We Need To Talk with Paul C. Brunson - Love On The Spectrum's Abbey Reveals She Wanted A Boyfriend To Feel “Normal”

Episode Date: March 24, 2026

Abbey Romeo became one of the most recognisable faces on Netflix’s Love on the Spectrum, but her journey to finding love, identity and a voice was anything but simple. In this conversation, Abbey opens up about growing up with autism, the reality of feeling isolated and misunderstood, and what life was really like before the show. Abbey shares what autism feels like from the inside, describing it as living between two worlds, while Abbey’s mum Christine reflects on the challenges of raising a child in a system she believes is often broken. They speak honestly about the early years, from communication struggles and emotional breakthroughs to the moment Abbey first understood her diagnosis and how that shaped her identity. Christine also shares the unseen side of parenting, the survival mode, the lack of support, and the turning points that slowly gave them hope. Abbey also reflects on finding love with her boyfriend David, what their relationship means to her, and the quiet ways he makes her feel safe, understood and seen. From building a successful hat business to discovering her voice through music, Abbey demonstrates how purpose, creativity and connection have transformed her life and why representation matters more than ever. Abbey Romeo, We Need To Talk (00:00) Intro (01:50) The Success of Love on the Spectrum (02:39) How Abbey Felt When She First Joined the Show (03:46) Why Hannah Montana Is Important To Abbey (04:50) Abbey and Christine on Becoming Public Figures (06:04) Why Christine Didn't Think Abbey Belonged On The Show (08:17) Abbey’s Emotional Connection to Mermaids (10:22) Abbey Gifts Paul One of Her Hats (12:32) When Abbey Discovered She Was Autistic (14:12) Abbey’s Experiences Across Different Schools (17:59) Christine’s View on the Origins of Autism (18:45) How Abbey Defines Autism (19:23) Paul Shows Abbey a Photo of Her as a Baby (21:00) What It’s Like Filming Love on the Spectrum (25:10) What Abbey Likes About Her Boyfriend David (28:31) Does Abbey Love David? (32:45) Shopify Ad (33:51) When Abbey and David Became Official (36:16) How Much Time Christine Has to Herself (37:11) Christine on Parenting an Autistic Child (41:47) What Abbey Loves Most About Christine (45:56) Abbey’s Musical Ability (47:50) Abbey’s Favourite TV Shows (49:03) David’s Ability to See Numbers as Colours (52:15) Paul Surprises Abbey With a Message From A Celebrity Guest (58:16) What Abbey Wishes People Knew About Autism (58:48) What Abbey and David Like to Do Together (59:21) The New Series Of Love On The Spectrum (01:00:03) Most Memorable Conversation (01:03:16) Paul’s Takeaways Follow me here: https://www.instagram.com/needtotalk  https://www.tiktok.com/@weneedtotalkpod Follow Abbey here: https://www.instagram.com/hatsbyabbey https://www.tiktok.com/@hatsbyabbey Sponsored by: Shopify: www.shopify.co.uk/needtotalk  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Hilton, for the stay. When I was little, I would get very jealous of couples because I wanted to have that so badly because I felt very isolated and alone. Look at me now. Hey. Hey, it's nice to meet you. Oh, I like your shirt. He knows I'd ready. David, I would imagine he makes you feel like a princess. Yeah, sometimes.

He says things that make me feel good. He covers my ears when there's a certain noise I don't like. I don't want to be alone. I want to find someone. I turned to my mom and asked her, do I have autism? And she said yes, and we both started to cry. Why are you so mad? Because I want to have what typical kids have.

I always cried. Not towards you, but towards the situation. When was the first light that cracked through that darkness? Love on the spectrum has helped destroy many myths about autism. What do you wish more people knew? That there are many different kinds of autism. If you can't call it something, how do you help something? How do you help some?

Look at this pretty sparkly hat. Most of this session, I killed two birds with one stone. You have been the most productive out of all of us. Now, you're ready for the surprise? Oh my God, crazy! Before we begin, I just want to say, if you enjoy this conversation, be sure to like it. Be sure to comment about what you appreciated.

And be sure to subscribe. It helps us to bring more guests that you want to see. Abby Romeo? Yes. Christine Romeo. We need to talk. Okay. All right.

Can I start with I watched all three series in two days? Wow. Of Love on the Spectrum? On Love on the Spectrum. I'm so happy people understand autism now these days because back in the day, no one understood autism. And that made me feel very isolated and alone. Yes. And today, I'd say that show Love on the Spectrum has helped, I think, to destroy many myths about autism.

Yeah. And I love us to talk about all of this. But just starting with the show, Love on the Spectrum, is it is a very big show. Very, very big. They've won seven Emmys. You've won seven Emmys. I think they've won seven. You've presented at the Emmys.

Yeah. Okay. Now, the show, the first time that you heard about the show, Abby. Yes. Do you remember what you were, what you first thought about when you're, because I would imagine your mother, first told you about the show. Yes. Okay.

Were you excited, happy, unsure about what the show would be? Not really. Do you remember how we started? We first met the guy from Love on the Spectrum and Spectrum Laboratory. You were taking a class. So when we started with Love on the Spectrum, it was unknown.

We should say that... Yeah, sure. Thank you. It was unknown. So they had done two seasons in Australia, but it hadn't aired yet. And when they're interviewing us on Zoom from Australia, we didn't know what it was. It was just a guy on a Zoom call.

And of course, I was a little bit more like, who are you? And what is your intention? And then he said what it was and said, please go watch Love on the Spectrum Australia season one. And I went and I watched it. Abbey wasn't interested in watching it. It's hard for her. You know, TV, the shows are very selective, what she likes to get into. Okay.

So I'm curious on that too is, Abby, what shows do you like? What movies do you like to watch? Movies and the show I really like is Hannah Montana because as part of my autism, it feels like I'm living a double life. That's why I see. So Hannah Montana. Why is it a double life? Because autism. Sometimes my autism feels like that it's doing, um, that is isolated alone and I fit in is what it feels like.

You told me you felt like two different people Yeah, that's how Miley Stupid felt like two different people Her real self was Miley Stewart When she's in school And then her secret pop star was Hannah Montana Oh, okay, this makes sense This makes sense

So then movies because And it's its 20th anniversary Oh, this year? Yeah Oh my gosh I can't wait Who you want to meet? Miley Cyrus

But the good news is I met Noah Cyrus her sister You did It was an angel You did So if you met Miley Cyrus What would you say? Oh, my God.

You know, and I bet she might say the same if she met you. Yes. A lot of people see I look like her. Yes, yes. Do you realize now, Abby, that you are a public figure, that you are famous? Yeah. Yes, yes. And, you know, your mom is famous, too.

She's the famous. I'm the plus one. Let's get real. No, no, that you both have become public figures. Well, I like for us as that, I'll be spread. joy like Tanner from from love on the spectrum, Connor, everybody really. And I feel like I'm getting to share the advocacy part is really my intention, just the journey, helping other parents, trying to figure out this thing called autism. Yes. And just inspiring other, because we're on the

other end of it. And when she was little, I always sought out parents of older children to see, like, what are you doing now? What did you do? I was so lost. It's a mysterious challenge and one that's really can be quite overwhelming. I think this is the brilliance of the show is that it's helping to demystify and making autism, I think, more under, there's a higher level of understanding, right, with it. And so with the show, too, is, so you, first, Christine, you were unsure. Very unsure. What this sure.

So what was it about what you heard that made you want to participate? That's a particular conversation. I watched season one. I laugh. I cried like everyone else. And I said, this show, this is honestly my opinion. We used to have a name for low support needs, autistic people, and it was called Asperger's. We don't use that term anymore.

So I honor what the vibe is in the world. But I understood it for the first 15 years of her life. We did use that term. And I understood that population because they were usually educated together. You know, she went to an autism school. and in that population, there's not a big speech delay. There's speech differences in I don't know what to say, but I can access my language. Yes.

She didn't have that. So to be on a show where you're chit-chatting, it's going to be hard. So I said, I don't think she's right for your show. You want conversational things, and I'm watching these great people that had definite struggles, but not the same as her. And I thought, well, where do we fit into this? But the director Keanu Clary was lovely and he said to us, I'm just telling people's stories.

This is your story. And we want to show more diversity of the spectrum, which was people that might have had more struggle. Yes. And when he said that, I said, well, then I'm a fool if I don't share our story because this is what I want people to see. Well. I want them to see the levels, the kinds,

the differences within this thing we call spectrum so that we can understand all of the, types within this vast landscape. Very interesting. Very interesting. So do you remember Abby and Christine, do you remember the first conversation that you had about actually participating in the show?

Do you remember Abby? Talking about when we first came to the house, when they first came to the house? The first part they came to the house, they made me sit in my room, and I was completely zoned out, and I lost a lot of focus. But the next day, they came back

and I finally got to move around. And it was easier for me to focus the next day. Okay, very good. That was a big lesson. So we knew we talked about boyfriend and relationships. And that's really what the show's about, right? And Abby definitely, I think, Abby, why don't you talk about that, about having a relationship?

You wanted one. This is back then, remember? When I was little, I would get very jealous of couples because I wanted to have that so badly because if I did, I knew I would be able to fit in because I felt very isolated and alone. Okay. So you wanted a relationship. So badly. Yes.

And I think this is what's interesting to me about the show is that... It's like how Ariel had a relationship with Prince Eric. Oh, okay. This is in Little Mermaid. Yes, yes. I noticed, too, is this the significance of the pins? Yeah, it's mermaid themes. I see it.

It's my hair. I see it. So not only do you like Hannah Montana, but you like Little Mermaid in Ariel. Yes. That's my other star, favorite story, because she wanted to be with the humans. just like how I'm going to be with the typical kids. Oh, I see. That's why.

I see, I see. And when she became human, Ariel couldn't talk when she was human. That's how I felt. When you were a little girl. Okay. Because one time I came home and I told my mom, I have no voice just like Ariel. Do you remember when I said that?

I sure do. She came. How old were you? Four or five? Five or six, maybe? Five or six. And if I understand, descriptive language is very difficult. So for her to come to me and say,

I feel like Ariel, I have no voice. on dry land, it was one amazing expressive language for me to understand. Yes. And then, too, the actual analogy itself was brilliant to me. And it helped me and understand. So I was like, there are so many layers to this, you know. It is. And I think also even in the title of the show and connecting to what you're saying, it's

love on the spectrum. So it's a spectrum. Yes. Right. And I think that the misunderstanding around autism is it's a, I think people think of it as a light switch, like it's either on or off, but it's more so like a dimmer. Hot. That's a really great way of describing it, I think.

The show really is one of my favorite shows now. Aww. How does that feel? That feels so happy because I used to feel isolated and alone as a child. Yes, yes. Shins, look at me now. Look at you now. Look at this pretty sparkly hat.

I'm going to make another one. You've got to use up all those red sparkling yellow. Yes, I love that. The hats, I love wearing hats as well. If I could, I'd love to be able to buy a hat. As a matter of fact, we got one. Oh my gosh, no. Is that for me?

Yes. Are you serious? I made it me. Did you really? Yes. Oh my gosh. Can I read this? Of course.

Oh my gosh. Abby, did you write this? I sure did. Okay. It says, dear Paul, thank you for having me on your podcast. I hope you like this hat I've made for you love Abby Oh my gosh Is that you making? Is that a photo of you making that?

Yep Oh my gosh Okay so now hold on How do I style this? All right Abby you have to tell me how to how to wear this You put it on your head Okay Okay so how it looks on you

Okay do sometimes you have to push them back a little bit To push it back Yeah okay let me see Let me see Oh my gosh you look at me Oh thank you thank you thank you Should I roll it up a little bit bit or you can pull it down but then let the back like put it in the back okay so put it

it for me style me I'm gonna style me here we go like that style me like that style me a little bit style me a little and then we put that back like yeah there we go that looks cool all right Abby how do I look is this it you like this that you look great all right I'm gonna I'm gonna keep this off a little bit I like this thank you Abby this is good I really appreciate this this is you know what I think is so beautiful is that the world is getting to see more and more of you, Abby. And through seeing more and more of you, Abby, what's happening is that we're seeing more and more people with autism.

Yes. We're seeing you as human beings. For so long when I grew up, I felt as if people who had autism were placed in this small box and basically told, don't come out, stand at the back of the line, right? Like you had to, remember? So when you were a little girl, when was the first time you were, you? you realized you had autism. When I went to an autism school, I asked my mom.

My mom and I were driving in the car. I told me. I was nine years old, and I turned to my mom and asked her, do I have autism? And she said, yes, and we both started to cry. So I said, I would go around saying, I don't have autism. I have Asperger's. Why did you say?

Because I was mad. I wanted more language. And I wish I was a typical girl, and I wish I was Jewish. And I used to say I wanted to be Jewish. You know why? David's Jewish. My boyfriend's Jewish. Oh, that's why.

Do you want to be Jewish? But what was the other thing about that? You get eight presents. Guarantee. Eight presents. I can't guarantee that. So you wanted more presents? But I would have had a menor in my house and light eight candles.

Because that's what my boyfriend does. Okay. Okay. Wow. Look at that. Look at that. So now at nine, you told your mom you had autism, but you cried. Yeah, because, and I thought, like it, plus more boys had it,

and that was a really bad thing. Well, that was only when you were first diagnosed. That really wasn't true as you got older. As I got older, more girls have been diagnosed. So you went to an autism school starting at seven years old? At eight years old. And at that school, it was an autism school. You know, I had not planned on...

There was an Asperger's class. I had not planned on using that word, the A word, in terms of her. I just didn't think it was necessary because she was at an autism school. And I just wanted to feel like it was okay, like this is your population. And it just didn't. didn't seem, whereas I think if you're in a typical environment and you feel like you don't fit in, you may need some better understanding, but that's not where she was. Okay.

So she heard it at school. I did go to a regular school also, but for a short period of time. Okay. And you remember that going to the regular school? Yeah, because I, Anna would get jealous of typical kids, but mostly the girls because I wanted to do what they could do. But my brain wouldn't let me, and even though it made them uncomfortable. Okay.

Were you happy or sad in the regular school? That's a good question. That's a very good question. I'm not sure. You don't know how you feel about that? I think I was in some ways happy in other ways, not so much. Probably a good answer. Okay.

Yeah, it is great. Because the curriculum there was right for me. And in the regular program at Village Glen, the school I went to, my mom had to put me in vocational school for high school. I got moved to vocational school. Okay. Which is why we have a pet business. Oh, really? It all connects.

It does all connect. And if I told you all the little moments of listening to other people, I mean, the vocational thing stuck in my head because her brother's kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Marcus, from your elementary school, had a 35-year-old autistic son. She was six. And she'd stand outside the kindergarten room and she'd say, oh, my son, he took classes, he graduated, he even took some college classes, but he has no life skills. So he sits home and he doesn't, I should have given him more vocationalism.

things. I should have given him job training. And I just never forgot her words. There you go. That even though he had some college, it's what kind of life are you building here? It's not about a piece of paper. It's about what are we doing? And so it just resonated with me. So it was easy for me to make that decision because I kept hearing her voice. Her voice, yeah, which was brilliant that you made that decision. You know, also, if we can go back, when you mentioned at nine, that seemed like that was a big moment where you turned to each other and you cried at that moment. What did you, what did autism mean to you then, Christine? What was your, what was your familiarity with autism? I mean, she was nine years old. So I was in, I was in fight mode. By now I have a suit of armor on. And because autism is

one thing and the system is another. And I've been on record to say sometimes the system is worse than the autism itself in terms of managing it. I'm spying through a glass window because I demanded to watch what's going on in the classroom. And there's a lot of stuff that I think it's a broken system. I mean, there's fabulous, amazing people who I will love forever. Yes. Participated in our programs. I'm still friendly with many of them. Wow. But it's still an awkward battle. So at nine, I had my armor on. I still didn't quite know what I was in for, but, She was now in the autism school when I was dealing with the issues there because that wasn't perfect either. But when she came to me and said it, and again, we had not a lot of expressive language at that time.

So for her to actually come to me and ask that question, the way she asked me, or driving in the car, she just turned to me with these big, beautiful eyes, and said that I nearly hit us a pole and we would both be out because it was such an emotional moment. Yes. of realizing of, as a parent, it's hard because you feel responsible. You feel it's your child. So you feel like what did I do? Did I contribute in any way, you know, in the birth, DNA part of it to right now? So there's a lot of emotions flying.

And just to demystify that piece, because many people will say, okay, well, autism is about the environment. Autism is about what the mother was eating when she was pregnant. Autism is about genetics. what is your perspective on actually where it comes from? I think all of the above. And anyone that's doing any research to answer those questions is good. You know, the Tylenol thing brought up a lot of controversy, and I agree that the presentation of that information was not great,

the way that was revealed to people. And so, but there was a Tylenol study that we applied to be in. Five years ago, I've known about that. The lack of production of Clutothion is a connection possibility. And, okay, let's just see. If there's something you could study on us to help others, absolutely. Okay. You want to take some of my blood and test it because there's something?

Go for it. I just want to help other people. And, Abby, how do you define autism? I define autism that feels like there's someone living inside of me and that person has autism. and I'm the typical one because and that's just how my brain works. I struggle with language. That's why Ariel and mermaids are still important to me today.

And as a matter of fact, I play mermaid in the pool. Do you? Do you? Because I look so young. Because I look very young. I even look the same in high school. I have not aged a bit. Yes.

Although, can I show you something? Yeah. You have aged a little bit from this photo. Can I show you this? Yeah. Do you remember this? Oh. Do you remember this?

All right, take a look at this. Describe what's happening in that footage. I'm aging slowly, but everyone aged. Everybody does. Look at us. What do you think? Yes. Look at your hair.

Why don't I have a lot of hairs? What's so funny about this is that she had this dark hair at birth, right? Giant, full-head hair. And as she got older, she had blonde roots coming. in. So she had this like... I hope I don't get any grays, but I will let you know if I get some any grays coming in. Okay. Oh my God, that's so funny. But right now it's blonde, yeah, but I tell you what, that photo also, Abby, mom looks great, doesn't she? Yeah. Have I aged? Be nice. In a good way. In a good way. Thank you. I was going to say, in a kill, you look great.

Everybody age it. You call it like it is, sister. I have no problem. Just say it because there was a time when she couldn't do that. So some people say, teach your daughter manners and da-da-da-da-da, because you look at me and say you have wrinkles. And I'm so happy. Or she'll look at me and drop an F-bomb. And I'm like, yes, because there was a time when she couldn't do that. So I'm celebrating just the engagement. Observation.

Yes, what I look. And also what I appreciate already about Abby. Actually, I'll hold on to that and I'll give that to you. That's really funny. What I'm appreciating so much about Abby is, Abby, is it tells it like it is. There's no cover up. And I love that about the show Love on the Spectrum, is that when there was a conversation, it was a pure conversation. There was no fakery whatsoever, you know.

It's very authentic. They shoot it in a very authentic way. And you don't even know they're there. There's no, like, crew. It's literally kind of the, you don't even know when they're shooting or not shooting. Just like a guy, my analogy is it's like there's a repair man in your kitchen fixing a pipe. You know he's there. You can see him.

You don't really know what he's doing. And you just go about your business. Yes. And you wonder, are you done? Yes. And you have no idea, really. That's why it's not difficult to shoot it. It's just you're just doing, you know, life.

But also in the conversations that are happening between, because, you know, there's a lot of conversation between Abby and David. and I've noticed that there were so, there was no performance in the conversation. It was always speaking from the heart. And Abby, I noticed that that's what you do is you speak from the heart, which I think is beautiful. So what, Abby, what is one thing that you like

about the show, Love on the Spectrum? One thing that I like about the show Love on the Spectrum is that I got to go to Africa and see all the lionesses and their cubs. Oh, my gosh. I saw a whole bunch of animals. And I saw people with big yellow jugs walking 10 miles to get water. Did you?

Yeah. Did you? What was your favorite animal? The African lioness. Yes, yes. And we were talking to them right when we were in our safari truck. And I was like, hi, lioness. So, you know, I have so many, there's so many things I have over here.

So many things I have in the seat. But this is another one that I wanted to show you because this, this moment, do you remember this moment? Oh, my God, that's us in Africa. Yes, that is, take a look. Okay. Look at that. Yes, that's us in Africa. So that is, so who's in that photo?

Me, David, Allison, and Aubrey. And who is David? He's the brother. He's my boyfriend. Okay, okay. This is very good. And Christine, you're in there too? I think I actually might have taken this one.

I think this might have been mine because I was sitting in the back next to Aubrey, the sisters. And, you know, it was just such a life-changing experience. And such something I wanted to do. In Kenya specifically, so to go there was amazing. Yes. Yeah. And it was just everything about it and to see her with David and getting her to see her dream come true was just like one of those things that you can't, you know, you dream of.

Yes. Beautiful. Yeah. It was beautiful. Now, I remember I went on safari in South Africa. Yeah. And I was scared of the lions and the lionesses because of how close you get to them. It looked like you were very close to the lionesses. Yeah. We were pretty close. We weren't that. I mean, we were close, but not close enough to feel scared. Okay. Oh. You were singing to them. Yeah. Home on the range. Home on the range. You remember the song you were singing? Yes. Yes. Yes, yes. So then the Safari was an incredible trip on the show. Yes. But it came about because David,

he's the one who encouraged you all to go, right? Yeah, and they'd been before a long, long, long time ago as a family. Okay. So it was something that they talked about in season. I don't know if they talked about in season one or after the show off camera, like just that they wanted to do this.

So it all worked out beautifully. And it was like, you know, a trip of a life. time. Abby, you like to travel, don't you? I do. But now, we just glossed over David, right? Abby, you'd say, oh, that's my boyfriend. Can we go back a little bit? Yeah, yes, we can. So on the show, the show is essentially for, it was set up for you to meet other people, for you to meet a possible boyfriend. Were you nervous about that at all, meeting? Oh, at the beginning I was, but once I started seeing more often, I got used to knowing him. Yes. Now with David, what do you like about David?

He makes, says things that make me feel good. He covers my ears when there's a certain noise I don't like. Okay. For sensory. For sensory. We have, we don't like everything because, you like a lot of things. What are your common interests? Lion King, Little Mermaid, all those things. Also, we're common interests. We're both, um, Carby People. That's the other reason. Barbie people. You're both carbby people, so you like carbs?

Yeah. What's your favorite food? Burgers, fries, cheese, pizza, spaghetti, meatballs, and sweets. Yeah. I try new foods like duck and octopus and they're animals. What are you recently publicly said you want to try? Don't quote me on this. I know it's going to be embarrassing.

But they're called bull testicles. Bull testicles. Yes. Okay. And I did. Well, I do want to try frog legs. You won't eat salad. You won't eat carrots.

Okay. But like, let's bring it off. But bull testicles. Bring them on. Yeah. You said frog legs? Frog legs? Frog legs.

Oh, I've had frog legs. Have you tried rabbit? I have had rabbit too. I want to try rabbit. Yes. Rabbit is good. Rabbit is good. I can't wait.

I'm dying to eat rabbit. Okay. Oh my gosh. Because I'm not. David truly comes across on love on the spectrum. as incredible. What was the moment, Christine, that you realized he was incredible? First of all, David has an incredible family, I think.

And the family and the sisters, it's just a love fest. They're just generous, kind, nice people. And David has all of those qualities. And, you know, these are two people with autism. So whatever their relationship looks like is going to be what they decide. They're neurologically different. So anything that I might think I want is not. transferable to anyone else, really.

That's insightful. Right? To anyone else. So people sometimes judge or have an expectation of what a couple should be doing. And in autism, I just don't think you can do that. I think it's really an individual experience. However, that couple wants to have their time or whatever, I was one time. I always remember this one couple I knew where the girlfriend was nonverbal.

And she had some behavior issues. And then... And whenever she'd scream at her at my... Oh, no. But then the boyfriend had some language. But there was some connection between them that fascinated me so much. Now, a couple like that may not work on TV because you can't show that, but I would watch them together and just feel some, you know, for them, some spiritual connection. Yes. And it was really interesting. So I feel like I learned a long time ago not to judge what it looks like from my eyes. Just like let it be whatever they decide.

That's a great way to describe love. I think so. Because it is about the individual. 100%. Everyone has their own story, their own background, their own history. Yes. And I think you just can't judge it. Yes.

You know? So, Abby, do you love David? I do, but he's not ready to get married. Yeah. I see. I see. There's a difference. Do you want to be married?

Yes. I do. want to be married, but I just don't know when. Okay. All right. I don't need to rush it. I just want to take my time. Yes. You know, so when I was doing the research here, I saw that it was roughly a third of people with autism are in relationships. Roughly 9% are married.

Nine? 9%, right? So I look at those numbers and I think, okay, because it's a, that dimming switch, autism is a spectrum. There's a certain group on the spectrum. that probably a marriage would be highly difficult. But ultimately it's about what you desire. Yeah. Correct? Yeah.

And it looks different for whatever part of the spectrum you're talking about. When we talk about autism, we'll say autistic people blank. And my first question is, what kind of autistic people? The spectrum is a vague word. We don't have mental illness spectrum. We have names under an umbrella. And we don't compare a schizophrenic person to a compulsive hoarder. Both have something under that umbrella of mental illness.

We would say schizophrenic people blank or bipolar people blank. We wouldn't say all mentally ill people blank. So when are we going to have appropriate names, categories? And it's not to call people into categories, but we're not comparing the same population. And yet, I mean, even in the non-speaking population, which you might call high support needs, there's a valedictorian who used an AAC device who was non-speaking. I believe her name was Elizabeth Bonkers, and she was someone who you can Google and see her valedictorian speech. Okay. And so that person who went to school and graduated, there's incredible intelligence in that, and then there's others that have other issues.

So then where are we in that population? And I guess I've seen it because I've been somewhat involved to look at the different types and how they're affected and how it manifests differently. We need to look at that and actually create, instead of getting mad at the system, maybe rally for adaptive life skills or daily living support or some kind of mentorship program. I would mentor some low support needs. In fact, I have two people that I'm mentoring right now that have none of these challenges. But I can see their challenges. I see it. And there's nothing there for them.

I see it. So you're advocating for more specificity in the labels, opposed to this one general category. Well, if you can't call it something, how do you help them? If we can't see and how do we identify what it is. Look what I mean. Oh, yes. That is it. But how do you, it's not finished though, is it?

My mom has to finish it. Oh. Little unknown fact that most people don't know. Every single hat you see. I have to tie it off because the dexterity of that is a little tricky for her. I see. So you do almost all of the hat and then your mother finishes it off. Yep.

All right. That is beautiful. And how many hats do you make a week? A lot. We can wait now. Let's take a break. What do you say? I'm just going to start the first one.

And then we'll take a break from it. You can focus on questions. How many hats a week do you think you make? I make quite a few, like two or three. Not a week, a day. A day. You make two or three. three a day. Still, you make two or three every day.

Yeah. Okay. I'd say she makes, what, 15 to 20 a week? Yeah. Okay. And these hats have been very popular. Everyone loves... Have. Yes, yes. So, have been people buy the hats from all over the world? They have. Where have you sent it in the world? Do you know? I send it to like the other side of the world.

Okay, like where? What countries? I think you sent it went to New Zealand. One went to New Zealand. I'd like to go to New Zealand. Yes. And Australia. Have you ever noticed how many of your friends are sitting on great business ideas? It's usually nothing to do with thinking their idea isn't good enough and everything to do with the execution side feeling a bit too technical.

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Mm-hmm. That is, so now, where was this one? Do you remember? At the cheesecake factory at the Grove. Oh. Oh, is that the Grove? Okay. The Grove.

Is this when you were boyfriend, girlfriend, or just friends? Boyfriend and girlfriends. Okay. I think that, yeah, this was, I think, your second Christmas time, holiday time maybe, second year? No, it was recently. Oh, was it more recent? I don't remember. I think it was like...

Oh, it actually was because you're wearing that new Swardie you got. Yeah, and Nabi ran away with it. Ben's little mini-Australian... Oh, that's such a... Oh, really? She always runs away.

She even runs away with my mom's underwear and my bra. She even took my favorite bra the one I'm wearing and she ran away with it. We do have a little cliptomaniac. It ran away with a whip bomb from one of my friends I went to school with that she made.

Really? Name it. If it's on the floor of this dog, just take it to get you to get you to engage. She wasn't supposed to get you to get it anyway. Yeah, yeah, that's fair. Okay. Okay.

So this is you and David, this is recent. Okay. And this is your boyfriend. This is him as your boyfriend. Yes. Do you remember when you became boyfriend girlfriend? Do you remember that? July 12th, 2021.

That was your first date. When did he ask you to be his girlfriend? I don't remember. You don't? No. It was right at Christmas time. Christmas time. He gave him the red hat, remember?

Yes. You're sitting on the bench. it's actually in the show. Yes. That was all real. Yes, that was all. Look at that. Look at that.

It was all accurate. I literally have a video. They were outside and I was in my little office and my, there's a slider door and I could see him talking to her. And I was kind of like, obviously, because this was all so new to us. And he said, will you be my girlfriend? I was like, because it was so like. Yeah, it's one of those where it's probably a moment that you wanted, didn't know would come. Wasn't sure.

Yes. Really wasn't sure. Because she had had some relationship prior in high school that didn't end so well. And that was really hard. And, you know, what I've wondered through watching Love on the Spectrum in particular, but then really looking at your story is how much time do you give to yourself, Christine? Not only have I been out of his mom, a single mom, since they were five and six. I was working a full-time job. And I could do a funny movie

to survive on the cast of characters that lived in my house whilst I went to work who I did not pay because I didn't have enough money to pay them. I bartered. So I had three or four different people

living in the house in my guestroom while I went to work and you just got to live with me for free cover her after school until I got home from work. Really? Yeah, cast of characters. I mean, my pink hair

guitar playing a person to the Mrs. Doubtfire that I had. And just having them around is such a gift. Yes. Friendships, that kind of thing. But I was working full time the entire time until recently. So I was doing both worlds. And it's really time management. And then you're just on a trajectory of getting stuff done so you can stay afloat.

Yes. But you're in constant survival mode. You do feel like that. And it's just you. Yeah, I can say for me back in the day, you know, 9, 10, 11, 12 years old for her, those are my dark years. What do you mean? They were your dark years. I felt, I felt very resentful and sad, not towards you, but towards the situation that I was.

I was like, this is not the life I ordered. And where is the return policy? Because I want to do over and you don't get that. Right. And I had to make a concrete decision in her teen years that I had to accept this. fully, or I would be miserable for the rest of my life and resentful. And I didn't want to be that person. Who did you have at that time to support you?

No one. My family's from Boston. I'm living in L.A. My family, God bless them. My parents were obligatorily present but not emotionally present for that kind of stuff. My siblings also there, but not emotionally present. I had a couple of friends, but not really anyone. And I think that's what was hard.

My little elementary school group, because she started in that same elementary school, and I'm grateful to those ladies. Yes. Because are you about to cry? I always cry. That's something. I think they, you know, they're still my friends, and they always included her. Yeah.

Yeah. Because that's a hard part because you're like living in two worlds. You have like the autism world and the typical world. I want to be part of the typical. You are. Yeah, as an adult, I'm more typical, but as a child I was more autistic. I think that's how you like to describe it. Yeah, because.

But you did the work. Yeah, that's why when I was a kid, I would say, I want to be an adult and I want to have brown eyes. Because why? Brown eyes are the most common eye color. Oh, I see. Because brown eyes are the most common. Yeah. So you would feel more accepted.

Yes. Do you think my eyes are blue hazel? They look blue hazel. Behind these hazel eyes is Kelly Clarkson's song. Kelly Clarkson. And I see. And I see. You know what, Abby, you continue to put a smile on everyone's face.

Continue to do it, you know. When was the first light that kind of cracked through that darkness where you thought, okay, you know what, we are going to make it? It was, when did we go to Hawaii with Alan? 2019. 2019. Not that long ago. Not that long ago.

It'll be seven years. A friend of ours through a business thing said, go use our condo in Hawaii. And I hadn't really ever done that with her. All we'd ever done is gone back to Boston to see family. And of course, I didn't have any money for the flights to get to Hawaii at that time. And he kept saying, when are you going to go? When are you going to go? And they were quite secure financially.

He said, honey, I'm telling you because we want to treat you. And they paid for the flights. I mean, the buckets came out because that had never happened ever. So that moment was like, I felt like, you know, I won the lottery. I will never forget what Allen and Mark did for us. Because I was so happy. Positive. And that was not so long.

And we went. And we win. Now, when I got that opportunity to go, you know, we had such a good time together, which is the two of us. And I'd never had a trip with her, let alone a good time. And us driving up to the volcano together, like looking at it and sharing the moments. And she was able to express to me like, we're above the clouds. And I'm like, we are above the clouds. Yes.

And it was like we are spiritual. above the clouds right now. Yes. I could see how that was an inflection point and that bit of light gives you hope. Yeah. Yeah. And two years later was the interview for a show.

Two years later in 2021 was the interview. Look how quickly life can change. What I'm wondering too is thinking about how much you've done is, Abby, what do you love most about your mother? that she's helped me the most growing up and she's the one that fought me to get speech and put me in a vocational program for high school to be able to, so I could be able to knit just like that

because without vocational stuff, I wouldn't be doing this today. Yes, yes. And these hats are beautiful. I mean, look, I'm going to wear this. Can I say, Abby, I'm going to wear this all the time now. You are? Yes, thank you so much for this.

When did you start the hats? I started in my vocational school called Millie. on Roscoe Boulevard. And my mom asked the principal the next year, because the teacher was retiring, and she asked the principal if I could take a fence weaving. She told asked the principal, but he said, no, we don't allow that here. Okay. And how old were you, Abby, then?

19, maybe. 19, okay. 19 or 20, because it was your first year at Miller. It's a vocational school with several different programs. They're really good. A car wash, a restaurant, a bakery, weaving. And so she went in. Farming.

Farming. farming and she was exceptional. And they once accidentally put me in woodworking furniture repair. You didn't like woodworking. I didn't know that. They just put her in woodworking with like hammer and nails. And my vision was this one with like a chain saw and cuttings and I was like this would not be a good. It smelled like the cabin in Lake Arrowhead. Yeah, a lot of wood. Yeah. Well, because when I was really little I had a cabin up in Lake Arrowhead when I was super young. And do you remember she was the fastest Weaver that the school had seen, the teacher said she's exceptional, the focus.

And I couldn't believe what I was seeing because dexterity and bilateral coordination were very difficult for her. So I'm seeing this thing and I'm so blown away. But what did you use in the program, remember? What did you use for knit? You didn't use... I used a rigid head loom and a floor loom. What is that?

It's where you sit on a loom, you floor it, and then you make a pie shape to sew it. And you have petals and this. Oh, so you're using your legs. legs, your arms, your fingers. Okay. So I walk in one day to visit the school and do some parent thing and I see her using this machine and I am literally shocked. I took, I still have video of it. I'll send it to you. But it's like, it'll be great. I do. And I couldn't believe what I was seeing. It was the most beautiful thing and I felt hope in that moment. Doesn't it look red and sparkly? Very red and sparkly. Perfect. Matter of fact, I finished one.

Look at that. I mean, you are just. I love it so much. Yes. It's two to three. It's two to three. It's Navi sometimes she takes the yarn and she runs away with it. Yeah. And my mom one time saw young Navi running around the house with the yarn. And she went, ah, ah, ah. You know, my chihuahua, he runs around too. And he steals everything. He steals underwear, too.

Really? And Navi once stole a makeup thing. Makeup, you name it. Lasses, any sunglasses. Yes. She even, what if she runs away with my, with a black one-piece bathing suit of mine. She could do that too.

I hope not. I hope she doesn't do that, but if she does, I'll let you know. Yes. We should be good. We should be good. Now, on the business, too, is, did you sell 100 hats in 60 days?

A hundred of these. She did. It's just absolutely incredible. Well, it's interesting because Madison on season, you know, three of Love in the Spectrum, she talks about her jewelry making. to keep her hands busy.

Yes. And this is a similar thing with the, I think there's an O.T. thing, a processing thing that helps the movement helps with accessing language. So it's very therapeutic and a positive thing for Abby to do it. Plus, it's turned into a business that she fills the orders now. She does the cards. She just, you know, she's involved in all aspects now. Yes.

Which is great. What is one thing that you like most about your hat business, Abby, It's very therapeutic to it. And I'm being productive when I do it. That's one way to be productive, like doing my vocal warm-ups as part of also being productive. Yes. Well, I was going to get into music because I understand that you could sing before you could talk. Yeah.

And I had music therapy at three years old, a lady with a guitar would come in and she played the notes. And I can name every single one of the notes. Yes. This is what I find very interesting. And you could know all the notes, you know all the words for the songs, the lyrics. You remember them all. Yeah. Yours?

And I started hearing myself that I had a great, gorgeous voice because, from her mom, from grandma. Or is it because of grandma? I don't know. I think maybe it was from, give from grandma. Oh, wow. So when you heard grandma say that you have a great gorgeous voice? I heard grandma think she sounded pretty good. Oh, so grandma had a great gorgeous voice.

Yeah. Okay. Does your mom have a good voice? You know, grandma did. First of all, I went to grandma's funeral. She won't let me sing in the house. I can see. I can see.

So you said you were in music therapy. Yes. What was that like? It was amazing because singing was like a sensory need. It's just how I, it was better for me to talk because. Okay, because of me. So you would sing to talk. Yes.

You would memorize lyrics. And that was a way of speaking. Yep. lyrics also because when you sang what's the name of the song that you sang for David about being a boyfriend boyfriend forever boyfriend forever so I showed you my wife cried I showed you a video she cried when she saw you sing it because she thought it was so beautiful she thought it was a great great song and then you sang that song with Kelly Clarkson okay you sang it on her show member yeah okay so you sang that in front of me

in front of millions upon, well, actually, millions were watching on Love on the Spectrum as well. I have another surprise for you, Abby. I think this is the biggest one. Are you ready for it? I am. Okay. So now, first let me ask you, television or show-wise, your favorite shows, we talked about Little Mermaid. Hannah Montana.

Hannah Montana. What other shows do you love? This is us. Oh, my gosh. Because when you watch it, you will see Flashbox. from when they were babies to toddlers to children to teenagers. Yes. I see, this is a theme.

You like shows that there is a, there is a, I'm trying to think about how to say, it's like there's a duality. There's, there's the perspective of a person, of a little, of a younger person, and that younger person is seeing the world. And you like these shows. Yeah. Because I think you see yourself. But I don't like horror movies.

No. But what did you say about this as us? You said it? It's like, well, that's how my mind work. Yeah. In flashbacks. Like flashbacks. So you see flashbacks.

Yeah. There was a scene in a moment, should I say, in Love on the Spectrum, where you were describing David's autism. And I thought that that was fascinating because you said that he sees numbers. As colors. As colors. So do you know the numbers that go with the colors? Yes, I do.

Number one is gold. Okay. Zero is black. Number one is gold. Number two is red. Number three is yellow. Number four is blue. Number five is green.

Number six is purple. Number seven is white. Number eight is brown. Number nine is pink. Number ten is gray. Number 11 is orange. Number 12 is crimson. Crimson.

Oh, my goodness. Amazing. That is amazing. So you now know all of the numbers for the colors for him. I do. And then she memorized the names of his 24 stuffed animal collection and just memorize the names of each one of those stuffed animals, like in the first week that she was, I mean, it was crazy.

Yeah. It's just absolutely amazing. Yeah. And it shows you a level. You know, that's where I say love is an action. Yeah. And by you memorizing those tells me how much Abby you love David. Yeah.

You know the names of all those animals, right? Yes. Yes. And then David, I would imagine, he makes you feel like a princess. Yeah, sometimes. That sounds like the girlfriend is. He's done it before. That sounds like a real relationship right there sometimes.

Four years into it. Four years, like there's good and bad. There's good and bad. Okay. So now, if you think about your favorite movie from childhood, Abby, what is it? Your favorite movie? The Little Mermaid. What other movies that you always talk about?

Shark Boy. Shark Boy and Lava Girl. Shark Boy and Lava Boy. Shark Boy and Lava Girl. Shark Boy and Lava Girl. Tell me about this. It's about a boy with blonde hair. His name is Max.

He has a dream journal. And his dreams come to Shark Poole and Lave Girl. break through the walls and go into the classroom. I got to meet Taylor Lautner in person. He was Shark Boy. He was Shark Boy. I was on his podcast. Oh, my goodness.

What about a lava girl? Her name is Taylor Dooley, and I think she lives in Tennessee. She lives in a different state. Okay. Have you ever met her? Not yet, but I would like to meet her this year. Okay. Do you think she wants to meet you?

I guess. I guess I'm not sure, but I would assume so. Well, you know what, I have an answer? I also got to meet Alexa Vega from Spy Kids. Oh my gosh. Spy kids! That's big. That's big.

And her husband, Carlos Pina Vega from Big Time Rush. Oh, my goodness. Oh, my goodness. So now, but you said Taylor, though, Taylor Dooley, you think that she may want to meet you. You don't know. Of course. I follow her on Instagram. Okay.

Does she follow you back? I'm pretty sure she does. Yes, yes. Now, you're ready for the surprise? Yes. Do you know who this is? Taylor Dooley Now, you ready for this?

Yes Hey Abby, this is Taylor Dooley, aka Lava Girl. I heard that Shrek Boy and Lava Girl is one of your favorite movies and that makes you pretty dang awesome in my book. So I just wanted to say hi and tell you to just keep dreaming and keep shining your light because dreams are so...

Now the Lava Girl Lack just reached out! So you rock and maybe one day it would be awesome. I would love to meet you in person. would be so much fun. Oh my gosh. So I hope you have a great day. Bye. Oh my God. She sent me a message. You attract everybody. Oh my God. Crazy. Does she just reach out? Yes. She just reached out to me. Next, it's going to be Miley Cyrus. Miley Cyrus from Hannah-Montino. Oh my goodness. We watch you back. We watch you back. Oh my gosh.

That is incredible. Did she send me a message? She did. She did. Surprise. Oh, I knew it. I knew she was going to reach out to me. Oh, my God.

And it happened in 2026. It did. It did. You knew you were going to maybe meet her, huh? Yes. Oh, my gosh. You guys, thank you for that. Thank you for that.

This is going to last for the next, what, five years, probably. Yeah, and she was born in 93. Right. Oh, my God. 93 was her year. Ninety-nine. How cruel is that? Yes. Oh, my God.

My Pela Longer was 92. Correct. Both the 90s. Yeah, both 90s. But early 90s. Yeah. Oh, my gosh. What are you going to, because she is going to watch. She plays off a girl.

Yes, and she's going to watch this. So what do you want to tell to her right now? I can't wait to meet you in person. I look forward to. meeting you in person sooner than later. Same with you, Miley Cyrus. Because I love watching you on Hand, Montana, because I really related to your two characters you play.

Do you want to say thank you to Taylor for doing that? Oh, yes. Thank you, Taylor, for doing this to me. I love watching you, well, playing the role as Lava Girl when you were at the age of 12. Look at that. And I was seven. Wow.

Look at that. And there are 12 numbers on the clock. Yes. And there are 12 months in a year. Connecting the dots, aren't you? Yep. Yeah. And six is half of 12.

Correct. Six times two equals 12. That's right. You are so over the moon, aren't you? Because I am over the moon. I can see it. It's really interesting. And I look forward to meeting you too, Miley Cyrus, because I really loved watching you on Hannah Montana.

Yes. Yes. And like seeing your best friends, Lily and Oliver. Right. These shows have major impact on kids that have neurological differences. And oftentimes they bring them out. And there's this issue with connectivity. And your brother.

And the kind of autism out behalfs. Yes. Connectivity, which is coming out of that neurological world and into an engagement of just a moment. And we didn't have that for a long time. You know what? Also, I can see how happy you are about this. Oh, I can't believe it.

I don't know. But also, were you just, happy? Were you just singing a little bit? Were you just singing, I think? Yeah, before. Because do you say, when you're happy, Do you sing? Yeah, but I should start singing originals.

Oh. Like I'm working on a new song right now. It's called Right Here Right Now. Yeah. Okay. Okay. Is this your song? Yes.

It's an original. Can you give us a little bit? Right here, right now. Find the joy like inside out. It's just that chorus. All right. It's the song. It's about learning how to change the memory.

Because, yeah, I have a hard time. I have a hard time staying in the moment. So it's like a flashback. So whenever I see someone falling asleep, flashback of me on school bus of another girl falling asleep. To what year was that? Sixth or seventh grade.

That's a flashback. It's just like This Is Us. Yes. And that's why you like This Is Us? Yeah, because Mandy Moore is in it. She plays Rapunzel. She plays a Disney princess. So here's the thing about this is our.

You know, everyone, I didn't watch it. So I binge watched it like a couple years ago. And it is the only time that I'm sitting down and watching TV where she was in the other room listening to it because sitting down and watching is too much. But she was auditorily intending the show. And then all of the sudden, she started to come into the room and stand and watch and stand and watch.

And by the mid of first season, when she saw the structure of the show with the flashbacks and the beautiful casting in that show. Yes. Best casting I've ever seen with kids because you could tell which kids was, you know, me it was very clear who was who I felt. She sat and watched the entire show with me. It was absolutely fascinated.

And she said to me halfway through, she said, this is how my mind works. And I went, aha moment. Because if I could understand that she can't help when stuff pops in her head and takes over, I always describe it as, you know, when you're in a movie, like let's say it's a Tom Cruise movie, high affect, running, you know, your hearts raising with Tom Cruise because you're so, You're so epically involved in those stories, cinematically. Yes. That's what it's like for her.

That's why she can't answer my question. That's why she's going off topic. And I have to adjust how I react to it. Yes. You're not wrong. I'm not wrong, but I have to understand the why in order to get into that. Yes. You know, when you think about this, there's so much confusion around autism.

And I'm just learning really, really learning myself about it. Abby, what do you wish more people knew about autism? What do I wish more people knew about autism? That there are many different kinds of autism. The kind of autism I have is a language and brain disorder, I mean, I have a speech delay. And other people with autism can talk easily. And there are other people with autism who have no language and can't talk at all.

So they use a device for language. I tell you, Abby, can I ask three more questions? Yes. Okay, all right. Now, you're ready? Yeah. Okay, this is question one. This is going to be about David.

Okay. So what do you like to do together with David? David and I like to go places like the L.A. Zoo, Disneyland, Universal Studios, the Griffith Observatory. Because the Griffith Observatory Planetarium Show makes me think of this Disney Channel movie called Xenon, Girl of the 21st Century with Raven Simone. Raven Simone. Everyone loves Ravensimon. And Space Mountain is where Zinon lives. with her friend Nebula.

I thought Raven Simone's on it. Yep. Yes, yes. All right. So now I have a love on the spectrum question. All right. Is there more love on the spectrum to come? Yes, there is.

There is. Have we already started filming it? Not yet. Not yet. But we're going to film it this year? They have a season four coming out. For sure. Season four, okay.

I mean, I think they're going to keep going with it because it's pretty easy for them to shoot it And it's become so, such a wonderful portal for understanding, you know. Yes. Yeah. All right. So then last question. This is a good question, okay?

This question is, if you think about all of the conversations you've had in your life with all of the different people, which one stands out the most? Which one did you learn the most from? What conversation changed your life? Is there one? There must be many. Wow. That's a lot. Conversations like talking.

Could be a talk that you've had that you always remember. It could be with your mom or maybe your grandmother or could be with a friend, something that you always remember. I always remember the conversations I've had with my mom and my dad. I remember the conversations I had with my family when I had a family reunion in 2025. Oh, that's right. And I talked to all my cousins, my aunts and uncles. Okay, okay. Do you remember anything from when you were younger?

I couldn't want that much. Oh, that's true. Yeah, yeah. That's good. So the family reunion, everyone must have said, oh, my gosh, it's Abby. It's Abby. You know, listen, it was the best thing ever. So it's my siblings and their children who are all adults.

And my youngest brother went ahead and made T-shirts. And he gave Abby a T-shirt that said, Abby, on the back, and said Romeo Family Reunion. And we thought, oh, he gave everyone T-shirts with our names on him. So Abby got the first one. And then he came to me, goes, Christine, you're next. And it's a shirt that says, I know Abby.

We all bought shirts. They said, I know Abby. Look at that. Which was really funny. It was really great. I tell you, I want to thank you for coming in. Abby, thank you so much for being here. So, can I say,

I thank you for this hat. This hat I am going to keep for a long time. Christine, thank you so much. I think you both, you know, in a movie, you know there's heroes. There's good people and bad people. Yeah, just like how there's good people and bad people in real life. Exactly. And you know what, Abby, you're one of the good people.

Yeah. So thank you. And your mom also is one of the good ones. And your mom also is a hero. and your mom should be applauded. So, Christine, well done. Oh, thank you. Thank you.

That was awesome. And thank you for sharing as always, because this is a miracle, just so you know, just having her sit here and talk to you and answer us. This was something for all those parents out there that are wondering that this was not possible, even five or six years ago. Because we've been working on it so much.

We practice conversational language, skills, staying on topic, managing when memories pop in. I have strategies to maybe block it out so we can go back to the rephrasing of the question. Yes. So even just this, within this kind of autism, is no short of a miracle. Yeah, this is a, we had a full multi-hour. We've been here for hours conversation. And I've been very impressed with Abby, with your focus and your concentration.

I'm really focused. And look, most of the session, I was, I killed two birds with one stone. Stop killing two birds with one stone. You were, you have been the most productive out of all of us in this conversation. Abby and Christine, I always assumed it was one category, that autism was one category. I never really grasped the spectrum of it and the range of it. And having this conversation with Abby and her mother was enlightening. And it truly did help me.

I have done reality dating shows forever for over 10 years. I learned so much watching Love on the Spectrum. I loved it. I loved it. And Jill, you know, my wife, she loved it as well. She was crying through most of it. But what I took away mostly was the importance of honest dialogue. You know, the conversations that the contributors on the show were having were all pure, all

all pure, you know, moments where someone needed to break up with someone or they didn't want to go on another date and how they were able to say it, opposed to ghosting them or lying and covering it up, but saying, no, I feel fearful saying this, or I feel anxiety coming over, or I feel nervous, but I'm going to say it anyway. That level of truthfulness was so refreshing. That was beautiful, and I think we can all take away the importance of authenticity in relationships. Abby Romeo hands down a hero. Those days were difficult because it's already scary. He's already got cancer. When you hear your father is considering

assisted dying, what do you think? Dude, choked the handle, perfect match, dancing with the stars, then let's marry Harry. You walked away with 2.4 million followers. Four and a half. Oh, shut the up. Never get that wrong again, brother. Here's where I want to go with this. Yeah, OnlyFans. You became one of the highest grossing male creators. How much have you made? $1.000. Pretty good, huh?

I'm gonna leave with my heart, and I'm gonna keep him strapped away. I just broke 13 months of being sober. I was going through the worst breakup I ever went through it. There was a really bad version of myself. What about with any of the ladies, would you have done anything differently? You know what? Even after my last breakup, which was a big one that really messed me around, The purpose of me doing these shows was to make my friends laugh.

My friends aren't laughing. They're actually not here anymore. I had three people in total that I'd lost to suicide. Now, your father recently passed away. I remember he looked at the doctor and said, grief, it never goes away, and I never wanted to go away. I want to always feel when I think of my dad. What a gift, life.

I've seen you open up here like never before. There's one more topic that I want to get into. I saw you say you are open to now. Being married. I am. Olivia Rodriguez, the unraveled tour across North America

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