they were more aware of like what was going on but
a lot of the stories just depending on the person's like because Tanner does not
live in our home yeah away from us and just depends how the person's living
situation is but like you don't necessarily have any idea
what they got or like what is that.
So it is kind of like, oh.
Yeah.
Have you ever fallen in love with a couch,
lamp or rug online and then your soul literally
leaves your body when you see the price tag?
Because I know that has happened to me several times.
Yes, especially with furnishing our home. That has happened quite a bit. You don't really realize how much inflation
has affected prices until you go to purchase something like a couch. Well, I'm going to let
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I literally just used this on the rocking chair
that's in the corner of our room.
It was a little bit of a splurge
when we were having our babies.
I knew I was gonna be spending a lot of time
sitting in that chair nursing our babies in the night.
That rocking chair was literally over $1,000
and right before we filmed this,
I found a dupe on dupe.com for literally just $269.
That hurts.
And it looked so similar too.
The great thing about dupe.com is that they send you
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brand names and start saving with dupe.com today. Tanner, were you happy with season three?
I was happy with season three. Tell them about Callie. She's wonderful. She's wonderful.
She's a sweet, sweet person. Yeah. She's come to visit you a couple times.
Yeah, see you and Cal, you're pretty good friends.
We were really good friends.
They are a lovely family.
They are just, couldn't ask for nicer people.
Kate's family too.
Yeah, Kate's family too.
Both girls he dated are just delightful people.
Wonderful families, great girls.
Oh, and hey, about Abby.
Hey, one of the Jack Black movies, King Kong,
I did watch it, but I had the DVD,
but I don't like watching it anymore
because it's ending sad. And you probably probably both probably never seen the jet black one
Cuz the truth is he climbed on top of the building and he was shot by airplanes
Yeah, yeah, they shot him because they thought they know he was he was a nice girl
They thought they thought was bad all the pilots that make you sound yet. I like movies with sad endings
I know the girl and there was she was she she cried when he died. You're like your dad
Your dad doesn't like movies with sad and they might it's like movies with sad movies speaking of King Kong's. I know you like gorillas
Have you been to Universal Studios? They have a King Kong ride. No, I haven't been there yet
Yes, yes, yeah, we just we went to the epic universe. Oh you did. Yeah
They feel threatened by people you can go to regular Universal. We just went to the new Epic Universe.
He and Connor did a promotional deal for that.
That's neat.
Did you see that ride?
Did you see that?
No, that's in the original.
It was a King Kong ride in Universal.
In the original.
And there's a life-size King Kong.
His head is huge.
It's like bigger than, it's as big as that wall.
Oh, we need to go back and do that one.
It's like 10 feet tall.
Do you think the King Kong ride?
And he's just massive.
And you can feel, when he speaks,
you can feel the vibration in your chest
because he's so powerful.
That whole place was just unreal.
We do mom.
Hey mom, hey guys, I'm Matt.
We'll go back one day, again, one time.
I want Mitch to come too so we can do the King Kong ride.
And I want to do the Monster Ride again.
The Monster Ride was cool.
Hey, I just want to make sure
that you don't go upside down on it.
Or like. Oh, on King Kong? I just want to make sure you don't. Not to make sure that you don't go upside down on it. Or like...
Oh, on King Kong?
I just want to make sure you don't.
Not on that one.
You don't go upside down on it because you don't like going upside down.
Exactly.
And will you just tip back a little bit just like we did on the Monster Ride?
We can tip back, yeah.
Hey, does it look like there will be some of the T-Rex's chasing us?
Yes.
Yep.
I love it.
He saved the Andero from the T-Rex's. Yeah. Are you guys big? Y'all are
because y'all are saying you're gonna go to Disneyland. Like
y'all are big amusement park. We we are. Yeah. We do like
amusement parks a lot. We are little. So, they're not really
quite into that yet. They can't really ride the rides. I mean,
we did like the maybe the little bitty ones they can go
on but universal with us. Yeah. They just go to Disney.
Do you think when they're older,
you're like, all right, we're all going.
Let's go.
Oh yeah.
We're doing all the rides.
He tells me, Griffin tells me now,
he's literally too.
He's like, I want to go on the fast one.
Oh, that's sweet.
I also wanted to say, Tanner,
I didn't see on the show you and Connor hanging out.
So it was so cool to see you and Connor become friends
off the show. How long have you and Connor become friends off the show.
How long have you and Connor been friends?
How long we say we've been friends?
We met them very quickly after didn't we season two came out in January of 24. I think we
invited them over for lunch in February 24.
Yeah.
Like a month later.
At the Serpent's Hotel.
Yeah. See Connor's family has a lake house.
They live in Atlanta, but they have a lake house in South Carolina, very near to Clemson.
And so they're only about 20 minutes from where Tanner lives on their weekend at the
lake and stuff.
And Lisa and I, I just, as soon as I saw her, I was like, we're going to be friends.
I like her.
She's so cool.
Their whole family is awesome.
I was like, I love her.
She's going to be.
So I just messaged her because you don't see the other cast.
You don't meet anybody.
Everybody's filmed in their hometown.
So you don't have any reason to meet the other cast.
You don't know that.
That's fascinating.
Yeah, it is.
And then, so, and after season two,
we didn't really do as much like as a big group.
Now after season three, they did have everybody
here to California for a premiere party.
So we were all able to connect them,
which has been great. Cause I feel like it's been
a lot more cast communication since season three.
But yeah, it was so you and we've been doing stuff with the Tomlinson since February 24.
Oh, hey, Matt, can I have something?
And when we go to their one day one one summer on the King Kong ride, me, my mom, Mitch and
then when you when we see we see the T-Rexes and they'll be fake.
I can tell me I'm actually make sure that the fake T-Rexes and they'll be fake, can you tell me, I'm actually making sure
that the fake T-Rexes don't jump on you on the King Kong.
Don't jump at you.
They don't jump on you.
It's actually a screen on the King Kong ride.
Oh, did they tell me that the fake T-Rexes
don't jump at you?
Was that making you nervous?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Because that would be scary,
like if we go on the scare rides, like monster rides,
and where they jump at you.
Hey, but when we go on the monster ride,
the fake monsters don't jump at you.
No.
Hey, I gave one of my friends work at the service hotel ashley that you like the ride and michael
Yeah, I I told him that the monster fake monsters don't jump at you and they trust me
Oh, that's so no they didn't it was a cool ride. Hey, I want to tell you
So one of my friends at work michael he he has he has a wife named nicole and his son named grason
He works at the valley part and i'm going back to florida with michael and nicole and grason
And that's a riding system the rides. Um that we rode there too and even the motz ride. He's a planner. Yeah.
I have a question for you Tanner because I don't have as many specific dates in my head like you
but something that I thought growing up was I was like I'll probably like get married before I'm
30 but I ended up getting married at 21. Abby and I were 20 and 21 when we got married.
Do you, do you have like dates in mind like that for, you know,
meeting somebody or do you not really think that far in advance when it comes
to, um, like, you know, a relationship?
Do you have an age,
do you have an age in your head for having a girlfriend or a wife?
Do you have like, you know, you like have ages for your different trips.
And you have 44 picked for know you like have ages for your different trips? Yeah.
And you have 44 picked for when you wanna move home?
Do you have an age picked for when you'd like
to have a girlfriend or a wife?
No.
You don't?
No, I don't.
You don't?
Just whenever it happens, it happens?
Just whenever it happens, it happens.
That's fun.
That's a good way to think about it.
Yep.
That is a good way to think about it.
It's hard to pick an age for that,
cause it kinda just depends
when the right person comes for you.
Yeah.
Is that something you still want?
Is what?
Something I still want?
A girlfriend?
What can I say?
I'm too busy thinking about getting married.
You're too busy right now?
Too busy to think about it?
Yeah.
Yeah, that's fine.
But why'd you ask me that?
That makes me nervous.
Oh, but that's okay, Betty.
I just want to make sure,
but no one's making me get married, right?
No.
No, you don't have to.
But it kind of upsets me when people ask me that.
I hate to tell you this, but it upsets me. Tell the truth. Because I don't want to get married. It's a lot of work. I'm sorry. Yeah, don't have to. No, no. But it kind of upsets me when people ask me that. I hate to tell you this, but it upsets me. Tell the truth.
Tell the truth.
Because I don't want to get married.
It's a lot of work.
I'm sorry.
Oh, don't be sorry.
Don't say sorry.
You don't have to be sorry.
Hey, I asked my mom.
Yeah, my mom told me if some gruelers feel threatened by some men, I mean, they can squeeze
the men arms really hard.
Yeah.
Do you think the men will scream?
I bet they would.
Hey, the truth is, while I got mad, while I was a a little kid mature and why I got mad some people I squeeze their arms
really hard I was a little I see yeah yeah so sometimes I squeeze mid-jarman
midges are but I don't squeeze her arm anymore I bet their boys have squeezed
some arms hey also my mom told me when she was a little kid immature when she
got mad at some people she didn't squeeze their arm. No, no, but I did pinch my sister really hard.
Which one?
Janelle.
She didn't growl at anybody,
but she stuck her tongue out.
Oh, my goodness.
And now that you're all grown up,
you seem to find ways to not squeeze arms.
You probably like listening to music, right?
Yeah, that's right.
What's another way that you cope with,
you know, when you're frustrated
and you wanna squeeze something, what do you do? I talk to, when you're frustrated and you want to squeeze something?
What do you do?
I talk to my friends, I go and walk, I take deep breaths.
Do you ever count?
I recently learned that if you count, like I'll count to eight and take a deep breath.
That's a good strategy.
That's a good strategy too.
Yeah, we might need to try it.
Yeah.
I think it's a good one.
Yeah.
I don't think I give as much.
No.
You seem very joyful.
I am very joyful.
Midge, I wanted to ask you if like ever growing up with your brother like Tanner, did you I don't think I give as much. No. You seem very joyful. I am very joyful.
Midge, I wanted to ask you, if ever growing up
with your brother Tanner, did you ever have a hard time
explaining if friends came to the house,
or was there ever an instance where
you felt like you needed to let people know what your brother
was like before they came over?
I'm trying to think.
Growing up in a small town, a lot of people
already knew him and stuff.
And our family really, we kind of just roll with it.
I'm like, this is just how life is.
And like sometimes things work a little bit differently
with someone who has a disability,
but like we've always been good about,
we just kind of laugh and keep rolling.
So I think maybe I'll kind of joke and be like,
huh, you know, but then just keep rolling.
I feel like it's always been like a way that we judge people's character
Yeah, like it's always been like the criteria like if you can't hang with what we got going on
You're probably not
Test for like a guy
Handle Tanner and then get along and just vibe then I'm like, all right, you're out. Sorry
That's true. It's not gonna work.
It's been a great way that we picked potential
romantic interests for the girls.
Yeah.
Seriously, their first reaction,
when they come hang out with the family
and how they roll.
Truly.
With all the dynamics that make up our family
and if they just dive right in and own it and handle it
and are very relaxed about it, you're a keeper. Yeah, if you don't
We're probably not an issue
The radar right now. No
When you do with it grueless and grueless can squeeze men's arms when they feel threatened by them hate in the chat by King Kong
But when one one the men Mr. Hayes was standing by the cave and when he was
shooting his machine gun he got out his other gun and when King Kong was running
out and roaring he grabbed it and Mr. Hayes picked him up and he squeezed him.
But the reason why I mean he shook all them down in the down there for a
while I mean because he because it because they were trying to shoot him
and King Kong didn't want to get killed by them. Well I would probably do the same thing if somebody was trying to shoot me.
Yeah I mean you would squeeze their arms. Well, yeah
Yeah, I think trying to shoot me. Would you bite them? We're not really bite. Why I don't know
I never really thought that far something
I love about your family like kind of what you just said about how you guys kind of roll with it
Is that you seem to find like certain like levity like lightness and like joy even humor in it?
Yeah, and I just wonder if there's like a family story
you guys have that's like a funny Tanner story
that you guys bring up a lot or.
Oh my gosh, there's so many.
Do you wanna tell them the story
about when you were in Disney World?
Oh Lord.
No, it's not a good one, no?
No, it's just, I mean, they can cut it if they want.
Tell them what you did funny in Disney World.
Hey, one.
We're talking a lot about Disney.
Yeah, we are here with us.
And so one of the past nights when we got back
from the rides, I pooped my pants.
Yeah, okay.
It wasn't my fault, it was my mom's fault.
We think it was from all that food I ate.
It was, yeah.
No, it was like he had to hold it for way too long.
We had a long shuttle ride back to the hotel
and we'd had all that Disney sweets and stuff.
Ooh.
It was bad.
Yeah, it was like a long trail to the apartment.
No, no. That happened to me one time. It happened to Taylor one time. It was Taylor.
Taylor. It happens to the best of us. Because especially when you eat a bunch of funky foods,
that's what happened to me. I had to go so bad, but we were in California.
Oh God.
And we had a park, there was no parking.
We had to park about a mile away from our Airbnb.
No.
Yeah.
Oh, that's the worst feeling in the world.
No, I'm making fun of it.
He was like, no, I am serious.
And he sprinted and he left me in the streets of LA.
I was like, this is serious.
I was crying. Abby was making fun of me while the streets of LA. I was like, this is serious. I was crying.
Abby was making fun of me while I was in pain.
Was she making fun of me?
No, honey.
I was teasing him, like in a joking way.
Dana used to,
Dana spent a lot of his childhood upside down.
Like he's always doing handstands
and cartwheels and stuff.
So that's kind of a funny memory.
A big part of his autism was sensor integration dysfunction
and needing a lot of pressure into his joints and stuff.
And one way, when he was really young,
he used to, we have a long flight of stairs
in our front foyer, he used to run to the top of the stairs
and sort of like throw his body onto the top step.
Not like in a self-injurious way,
but just like in an, like he liked the sound,
I think, of his hands slapping the hardwood floor and his his body and then he would come to the bottom where there was a coat
closet and slam his body into the coat closet.
And I think it was how he sort of like applied pressure and he'd go to OT and stuff and
they would do all kinds of like joint manipulation and stuff to give him that proprioception
and pressure.
Well, over the years it sort of evolved into learning, perfecting a handstand and he can
do a really incredible.
And he can do it in public.
We can look over and he can be like upside down and be like, oh, okay.
For a lot, like church lobby, restaurant waiting rooms, didn't matter where we were, a lot
of times we were upside down.
And it was the funniest thing because Tanner grew very early.
He was always a little bit tall for his age.
Not average height now, but he had an early growth spurt, was a little taller than the
average kid and was upside down.
That's amazing.
Like a lot.
And it was something we just started to laugh at.
We're like, oh well, don't kick anybody.
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Well, you've probably seen Tanner grow and change so much over the years.
Unbelievable.
What are some of the biggest areas of growth that you've noticed? Oh for sure self-regulation.
I mean like that's that was I would say as a young child
definitely like probably the most difficult. Tanner's nervous system was extremely unorganized.
A lot of self-stimulatory behavior, what they call stims, very scattered attention span,
just a really hard time regulating himself. He couldn't really pay attention to one thing
for more than a few minutes at a time. Always was very easy to redirect and was always very cooperative, but he almost felt just
uncomfortable in his body. Sounds were too loud. I always felt like his peripheral vision
was too strong, like, because we did a lot of this. And so the different therapies that we did and
just worked with some amazing practitioners over the years, all of that cumulatively,
I think just finally started coming together.
And kind of once we got past puberty
and the disruption that that is,
I know that Tanner has really done an amazing job
of learning to regulate his body.
And he started running in high school, cross country.
We bought a trampoline so he could jump for hours
and get that sensory input that he needed.
I think self-advocacy, like learning to ask questions, learning to say, I do not understand
what your words mean, say it a different way.
Or I need you to rephrase that, I don't know what that means.
That's huge, wouldn't you say, Tana?
Yeah.
I mean, that has helped you a lot.
I'm really good at that.
Yeah, you are very good at that.
Expressing your own emotions, and we're still working on that.
Oh yeah, that's right because we all know what emotions are.
That's right and not worrying about whether or not it's the right answer.
That's right, yeah.
We're still working on that and that's been amazing.
And honestly, he's just blowing our mind with what he's capable of.
Yeah, especially in the last like since Love on the Spectrum and everything.
Yeah, I mean just handling such an incredibly overloaded schedule and I mean like really
like his alarm goes off, he gets up, he eats breakfast, he makes
his bed, he takes a shower, he shaves, he goes to work, he's on time, he does his laundry,
his house is always neat, he washes his dishes.
Wow, you're stud.
Yeah.
I mean truly has amazed me.
Truly has amazed me.
That's amazing.
Yeah.
I thought it was interesting how you said you're not really a night owl and you go
to bed at 10 p.m. but can I tell you something?
Tell me. I go to bed at 9.30. Hey, I love that. Good for a night owl and you go to bed at 10 p.m. but can I tell you something? Tell me.
I go to bed at 9.30.
Hey, I love that.
That's a good one.
Good for you.
What time do you go to bed on work nights?
Um, 9 o'clock.
If he has to work, he goes to bed at 9.00.
On another night, on a night you're not working, it's 10.00, right?
Right.
And what time do you have to wake up in the morning?
At 6 o'clock while I work from 7 to 12.
Yep, he gets up at 6.00.
Wow.
Yeah.
So do you like having a routine?
Like when you wake up and then you eat the same thing and then you go to your job at the same time? I do. Tell me about your meal times, like when do you like to eat? Like on a normal day when you're by yourself in Clemson and going to work, when do you like to eat? I say, after I get done with work, like lunch, I eat breakfast right when I get up, first get up. Right when you first get up. Yeah, I eat dinner around 6 that's a very good routine that's very good routine very routine do you think that you'll work
the job that you're working right now for a long time or do you have other ideas for jobs you'd
like to work in the future um is that's the only job i want i want i want to have until then yeah
you love your job job a job that's a good place the shepherd's an amazing place very warm and
supportive and you know they're always challenging enough.
I think like they're always like asking them
for a little more, you know what I mean?
Enough to keep it where we're always learning
something new.
And just, I think just the community there.
It's a little bit magical when you walk in.
Oh mom, what time is it now?
Right now?
Yeah, I just want to.
I'm honestly not sure.
Cause you have your watch up,
but you have your watch on.
It is 4 47.
4 47.
Oh, I just want to know what time we're going to go do your night.
Like 6 30.
That's a good time.
Yeah, that is a good time.
What are you doing for dinner tonight?
I think Miss Ed, she thinks we're going to a Mexican restaurant.
Miss Lisa and Anna planned it.
Yeah, we're going to Connors Banning.
From wherever the Tomlinson's tell us to go.
No way.
What's your favorite food?
Oh, my first favorite food is chicken ears, my second favorite is hamburgers. My third favorite is pizza. So how do you feel about Mexican
food tonight? Is that okay? I feel good about Mexican food. I like tacos, refried beans
and rice. Yes. I like Brio's and Castillas. Oh yeah. We're happy with everything. Yeah.
What do you think you'll order tonight? You think you'll get some tacos? Yes, I'm going
to get two tacos. I want to get two tacos. And cheese dip. And ref dip every five beans rice hey I can free refried beans and rice with my tacos
I'm glad too because they're good for you and they helped me poop
Tanner tell um miss Abby because she has a little boys she'll probably appreciate
this tell them what your nickname is tank okay tell who called you tank
um what one of our friends back home mr Mr. Joe, gave me the nickname Tank.
Why did he call you that?
Because when I was born, I was a big baby.
I was a fat baby.
I was still like a tank.
And he said, you should have called that kid Tanker, not Tanner, right?
That's right.
He's always got my tank.
Having little children.
Hey, when I was in my mom's home, my mom wanted to name me Cameron, and my dad wanted to name me Jesse.
But mom, after you wanted to name me Cameron,
after daddy wanted to name me Jesse,
you saw the name word Tanner in the books, right?
I saw Tanner in a book, and we knew somebody else
who used the name Cameron right before you were born,
so I didn't want to use it again so fast.
But when Tanner was born, he doubled his birth weight
in eight weeks on breast milk alone
and then was like 22 pounds in six months.
So you having like little boys, you'll appreciate that.
So the nickname, everybody has like, because I mean, he's not particularly, you know, large
now but like as a little child and was always just like taller and bigger than like everybody
else's age.
Always, always.
So that's the take story.
I love that.
It was so funny.
Our boys are pretty big too. Especially our second.
Well Matt, you're tall.
You think they're gonna be tall?
They're just kinda like, we call them sturdy.
That's a good way to put it.
That's a nice word.
We were very sturdy.
They're not squishy though.
Yeah, you guys aren't either.
Gosh, like a tank.
Yeah, a tank, yeah.
Just thick.
Yeah, thick and yeah.
Augie can't get pushed down. Right.
He cannot get knocked over.
That makes...
Are they close?
Do they play together?
They're the best buddies.
I love this.
Yeah, Griffin is very...
Our oldest is very protective of his little brother.
He always...
I don't give him any treat without him being like, no one for Augie too.
Even his favorite thing, like his sucker.
That's so precious.
He'll be like, one for Augie too.
That's such a gift as a mother, that they love each other.
Isn't... I mean, to watch your children love each other.
I'm so sad for the day that they get in a fight.
I'm like not prepared.
I know, we so sad.
We'll be so makeup the next day or like an hour later
they'll be good.
I think that's like such a like.
Matt, do you like to travel?
I love to travel.
Me too, are there any places you've never been for
that you wanna go to one day?
You said India and I wanna go to India really bad
because I love Indian food and I want to go to India really bad because I love
Indian food and I think the people there are really nice. That's a good choice.
But I'm not with you on that because I don't want to go India. My mom told me a lot of their food
there is spicy and I like spicy food. Oh hey, there's some places
I've never been for that I want to go to one day. Let me tell you what they are. I want to go Europe, Jamaica and Greece one day.
Hey, guess what? I found me and my mom Mitch going to Europe this summer I'm 32 in Romania.
And guess what else?
I want to meet some Eastern European people there
that speak Romanian.
Why, okay, why Romania?
How did you start liking Romania?
Well, hey, you probably never seen this movie,
Mighty Joe Young.
My-yo Joe Young?
Mighty Joe Young.
Mighty Joe Young.
Charlize Theron and Bill Paxton.
Hey, also it has these two bad guys.
Old movie, a lot older than y'all are. Old movie. It's a real grilla movie. You should
watch it. It's actually really good. Hey it has these two bad these the poachers it has these two
other bad guys in it these other poachers named on just raster and Garth and so it was at night
when the poachers were hunting the girls at night. So yeah Joe he's a gorilla and when he grows up
movie he's a 2000 pound gorilla and so and um on disaster when they were hunting in Garth when they were hunting the girls
at night he killed his mommy when Joe was a baby gorilla so Joe be off his
finger and tell him I was right hand yeah Joe so in the movie Andre
Strasher he's Eastern European and he speaks Romanian in the movie and that's
where their interest in Romania interesting also I'll tell you what his
real name is to raise your Bizeja that's all their interest in Romania came from. Interesting. Also, I'll tell you what his real name is too.
Ray Trabasija, that's the Augustine's real name.
And if you look him up, he's been the villain
in quite a few movies, and I'm sure,
I think that movie came out.
When did Mighty Joe Young come out?
Is that the late 80s?
It was in December, I'll tell you on my phone later,
but tonight.
Was it in 1980 something?
I think so, yes, mom.
I believe so.
Hey, also, he was born in Buda, Croatia,
Ray Trabasija, he's a bad guy in The Saint,
and his name's Ivan in The Saint.
He is a bad guy in The Saint.
Okay.
Did y'all ever see The Saint without Kilmer?
No.
Okay, we're an expert in a lot of these things.
We love movies.
Okay.
Tell them why you wanna go to Greece one day.
Oh, because the movie Greece,
with John Travolta and the idea of Greece.
So we wanna go.
And we're all about to put that on the universe,
we want to go to Greece.
Yes.
We're just gonna wait until we get there
to realize that the movie's not there. And I decided to be in the movie, I'm a Greece, but by Frankie Valli.
Okay, you're a big fan of the movie, Greece. Have you ever performed in a musical before?
Have I met, have I met?
No.
I don't think so.
Do you like to sing or dance or anything?
Well, I sing songs with the lyrics. I sing songs with the lyrics when they're in my
head.
Who did you get to sing with at the CMA Fest?
I got to sing with them.
Brothers Osborne, John Osborne, TJ Osborne.
We had a little meet and greet with them.
Really?
And he told them his favorite song
and the three of them sang a verse in a chorus of it.
And they're beautiful singers.
That's cool.
Trying to be beautiful singers.
Yeah, they are fabulous.
Hey guys, someone?
It was really fun.
Hey, when we talk about the saint,
that Val Kilmer and Razor Beziga is in The Saint, do you like it? I love that movie. Hey, when we talk about the saint that Val Kilmer and raised her besieged us in the saint
Do you like it? I love that movie. Hey, um, did you day ever watch the part?
But we're on Val Kilmer defeat the other bad guys. I watched the saint more times that I can count
Hey, but one day I'm gonna watch the saint and then my watch it. Well, I'm the whole thing. I mean
I don't have like a family. I don't remember the part
You watch the bad guy. I mean maybe Christmas movies. I work big. remember the part. I don't know what to put in the balcony. Maybe Christmas movies. OK.
We'll see.
We're big abby's a big fan of Christmas.
Is that your favorite holiday?
Yeah.
Do you deck your house out and do all the?
I'm not big into decorating, honestly.
Really?
I don't know why I don't like decorating.
But I love everything Christmas means.
Yeah.
I'm like, ugh.
Too much.
I mean, I love having a tree up.
But in general, I'm like, oh, no.
I don't know.
I don't like buying decorations, because I'm like, we're just only going to put them up for a couple months. It's oh no I don't know it's not my I don't
like buying decorations cuz I'm like we're just only gonna put them up for a
couple months. I love Christmas music I make him sick of Christmas
Christmas baking we love Christmas activities we love rice is that your
favorite holiday too? Yeah it's my favorite holiday. Guess what I dress up as
buddy elf on Christmas. You'd be the perfect buddy elf. Hey, I'm sure you both watched elf on Christmas.
Oh.
Like many times.
Hey, you know, I know Ed Asner,
he was saying he calls himself an elf.
Oh, was he?
Yes, he was, he was.
Hey, guess what, Matt Abbey, guess what.
Ed Asner.
Guess what, I got invited to this party thing
that I was gonna go to, but we couldn't go.
Matt Asner.
He's really sad.
I was gonna meet Ed Asner's son, Matt Asner. We were
supposed to go, well we were invited on the 14th but we were coming on the 18th and there
was no way to be in California that many days early. So for the Ed Asner Foundation or something,
yeah, he was really wanting to meet him. Oh, Ed Asner, he also played Jonah Jameson in
Spider-Man, Batman, and Tyrrell. He did. Tanner, I wanted to ask you, you seem like a very
confident person. I am a very confident person.
I am a very confident person.
Do you know what makes you feel confident?
Because I'm a love subject and I'm very smart.
Yeah, I spread joy all around the world.
You do?
And what else?
Like what else is in your life
that makes you feel good about yourself?
All my friends.
Yeah, and all my friends, just like you.
And me and Jim, and me and Taylor.
Aww.
And Jimmy and Maverick.
And Tanner, I feel like you've really taken some chances on things that are hard to do.
Yeah, yeah, that's another thing.
And I think you've proven to yourself that you can do it.
I've proven myself that I can do it.
Can you tell Matt and Abby what was probably the biggest thing you did that was scary in your life up to now that was like a big chance that we weren't sure how it was gonna go but you did it anyway when you
went where? Well I went to Clemson life. That's a big chance for everybody.
It's a big chance for everybody. Did you feel scared before you went? I did because I
knew the joy from my mom and dad first. Hey did you this while I was a freshman? I did feel
homesick. I mean I was homesick at first but I started having fun. Yeah that's how I felt. You know I actually my parents dropped me off at school and I literally just cried.
I was like what do they expect me to do here all by myself? Me too. I was like crying in my dorm.
I was like how are they gonna just leave me here? It's so hard as a mom. Oh my god. I'm not ready.
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When we drove home that day,
when Mark and I, my husband, left him,
we just sat in the car and stared straight ahead.
Like the whole three, almost three hours home,
we just sat there and I was like, what have we done?
What have we done?
There's just, I can't, I literally felt sick
for like a week.
I thought I'm never gonna make it through this.
But he just blew our minds.
And the program is just so well done and so supported
and so just the way they have it structured is unbelievable.
I mean, I really want other family.
And there are many programs like it now
that have come up and they're coming fast.
And it's just such an opportunity
for people that have differences
to still achieve a lot more
than what you would think in life.
They just need that extra cushion, that extra scaffold,
that extra support, and a little bit of creativity
in the way they get their education.
What do people do if they can't afford college
or they can't afford some of the therapies?
I think for a lot of people,
that is the roadblock for a lot of people.
I know that there are more and more and more grants and there are more and more different
fundings for kids to go.
But I tell so many families, I'm like, start thinking, you get a diagnosis young, start
thinking about it from day one and putting that money aside because it is the best thing
we ever did.
Yeah.
It changes entire life.
I mean, love on the spectrum, of course.
Obviously, this has been unexpected and massive, but Tanner's life really, I would say just did
a 360 the day he walked out the door to go to college. And like that's when things really
turned around and just, it was just unreal.
How often do you see each other being that far apart?
Before the show, it was every couple months.
No.
Not that often. Yeah. Before the show. It wasn't couple months. Not that often.
Yeah, before the show.
It wasn't that much.
I mean, he'd come home when you came home,
and I would maybe come up there once in between.
Like if you came home for a major break.
But I'm certainly texting FaceTime every day.
Now with the show and all that he has going on,
I have a bedroom in his apartment,
and I'm back at one all the time.
She's the best mom.
She'll drive up there, spend a couple hours,
and then drive back home one day. Sometimes I go back in one day. Like we go up to film a video or something apartment and I'm back at home all the time. She's the best mom. She'll drive up there, spend a couple hours and then drive back home one day.
Sometimes I go back home one day.
We go up to film a video or something and then come back.
It's so nice now because I'm in a spot in life, our youngest is about to go to college,
I can do that.
I have the freedom and the flexibility.
It's sort of like we're just working in partnership and it's so fun.
Who would have thought as a young adult that we'd spend all this time together.
It's actually been like such an unexpected
blessing and we've had we've had some great memories. We have some great memories.
Like I'll never forget this time together. We've had so much fun. Amy, when you
said I spent my challenges a lot upside down while I did handstands and cartwheels.
Hey Matt, Abby, I like the song upside down from Keir's George by Jack Johnson.
It's a great song. Hey, I like Keir's George. Hey I think about being curious George
X Halloween. You're gonna be the best. Did you know when we used to live in Hawaii we would go to the beach and we would be like right by Jack
Johnson's house. No way. That's so cool. That's crazy. He lives there. He does? That's so cool. I know he's from Hawaii. What a life. Which part of Hawaii does he live in? I don't know
people in Hawaii are pretty they don't like sharing like locations and stuff, but he lives on I'm pretty sure Oahu
Is that where you guys lived?
And we lived on Oahu when we were there, but yeah
He's like he seems to be such a nice chill guy man his music is is therapeutic right?
It's the best oh also um hey what Michael I told Michael not to play on Being Here is George's Halloween and Michael I
Said my Michael asked me if I want him to be the man of the old hat yeah I told
Michael yes I want him to be the male yeah I'm Michael Schrader oh yeah yeah
yeah that's right okay and he's gonna be the man with the other and Michael it
works at the Shepherd Hotel yeah he's gonna be the man the man feel hat for me
you guys are gonna look incredible we're gonna look incredible yeah we'll take
pictures oh tell them what last Halloween you had a really special surprise Um, I was Shrek and who made you up Paul Polly Paul. Yeah, he's named Paul. Yeah
Hey professional makeup artist
Shrek it was really
The Halloween 127 I'm gonna be what one the bad guys from spider-man that made serious tombstone
I'm gonna have a Paul dressed me up as tombstone. I'm gonna be scary. Are you not too scary? I mean, hey, it makes doesn't think tombstone. I'm gonna have Paul dress me up as tombstone. Paul's in town. You're not gonna be scary, are you?
Oh, not too scary.
Hey, Mitch doesn't think tombstone's too scary
in Spider-Man and David's theories.
No, I don't think, not too bad.
That's right.
You'll be all right.
And then, that'll be 1.28.
I'm gonna be jet-packed.
Oh, that'll be a great one.
There you go.
I love that.
Tanner, you got it all planned out.
I'm a guy who has it all planned out.
Yes, you do.
I recently saw on your TikTok page, Tanner,
that you did a partnership with Crocs, which is so cool.
Was that a dream partnership to work with them?
You grew up in Crocs.
Why did you always wear Crocs when you were a little boy?
Because I didn't always like to wear tan shoes.
A lot of sensory issues.
And for the longest time, do you remember, Tanner,
we used to think that you never got cold
because you would always go outside in your four wheeler.
Yes, mom.
Even when it was cold outside without a shirt
Yeah, and he couldn't stand tanner like very sturdy
Extremely sturdy had like a square foot. It was like a cement block could not stuff that foot into tennis shoes any night
It is a nightmare trying to find shoes that fit so for literal years
We were crocs because it was the easiest, most comfortable, but appropriate, like, you know, footwear.
And so when they came to us, I told them that story.
And I was like, oh my gosh, like,
this is so real and relevant to partner with y'all,
because Crocs were like an integral part of our life
for the sensor integration problems for years.
I mean, they really were.
And I'm like, we had every color, every style.
Oh, I used to wear too, my bonita shorts I was like crushed
And we would wear them until they like disintegrated
Did you ever have any camouflage crocs?
Oh I did I did
Maverick still has them
No way when I was a kid I had camo crocs and I thought they were so cool
But now they put they make little like jibbits for them
Oh tell them what you
Yeah in your video what did you give out?
In the video we did for crocs what did you give out?
What did I give out? Well on the video we did for Crocs, what'd you give out? What'd I give out?
Well, on the video we did for Crocs.
Wait, the ones that you gave to me.
The Trace film.
Remember you gave me the little pearl.
Yeah, Midge.
The gibbets.
The gibbets, the gibbets, yes.
Remember you gave to, who did you give the gibbets to?
Midge.
And?
And Marcus.
And?
Trace.
And Trace.
And Josie.
And Josie, yes, and Josie.
Yes, remember.
But do you have ones with, what are your gibbets
on your Crocs?
Yeah, what are your gibbets on your Crocs right now?
Your little decorations on your Crocs, what are they? Your blue Crocscs? Yeah, what are your gibets on your crocs right now?
Your little decorations on your crocs.
What are they?
Your blue crocs.
Oh yeah, my blue crocs.
My blue dinosaur crocs.
You have dinosaurs.
You have dinosaur gibets.
Yeah.
They hooked him up.
Oh, that's awesome.
And they're so stylish now.
Like everyone's wearing crocs.
It's the cool thing.
So that's really neat that you-
It was very sweet.
It was very sweet. It was very sweet.
It brought back a lot of memories to wear the Crocs and stuff because that was literally
the shoe we wore for everything for years.
Has anybody ever told you, Tanner, that you have golden retriever energy?
Do you know what that is?
What does that mean?
Golden retriever energy means that you're just very smiley and happy and
Joyful. Yeah, because the golden retriever dogs. They just tend to be really happy dogs They're great family dogs like a lot of people just love that that breed of dog
Yeah, and I I noticed like whenever I see your videos pop up the comment sections are like, yeah
Tanner has golden retriever energy. Yeah, did you guys see the videos on t-tot's like his sound of like, I'm so happy to see you.
And people were like videoing their dogs.
Yes.
And everybody was like,
I told him being like,
You're cute and beautiful.
Yeah, yeah.
It was like a trend for a second.
It was funny.
It was a big trend after season two.
The part where he said to Kate,
You're so cute and beautiful.
You're so cute and beautiful.
And they're like, what did you like about me?
And they have their dog looking up.
That's so sweet.
It's really cute. Does Kate and her family have a dog? I think they do. I think they do.
Yeah and Callie has a service dog. That's right. Yeah. Yeah. They both they all have cute dogs.
Oh one day this summer while I'm home in St. Matthews in July I'm playing on hey Kate has an older brother named Kent and Kent has a wife named Adri and I'm playing on me and my mom going to do some fun with Kate and her mom and Kent and Adri one day this summer in July.
No way.
That would be fun.
Do you have a plan of what you're gonna do?
I don't know yet.
Well, we might do maybe the zoo or maybe we go to eat or I don't know.
Maybe we'll do something with water since it's summertime.
Yeah, maybe we'll do something with water.
We'll have to see what their plans are.
Okay, like your favorite place to go with your friends, would it be, if you had to choose
between something with water,
because I know you love to swim,
would you choose a water activity like swimming or the beach
or would you choose something with gorillas like the zoo?
A water activity.
You would?
Really?
You would choose a water activity?
Yeah.
You love a water park too, don't you?
I love a water park.
I like the water park in Charleston.
You know what you might actually really enjoy,
which this is one of my favorite water activities,
I love to surf.
I think it's so much fun. So if you ever get a chance to try it out you should
Tell them what you do behind the boat. Hey, I need board. No you need board. Yeah, no way
Yeah, you can spin it and all that. Yeah, we love doing like wakeboarding and tubing all that so much fun
I do the doobly-doo sound your butt. Oh, yeah. Are you a lake person? You guys ever go to the lake?
We're like people. So why kneeboarding?
Because I learned how to get up on my knees like you and when you pull the robot you have to lean back a little bit.
Yeah, you learned when you were really young. Yeah, I think it was probably 13.
Yeah, you were not you were not I think even younger than that maybe but you've been kneeboarding a long, I think even younger than that maybe, but you've been kneeboarding a long time.
I was 11 or 12.
Yeah, you've been kneeboarding a long time, yeah.
Matt, what are some things you don't like to do?
Ooh, some things that I don't like to do,
probably running.
I don't really like to run very much.
I don't know why.
I'd rather play a sport, you know?
Like recently I've been playing pickleball.
Do you ever play pickleball?
Sometimes, I haven't played it much though. That's probably my new favorite thing. Like Abby and I have been playing pickleball. Do you ever play pickleball? Sometimes I haven't played it much though.
That's probably my new favorite thing.
Like Abby and I have been playing pickleball
with our family and that is a lot of fun.
I wanna get into that, it seems so fun.
Everyone's doing it.
Yeah.
But I think it's kinda hard, isn't it?
Yeah.
Like you gotta be like kinda quick on your feet.
I've gotten smoked by senior citizens before.
Yeah.
It's like all the ladies who do it.
And they say the people that are like really into it
are like good, yeah.
Yeah.
Uh huh.
It seems fun.
Hey, so did you just tell me you don't like to run?
Yeah, I don't really like running. That's a good thing for you not to like to do but I say you tell me you don't like to run yeah i don't really like
running that's that's a good thing for you not like to do about that we found that because i
have to run how do you feel about running now that you don't do it as much anymore i feel i feel good
about running for fun you would go run for fun oh yeah what tell mr matt what did you do in high
school what about running i did cross country you did cross country hey but i'm doing some things
what i like to do i don't like to warski i like to snow ski i don't like to war ski. I don't like to snow ski. I don't like to wakeboard.
I don't like to play football.
I don't like to play chess.
There we go.
Okay.
There's the list.
I like it.
I like it.
And it's only five things.
And how long have you had that list?
When I started to ask my friends things about themselves before I practiced on copying back.
Yeah.
Tanner, why do you like to ask people those specific questions when you're meeting someone
new or talking to somebody.
Because I'm interested in what things I do fun because I care about their feelings.
Yeah, you do.
It makes me feel proud that I'm coping back with my friends.
Yeah, and you like to know where the conversation is going to go.
I do mom, exactly.
Yeah, so I can keep the conversation going.
And Tanner came up with those questions on his own.
That's really cool.
Also, in the summer, like in August, like in the summers
in June and July, and in the spring,
I had to ask my friends if they've been on the invocations
and how their sons are doing, like some of our friends' sons
and their daughters, how they're doing
and how their brothers are doing in sister.
Those are good questions to ask.
Those are great questions.
Those are excellent questions.
And with you and Connor being such close friends,
I'm guessing there's probably some things
that you guys both like a lot.
Yeah. What's something that you and Connor both like? We like swords and we like
dragons. Swords and dragons for sure. So is there a video game or a show you like because of swords
and dragons? Oh yeah. Hey, you know, there's this movie I'm called Quest for Camelot, this cartoon
movie that we like, Quest for Camelot with the magic sword, the Excalibur and these two, these
dragons in it.
Would you ever, I mean, when I think about swords
and dragons, I think about a sport,
have you heard of fencing?
Do you know what fencing is?
Yeah.
Where people like sword fight?
I wonder if you and Connor would like doing that.
That might be fun.
Oh yeah.
Would you do it?
Maybe so.
Would you try it?
It doesn't have any tackling, does it?
No tackling.
No, no, you actually, you're kind of away from them
a little bit because you're doing your sword against each other.
Yes, I'll try it, yes, I'll try it.
Yeah, so you're not real close with your body.
Yes, I'll try it.
And you wear a mask and protective gear
so that if you hit somebody with your sword,
it doesn't really hurt them.
Yes, I would do that, Matt.
Yeah, it's kind of like a skill thing.
Like, you know, like who can move their sword the best.
Yeah, it's actually a sport in the Olympics.
Yes, I would do that.
That'd be, I feel like that'd be fun to watch too.
That would be interesting to watch, wouldn't it?
Oh yeah.
Very entertaining to watch.
I would love to hear the dialogue that goes with it.
I wanted to ask you guys though,
season four, Love on the Spectrum,
do we know if it's happening?
Do we know anything?
We know Netflix approved it.
We know that.
We know that, but we don't know anything else.
Really?
No, we don't.
No way.
No, we really don't. If they asked you? No, we don't. No way. No, we really don't.
If they asked you to do a season four of Love on the Spectrum,
would you want to do it, Tanner?
I would.
You would?
Yeah.
Do you like going on the dates?
I do.
It seems like you've gotten two really good friends out of it
this past season.
Yeah.
Sweet girls.
Sweet girls, yeah.
And how do you feel about everybody that works on Love on the Spectrum?
Can you tell them their names?
Oh yeah, so, doesn't, Mr. Tom? Oh no, Kian? Yeah, the crew. And Freddie, he did, and Emma did,
and Dave and Connor. Dave and Connor. And remember, who was the other little girl that
helped for a while? Chloe, Chloe, yes, Chloe. Chloe? You like all of them. Very nice people.
I feel like if,
because we were talking earlier about marriage
and you said that was like, you know,
stressed you out a little bit.
And so I wonder, you know, if you decided to, you know,
keep taking a break from dating,
if there were ever the chance that Netflix would do
a spinoff show of like,
Friends on the Spectrum and it's you and Connor,
I feel like that would be a really fun show.
Okay, yeah.
Yeah, you would like that.
I like that, I like that. You'd be sure with Connor. I like that. I would. That's been tagged in comments.
Really? A Tanner and Connor show. Okay. What other we thought we would drive back from the car?
You certainly can tell them that then that's kind of like our new idea for what we might do next.
After we went to dinner with I'm in Jess and Gracie
Tell them your next idea for what we're gonna do next it was like think tank was that way tank let's hear it What's your idea? I'd like issue thing about being like being the next D from Blue's Clues and what about the kids part?
How do I explain? Well, you would be like a host
I'd be like a host or you would you would have like an adventure show have like a show
I like adventure with kids very interested in and what would you call it? I'll call it think tank think tank
I like to do it too. Yeah, he's really good with kids like I'm really good with kids
He would come to read to my my first graders and there was 80 first graders sitting in front of him
And they were just like locked in so just doing like a real gift with children
Yeah, and he loves to read and there's what's another exciting thing that? of him and they were just like locked in. So just doing like fun things. Tara has a real gift with children. Yeah.
And he loves to read and there's,
what's another exciting thing that Taylor's working on?
What is she writing?
She's writing something about me, right?
A book about you.
A book about me.
Like a children's book.
His older sister's writing a children's book about him.
No way.
It's really sweet.
It's being illustrated right now.
So there's a couple of things that we're working on.
Does she have children?
She is pregnant.
Yes. She's due in November. So you're going to be an uncle? Yeah, I'm going
to be an uncle. I'm going to be an uncle. I'm the first baby in the family. We're so
excited. Yeah. But we were, the reading in the school thing was another accidental thing.
The school that the other, Tanner went to a different school in Columbia, but the school
that our other children grew up in, asked him when he was home one Christmas, would
he just come in and read? Just like as a special guest, just to be a guest reader.
And I'm like, yeah, he loves little kids, we'll do that.
Never thought a thing about it.
And he sat down, picked the book up,
in front of these kids, and it was like magic.
He's so good with them.
And kids just, they're just drawn.
And then you started, you were just reading,
you read a Christmas book,
and you were just kind of reading whatever the teacher gave you for a while.
And then we actually started reading books
pertaining to autism and stimming,
and talking from a children's perspective.
And what do you teach them?
Like what did you teach my students?
I taught them what stimming is.
Yeah, and you give examples.
You show them.
And you show them and you get some on their feet.
And we're like, my dad was a teacher,
my sister was a teacher, my aunt was a teacher, Midge is a teacher, and I called Mark after one of
these readings and I was like, oh my God, he's a teacher.
He's a teacher.
I'm like, that's his gift.
He's a teacher.
And like didn't even, we never knew.
We never would have like known if we hadn't just gone in and done like a guest reading
spot one day and I
was like maybe maybe that's kind of like what God has for him. It's like to like
impact children as a man with autism that's living alone successfully and
just show them like the world from his perspective and talk to them and I just
feel I don't know, Tani, you really you you feel good about yourself. Yeah, I feel good about
myself. Yeah, when you read to kids,
it's just such a win-win for everybody.
I think being able to interact with kids in that way
is really a skill that you either have or you don't.
You can't teach that.
I agree, I agree.
So I feel like you have that gift, Tanner.
Oh yeah, uh-huh.
Tanner, would it be true to say
that you're more looking for friends than looking for love?
Yeah.
That's good, I think it's good to know that now.
When you started the journey, you tried it,
and maybe it's not timing.
Right, right.
The timing isn't right.
That's right, yeah.
And I think that's, see, Jen, don't you feel
you just said it?
Yeah, yeah, I mean, yeah.
Yep, there you go.
There you go.
Good job.
Matt, what's your favorite food?
Oh, probably shrimp tacos.
That's a good choice.
I like it.
I'm looking on that side, shrimp tacos, too. What's your favorite dessert. I'm with you on that, because I like shrimp tacos too.
What's your favorite dessert food?
Favorite dessert, probably creme brulee.
Have you tried creme brulee?
Ooh, I love creme brulee.
Have you had before, Mitch?
I don't think so.
It's got like a hard top, but then you kind of break it.
It's kind of like a hot pudding on the top.
Yeah, or tiramisu.
Have you had tiramisu?
What's that?
It's an Italian dessert.
Yeah, I really like the Italian.
Yeah, you have fancy desserts.
I like the fancy desserts.
You do like fancy desserts.
That's a good choice.
And we've done that because I like those too. And I also like chocolate. Let me tell you my
three favorite dessert foods. They can be chocolate, cookies, brownies, scotch arous. So scotch arous,
are rice crucian treats or chocolate pasta? You know what a scotch arous is. You might not even
taste make them. Yeah. Hey, have you made them before? I haven't. Abby is an incredible chef though. She makes the most amazing dinners
and baked goods. So I feel very thankful that I'm married to someone who's so talented when
it comes to food. She's a really good cook. Oh, good job. Thanks, babe.
Well, we just were getting a phone call from the studio telling us to leave.
We should probably wrap this up. But Tanner, Nikki, Midge, thank you again
so much for coming on the show. I actually enjoyed this. Yes, this was really fun. I did crush it.
I did crush it. Thank you for having us. And thank you for all the joy that you're bringing to the world.
You're welcome. You're welcome. It was so fun. I did definitely make you happier. And where's
the best place for people to connect with you Tanner? On Instagram
and TikTok. Instagram and TikTok. All right you heard it right there folks. Well we will see you
in the next episode and go check out Tanner's Instagram and TikTok. Yes sir. Thank you.