Armchair Anonymous: Meet Cute III

Dax and Monica talk to Armcherries! In today's episode, Armcherries tell us about a meet cute. Follow Armchair Expert on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch new content on YouTube or listen to Armchair Expert early and ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/armchair-expert-with-dax-shepard/ http://www.wondery.com/links/armchair-expert-with-dax-shepard/ now. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Dax Shepard?

  Welcome, welcome, welcome to Armchair Anonymous. I'm Dan Shepard and I'm joined by Monica Padman.

• 0:05Speaker 01

  Hi.

• 0:06Dax Shepard?

  Your favorite prompt.

• 0:08Speaker 01

  I love this prompt. It's a very sweet prompt.

• 0:12Dax Shepard?

  This one was extra sweet. It has one and I had to immediately tell my children at the dinner table.

• 0:16Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 0:17Dax Shepard?

  Yeah, there's a very sweet one.

• 0:19Speaker 01

  We're not gonna spoil it, but you guys, you can listen to this one.

• 0:23Dax Shepard?

  You can listen to it and prepare to have a lot of sweetness. Yeah, these are sweet and they're life-affirming and positive. Uh, Hellenic Studies. Please enjoy Meet Q. We get support from Quince.

• 0:35Speaker 01

  I have to say, I am so ready for fall. I want sweaters. I've been craving a true crisp morning where I actually need a jacket. I can't wait.

• 0:44Dax Shepard?

  I'm fully there. The second it dips below 70, I'm like, this is my season. Give me the layers, give me the boots, give me a reason to wear something other than a t-shirt. And honestly, that's why I love Quince because fall is when your wardrobe actually has to show up and everything at Quince is 50 to 80% less than similar brands. We're talking 100% Mongolian cashmere sweaters, starting at $60.

• 1:07Speaker 01

  $60. $60 for cashmere that you'd expect from a luxury brand without the luxury price tag. It's amazing. Gets me every time. It really shouldn't be real, but it is because they go straight to the factories, they skip the middlemen and they just hand you the savings. The stuff isn't trendy. It's the kind of pieces you grab over and over because they work every time.

• 1:25Dax Shepard?

  The 100% Mongolian cashmere sweaters for me are it. When I look at Steve McQueen, this man owned a couple of sweaters he wore all the time and he looks iconic.

• 1:34Speaker 01

  It's a uniform.

• 1:35Dax Shepard?

  Mm-hmm.

• 1:36Speaker 01

  And Quince isn't just about the clothes. They have hotel quality bedding, cookware, bath essentials, thoughtfully designed furniture. You can really go there and outfit your entire apartment or house. So if you're in need of any kind of fall refresh at home too, same quality, same attention to detail for every corner of your life.

• 1:53Dax Shepard?

  Find your next fall favorites at Quince. Download the Quince app for app exclusive offers or go to quince.com. Get free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. Now available in Canada and the UK too. And when Quince asks where you heard about them, let them know it was Armchair Expert. It's the best way to support the show. We get support from AG1. Fall is that time when your body and mind are getting ready for the winter. You're settling in, bracing for the cold. Your body's already running a deficit from the shorter days and broken sleep patterns. You don't want a nutrient deficit stacked on top of that, too.

• 2:29Speaker 01

  That's where your AG1 routine earns its spot. It's not fixing your sleep or your alarm time. It's giving your body what it needs so the dark mornings don't tank you before you even start. One scoop, cold water every morning before anything else.

• 2:42Dax Shepard?

  AG1 Next Gen has 75 plus ingredients, vitamins, minerals, pre and probiotics, superfoods, backed by four separate gold standard clinical trials. Key nutrient levels improved with three months of consistent use.

• 2:56Speaker 01

  That's the part people miss. It's not a one day fix. It's what happens when you stay consistent.

• 3:00Dax Shepard?

  It's an easy, everyday thing. I've added it to my morning routine and I'm going to tell you, I actually love the taste of it. It's like Pavlovian. I drink it and I know I'm going to get that little vitamin buzz.

• 3:10Speaker 01

  Well, that's also the thing. When you do it first thing in the morning, you already feel kind of self-esteem because you're like, I already did something good for myself.

• 3:17Dax Shepard?

  Yes. Go to drinkag1.com/dax and for a limited time, get a free immunity bundle, including a bottle of omega-3 fish oil and a bottle of vitamin D3 K2 with your first subscription order of AG1 Next Gen or AG1 Pro. That's drinkag1.com/dax. And after checkout, be sure to let them know that Armchair Experts sent you.

• 4:03Speaker 02

  Hi. Hi, how's it going?

• 4:06Dax Shepard?

  Wonderful. Where are you?

• 4:08Speaker 02

  I'm in Philadelphia.

• 4:09Dax Shepard?

  Ah, the great city of Philadelphia.

• 4:12Speaker 02

  Yeah, we have a snowstorm right now.

• 4:14Speaker 01

  Oh, do you have enough supplies?

• 4:16Speaker 02

  Oh, yeah, we're all set.

• 4:17Dax Shepard?

  You got power, clearly.

• 4:19Speaker 02

  Got power. Thank goodness. And the kids had a snow day today, so that was very exciting for everyone.

• 4:24Dax Shepard?

  Oh, there's nothing better.

• 4:26Speaker 02

  I know.

• 4:27Dax Shepard?

  Okay, so tell me, where did this meet Q take place?

• 4:30Speaker 02

  All right, so it took place in Philadelphia. And first, just a little backstory, a little information about me as a. Kid and a teenager, I was a baton twirler and a juggler. And just an all-around musical theater nerd. Those are my big hobbies.

• 4:47Dax Shepard?

  Maybe your high school is different than mine, but I don't remember the baton twirler and the juggler being like the belle of the ball necessarily.

• 4:53Speaker 02

  You're right. Musical theater was kind of separate, a little cooler. And the baton twirler and juggler was really my own thing that my friends didn't really understand. Were you in pageants? I wasn't. I just enjoyed the fun of it. I didn't want to compete.

• 5:09Dax Shepard?

  Now, I could see that hobby bringing you into other cultures. Like because the Grateful Dead, people were so into different hand toys. I could be like, well, fuck, maybe that's my home.

• 5:19Speaker 02

  Object manipulation, they call it.

• 5:21Dax Shepard?

  Oh, object manipulation.

• 5:23Speaker 02

  So if there was like a school talent show, that was my jam. So my story begins in 2011 in Philadelphia. I was 24 and I was fresh out of college, figuring out what I wanted to do with my life. I wasn't sure what direction I wanted to go in. And I thought maybe I wanted to be a teacher, work with kids. I had all these part-time seasonal jobs.

• 5:45Dax Shepard?

  What degree had you picked up?

• 5:46Speaker 02

  I had a degree in music and English. So neither one super useful. And I was thinking about going back to school to get my teaching degree. But at this point, I was about to leave for an outdoor education job that was going to be in Massachusetts for three months. And before I left, I got this call from an old high school friend. And she told me that she had extra tickets to the Philadelphia Folk Festival the next day. Her parents weren't going to use their tickets and wanted to know if I wanted to join. And I said, sure, that sounds like fun. So I go to this folk festival. And the Philly Folk Festival is really fun. It's folk music, banjos, guitars, lots of hippies wearing tie dye.

• 6:29Dax Shepard?

  There's no overlap with a Renaissance festival, right? You're not eating turkey drumsticks and throwing axes or anything?

• 6:35Speaker 02

  No, none of that. It's more about the music and camping. It's still kind of dirty and hot and. People get into it, but it's a little different than the Renaissance Fair vibe. So at the Folk Festival, there's also this family-friendly area where there's like kids' activities and kids' music, and it's in this nice shady grassy area. And every year at the Philadelphia Folk Festival, this circus troupe called the Give and Take Jugglers perform, and I had seen them throughout my childhood over the years. They were kind of like a staple in Philadelphia. They would perform at school assemblies and camps and my Girl Scout troupe. And they were this really good-natured, family-friendly, rotating cast of jugglers.

• 7:19Speaker 02

  And they put on this vaudevillian, classic circus show. They had this calliope they would crank, and that would play music. And they'd bring kids up on stage and juggle around them. So they just had this timeless, magical quality that was really fascinating to me. And so at the festival, I was excited to watch them and like relive my childhood. So I parked myself in the audience, kind of up this hill in the back of the audience, and they're performing down at the bottom of the hill. The show starts, and this man comes out on stage who I didn't recognize. He had long hair, and he starts to do this routine with his hat. And it's just to music, there's no words. And he's flipping his hat and doing hat tricks.

• 8:01Speaker 02

  And then he throws his hat to someone in the audience, and he mimics to them to throw the hat back like a frisbee and try and get it on his head. Okay.

• 8:09Dax Shepard?

  Mm-hmm, love it.

• 8:10Speaker 02

  That's the point of the routine. So he throws it to them, they throw it back. It doesn't work, it goes off to the side, it lands on the ground. It's comical, he hams it up, he throws it to the next person. Again, they don't know how to throw a frisbee, it goes somewhere else. And the more he tries, the more comical it gets. The tension is building, everybody keeps missing and missing. So finally, he works his way down the crowd, and he locks eyes with me.

• 8:36Dax Shepard?

  Oh, you're the perfect gal for this mission.

• 8:38Speaker 02

  Oh, yeah. And so he launches this hat up and over the crowd, and I see it sailing towards me. And I don't know what came over me or what gave me this confidence, but I stood up and I caught the hat on my head. Wow. Hi.

• 8:55Dax Shepard?

  Wonderful.

• 8:56Speaker 02

  The audience gasps and he reacts with surprise. I'm surprised at myself. I didn't plan it or anything. And so I took the hat off and I launched it back to him and it sails over the crowd and it lands perfectly on his head.

• 9:12Dax Shepard?

  Oh, man. Man, man, man.

• 9:15Speaker 02

  This is so sexual.

• 9:18Speaker 02

  The show goes on and I kind of forget about him. And then after the show is over, I see the performer talking to someone who I was already acquainted with, so I felt comfortable kind of barging in and interrupting their conversation. And I said, hi, you threw a hat on my head. What a great moment that was. And he like looks at me mysteriously and he goes, we were just talking about moments. Okay.

• 9:43Dax Shepard?

  It's like the Middle Ages.

• 9:44Speaker 02

  He was trying to say Sim?

• 9:46Dax Shepard?

  But juggler style?

• 9:47Speaker 02

  Yeah. I was like, ooh, who is this cute guy? So we talked and I told him that I was also a juggler, which was interesting to him. So we juggled together.

• 9:55Dax Shepard?

  Really, Quig, when you juggle together, are you both independently juggling? Are you juggling like tossing back and forth to each other?

• 10:02Speaker 02

  Yeah, we were tossing back and forth to each other. Yeah, we were passing clubs.

• 10:06Dax Shepard?

  That has to be so euphoric. I was just with Erin last weekend and we were talking about how much we miss playing catch with just a ball and a glove. And we were talking about the weird magic of, that should not be as enjoyable as it is, but by God, is it soothing. So I imagine you put six, seven balls in the mix. It's got to be downright euphoric. And sex change?

• 10:23Speaker 02

  If you're good, no one's good at that. When you get it going, you get in the flow, it feels really good. We started talking and before we know it, two hours had gone by and it was time for him to do the next show. So we part and I go home and I immediately stalk him online and come back the next day. I had totally abandoned my friend who had brought me to this festival in the first place and I just hang out with him the whole day. We hang out every single day until I have to go to this job in Massachusetts for three months. One of those days, we are getting lunch and he asks if I would consider being his juggling partner. When I got back and doing the show with him.

• 11:01Dax Shepard?

  Oh, yes. You've been dying to join the circus.

• 11:03Speaker 02

  Yes. I had never considered it as a career, but I had all the skills. And I didn't know what I was gonna do with my life. So I thought, that sounds like a much better idea than getting a regular job. So let's give it a try. When I got back from Massachusetts, I started performing with him and dating at the same time. And we slowly took over the troupe. And we've been performing together full time for 14 years.

• 11:28Speaker 01

  Oh, my goodness. And you're married?

• 11:31Speaker 02

  And we're married and we have two kids.

• 11:33Dax Shepard?

  Oh, my gosh.

• 11:34Speaker 01

  What a great story.

• 11:36Dax Shepard?

  Is this activity taking you overseas? I could see you guys going to Europe with this routine.

• 11:41Speaker 02

  We haven't gone overseas with it. We stay pretty local. We're in Philadelphia, and so we travel kinda up and down the eastern coast. We do a lot of school assemblies and fairs and community events and things like that. So it's nice, because especially now that we have kids, we can stay home, be home at night. Don't need to take anybody on the road with us.

• 11:59Dax Shepard?

  Yeah.

• 12:00Speaker 01

  Do the kids juggle?

• 12:02Speaker 02

  Well, my daughter is seven and my son is three. So they're not quite at the juggling level yet, but my daughter's really into gymnastics. And fun tidbit, we still perform every year at the Philadelphia Folk Festival. And last year was the first time that both kids joined us on stage for a routine.

• 12:20Speaker 01

  Oh, fun. How cute.

• 12:23Speaker 02

  Yeah, it was really full circle and made me so happy to bring them to the place where we had met. And the whole story started.

• 12:29Dax Shepard?

  That's how Buster Douglas got his start. He was a prop in his parents' vaudeville act.

• 12:34Speaker 01

  Buster Keaton?

• 12:35Dax Shepard?

  Yeah. What did I say?

• 12:36Speaker 01

  Buster Douglas.

• 12:37Dax Shepard?

  Oh, that was a boxer who knocked out Tyson for the first time. Yes, Buster Keaton. And they called him Buster. They think it was Buster because they would throw him. You're done. You're over Buster.

• 12:46Speaker 01

  No, we already knew it.

• 12:47Dax Shepard?

  Oh, you already knew that. Okay, everyone here knew that.

• 12:50Speaker 01

  David Blaine episode.

• 12:51Dax Shepard?

  I love that. When I'm hearing it, I'm watching a Guillermo del Toro movie. I want there to be a really cool show about juggler, carny-type folks.

• 13:01Speaker 01

  Well, I think you're thinking of that movie with Bradley Cooper.

• 13:04Dax Shepard?

  That Cooper did?

• 13:05Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 13:05Dax Shepard?

  Yeah, but like the uplifting version.

• 13:07Speaker 01

  Sure.

• 13:07Speaker 02

  Well, if anyone wants to do a movie about us, that'd be great.

• 13:11Dax Shepard?

  Well, first of all, when it becomes a job, does it affect how much you do it for fun?

• 13:15Speaker 02

  Yeah, there's this jugglers' club and it's once a week and we have yet to go.

• 13:20Speaker 01

  Yeah, that makes sense.

• 13:22Dax Shepard?

  And then the other thing I was imagining is you could maybe also track and plot the natural ebbs and flows in a relationship by how much you two are juggling together. You could go like, man, we haven't juggled in the backyard in six months. That's a bad sign.

• 13:38Speaker 02

  When we don't have a show for a while, like if we take a break for some reason, like for the pandemic, it really felt like something was missing in our relationship, like this essential part of who we are as a couple and how we bond. We go out, we do the show, we put in all this hard work. We have to use a lot of teamwork and figuring things out together. And then we go out to dinner afterwards. We kind of have a date. It's this whole ritual. When that was missing in our life, it really feels like we need to do a show together to reconnect.

• 14:06Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 14:06Dax Shepard?

  Yeah, I bet.

• 14:08Speaker 01

  It's like Sunny and Cher, but the good version.

• 14:10Dax Shepard?

  Yeah.

• 14:10Speaker 01

  Where he doesn't take all your money.

• 14:12Dax Shepard?

  Well, funny enough, right? The only thing they enjoyed doing together was working together. Yeah. Well, Allison, this was really heartwarming. I like Star Crossed Jugglers.

• 14:20Speaker 02

  Thanks for having me so much, you guys. This was a real pleasure.

• 14:23Speaker 01

  Good luck in your storm.

• 14:25Dax Shepard?

  Snowball juggles.

• 14:26Speaker 02

  Yeah, we'll juggle some snowballs. That's a great idea.

• 14:28Dax Shepard?

  All right, take care.

• 14:29Speaker 02

  Bye.

• 14:31Speaker 01

  Do you know that I was a clown?

• 14:36Dax Shepard?

  I knew you had a clown class, right? As part of your training?

• 14:39Speaker 01

  Yeah, it was for my training. It was a clown class. Well, it was a semester on, was it a whole semester? I can't remember. I think it was a part of my movement class. But I was really good at it.

• 14:49Dax Shepard?

  I think the French as part of their acting program are really into clown and mime work. And that would be real rough for me to get through.

• 14:56Speaker 01

  No, it's really fun.

• 14:58Dax Shepard?

  It is.

• 14:58Speaker 01

  And I mean, you know, Commedia dell'arte?

• 15:01Dax Shepard?

  No.

• 15:02Speaker 01

  It's improv.

• 15:03Dax Shepard?

  Is this what Marcel Marcel was or whatever the famous clown's name?

• 15:07Speaker 01

  Maybe. Comedia is a improv troupe and there's set characters that have tropes, like this is the messy one or whatever. And then you go to Comedia shows and it was like the first time I saw improv. I didn't audition because I was scared.

• 15:22Dax Shepard?

  Well, someone was telling us about this. A guest of ours was talking about Comedia.

• 15:26Speaker 01

  Yeah, it's cool.

• 15:28Dax Shepard?

  Are the seven dwarves, do they represent the archetypes in Chlamydia?

• 15:32Speaker 01

  No, be respectful, okay? Anyway, it's cool and I was a great clown.

• 15:48Dax Shepard?

  This episode is supported by Helix.

• 15:51Speaker 01

  Dax, is there anything better than crawling into a perfect bed on a cold fall night? Candlelit, hoodie on, maybe even some rain outside. The dream.

• 16:02Dax Shepard?

  That's the dream. You just described one of my ideal fall nights.

• 16:06Speaker 01

  I know, and thanks to Helix, my bed actually lives up to the vibe. All I had to do was take the Helix sleep quiz and within two minutes, they matched me to a mattress built for exactly how I sleep. I have a midnight mattress. It also has cooling technology, which I really.

• 16:22Dax Shepard?

  Increasingly so.

• 16:23Speaker 01

  I need it. I have to have it. And I heard that you're supposed to sleep at a cold temp for optimal sleep. It's very, very helpful.

• 16:33Dax Shepard?

  She is not wrong. I have one too, and it's been such a game changer for sleep. And I love that they make it so easy. Free shipping right to your door. And with their happy with Helix guarantee, you'll get a full 365 nights to try it. A whole year to live in that cozy. They've got over 20 mattress models, so no matter how you sleep, they've got one for you.

• 16:53Speaker 01

  And it's not just us saying it. Helix has been named the most awarded mattress brand by Forbes, Wired and more. You gotta try it for yourself.

• 17:00Dax Shepard?

  Go to helixsleep.com/armchair for 20% off sitewide. That's helixsleep.com/armchair for 20% off sitewide. Helixsleep.com/armchair. We get support from Scottsdale, Arizona. Monica, with summer ending or heading into fall, I've been researching a nice, quick getaway location, and I keep coming back to Scottsdale, Arizona.

• 17:24Speaker 01

  Ooh, Scottsdale's good. What's drawing you to it?

• 17:27Dax Shepard?

  Well, first of all, I have this wonderful memory of going there as a kid when I go see my stepdad when he was working out there. The weather is perfect in fall. Warm, sunny, no humidity. And you can really do whatever you want with your time there. I want to do a sunrise hike through the Sonoran Desert, be surrounded by Sowaro, and then at the same afternoon, just completely melt into a spa treatment at one of their luxury resorts.

• 17:52Speaker 01

  Oh, that sounds amazing. I want to do that. Also, I was there visiting my brother once, and I loved Old Town Scottsdale. It's so walkable. They have galleries and cute little restaurants and shops. The food scene alone is worth the trip.

• 18:05Dax Shepard?

  What I keep reading is that it's luxurious, but not stuffy. There's no pressure to do it a certain way. You can explore public art, check out the architecture, go off-roading in the desert, or just sit and watch a sunset.

• 18:17Speaker 01

  It really is the perfect fall reset.

• 18:19Dax Shepard?

  Learn more about all Scottsdale has to offer at unwindinscottsdale.com. This podcast is brought to you by Squarespace. We've talked before about Rob building our website on Squarespace, and I bring it up again because it's a perfect example of what they do well. Rob had all the pieces, the content, the vision, the ideas, but he needed something to actually take all that and make it public facing. And Squarespace was that bridge. Maybe you're in the same spot. You've been developing something, a business, a skill set, a body of work, and it's been private. It's been yours. But at some point, you're ready to put it out there, and that transition from private to public can feel like a huge leap. Squarespace makes it feel like a step.

• 19:01Dax Shepard?

  Beautiful templates, built-in SEO, email campaigns, scheduling, analytics, everything you need to go from, "I've been working on this," to "Here it is." Come find me. All in one place, no code, no stitching together a bunch of different tools. So if you've been sitting on something and waiting for the right moment, this might be it. Head to Squarespace.com slash DAX for a free trial. And when you're ready to launch, use offer code DAX to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. If you've thought about trying therapy with our long-term partner, BetterHelp, insurance options may now be available nationwide with an average copay for eligible members of just $23 per session.

• 19:46Dax Shepard?

  October 10th is World Mental Health Day, but you don't need a day on the calendar to give yourself permission to talk to someone. I've been in therapy for a long time and the stuff rattling around in my head always just quiets down the second I say it out loud. And it doesn't have to be some big life crisis. Maybe it's a work thing that's taking up too much space or hard relationship moment, or just a feeling that something's off. That's enough. That's worth talking about.

• 20:09Speaker 01

  You know, I love therapy more than anything. Gets me through. Often I'll want to cancel because I'm like, I don't really have anything to talk about. And then I'll go and I have some major revelation.

• 20:20Dax Shepard?

  You know, I was just talking to a friend who has just started it. And I said, one of the most powerful elements of it is just hearing yourself say out loud, the thing that's been ruminating in your head and how different it sounds once it's out into the world. You gain perspective immediately just by hearing yourself say it.

• 20:35Speaker 01

  Yeah, you do.

• 20:36Dax Shepard?

  If you've been waiting to start therapy, BetterHelp works with more than 125 health plan networks and eligible members have an average copay of just $23 per session with insurance. Don't have insurance or live outside the US? You can still get 10% off your first month. Do yourself a favor and just try it. Future you will be grateful. Visit betterhelp.com slash DAX to explore your payment options. That's better H E L P dot com slash DAX.

• 21:13Speaker 01

  Cookie boy.

• 21:14Dax Shepard?

  We got a cookie boy in the house.

• 21:17Speaker 03

  I had to represent.

• 21:18Speaker 01

  I am so pleased. Do you remember the whole debacle?

• 21:20Dax Shepard?

  I do, Jeremy. You're a man after Monica's heart.

• 21:22Speaker 01

  That's right.

• 21:23Dax Shepard?

  It's a shame this is a meet cute story because this could probably be a meet cute story.

• 21:28Speaker 03

  It could be, and I think this one might hit a little close to home for Monica.

• 21:31Dax Shepard?

  Oh, I can already tell from.

• 21:33Speaker 01

  Nice southern accent.

• 21:35Speaker 03

  Yeah. So I am born and raised in Athens, Georgia, and story takes place just outside of Athens in Watkinsville.

• 21:42Speaker 01

  Oh, my God. Well, have you had the strawberry cake?

• 21:45Speaker 03

  I have had the strawberry cake many times.

• 21:47Speaker 01

  So good.

• 21:48Speaker 03

  More of a white chocolate cheesecake fan myself, but the strawberry cake is phenomenal.

• 21:53Speaker 01

  Oh, I love this. This is great news today.

• 21:56Dax Shepard?

  Did you go to college there? Is it weird to go to college in your hometown?

• 21:59Speaker 03

  No, not at all. And Monica and I were actually in school together at the same time. So I was at UGA in 2008, 2009.

• 22:06Speaker 01

  Oh, my God. Do we have any classes?

• 22:08Speaker 03

  I don't think so. I was sports management, but I do often think to myself, I'm like, I wonder if she was ever beside me on the orbit bus and I just don't know it.

• 22:15Speaker 01

  I bet so.

• 22:17Dax Shepard?

  Or at one of the bars. Did you booty bum?

• 22:19Speaker 01

  Of course.

• 22:20Speaker 03

  I wasn't much of a booty bumper, but.

• 22:22Speaker 01

  Oh, you never went to Firehouse?

• 22:24Speaker 03

  I went to the bars. I had the fake ID, but it wasn't really my scene. I was more of a house party kind of guy.

• 22:29Dax Shepard?

  Yeah.

• 22:31Speaker 01

  Oh, I love this. All right.

• 22:33Speaker 03

  Before we dive in, did you ever make your way over to Watkinsville and eat at Chicken Express?

• 22:39Speaker 01

  I don't think so. I'm really sad to say. I want to lie, but I'm not gonna.

• 22:43Dax Shepard?

  Tell me about Chicken Express.

• 22:44Speaker 03

  All right. So Chicken Express is where the story, the meet cute actually takes place. So I worked at Chicken Express, fast food restaurant, think Zaxby's, churches, KFC kind of thing.

• 22:55Dax Shepard?

  Fried chicken.

• 22:56Speaker 03

  Chicken fingers, chicken on the bone, whole nine yards. So I worked at Chicken Express from the start of college through the end of college. My best friend and I kind of had this routine. He and I worked together. So we had a routine where anytime cute girls would come through the drive through, he was always stuck in the back cooking. I was up front taking orders. So we had man code that I would go back and tell him, hey, curb, we got a cute girl in the drive through.

• 23:20Speaker 01

  So no like secret.

• 23:21Speaker 03

  Oh, yeah, no.

• 23:22Dax Shepard?

  Living code.

• 23:22Speaker 03

  We would go out and we would take the orders in person, which makes it kind of unique. So we would actually walk out, take the orders and come back in. So I was able to kind of set the stage.

• 23:32Speaker 03

  November 2007, he and I were both working. It was kind of a quiet, slow night. Buildings for a customer to come through and I see it's a BMW. And I was like, okay, Kirby likes girls in BMW. So I'm gonna scout it out. So walk out there and I'm like, yeah, it's a good looking girl. So the bat signal's going up.

• 23:51Dax Shepard?

  Wait, can I just say really quick? What if you're like a grandma and you're in the drive thru and you like, you see that they went to your car and took the order? And then you pull up and it's like, wait, where's this person? And it's like, oh, I guess I gotta use this telecom.

• 24:03Speaker 03

  Oh, it happened all the time.

• 24:05Dax Shepard?

  Why did you guys change your system?

• 24:08Speaker 03

  It's who knows? Pointless, but anyway, I give him the code. He knows to dump out his drink cup so he can go over to the drive thru and fill it back up. So he checks her out, scouts her out. He was like, pretty good looking girl. I was like, yeah, I agree. And I said, you know what? I think I'm going to put my name and number on a napkin and I'm going to put it in her to go box. And we're just going to see what happens.

• 24:29Speaker 01

  Wow, this is great.

• 24:31Dax Shepard?

  Now, really quick, I got a hunch you were kind of maybe coming towards the end of your time at Chicken Express. Cause you're rolling the dice, you might get fired.

• 24:40Speaker 03

  I wasn't really worried about it. The owner wasn't that hands on. So it was all college kids working there. So we kind of had free rein to do whatever.

• 24:47Dax Shepard?

  Okay, great, great.

• 24:48Speaker 03

  Go to our office, I get a napkin, Sharpie, just write Jeremy, my cell phone number on the napkin, throw it in her box. And then of course the butterflies settle in. So like, man, as I'm walking up to the window, I'm like, please God, just don't let her open this at the window. Because that will be beyond demoralizing. So thankfully she doesn't. She's kind of flirting a little bit, what I thought was flirting. It turns out she's just really kind and friendly, but I took it as such. I don't think anything's gonna happen with this. Go on with my night. When we get to the end of the night, I go get my cell phone out of our office and I see I have a text message from a 912 area code, which I did not know at the time, Savannah. So my roommate at the time was working with me. I was like, hey, can you search 912, see who that is?

• 25:30Speaker 03

  Is so the text just said sneaky sneaky with an exclamation point. I like it. I like good start. I will be totally honest. In my mind, it was out of sight, out of mind. I never expected to hear from her at this point. So I'm like, you know what? We're just gonna move on. So I have him look up the number. I see it's Savannah. I'm like, oh, maybe it's a prank call. Like, who knows what's going on here? So I send back and I said, who is this? Question mark? And she writes back, guess. I think it's one of my friends just messing with me. So I write back. I was like, I have no idea. She was like, well, you're gonna have to give me something. I go to pump gas. I'm heading back home. Get back in my truck and there's another text that says, no guesses? Question mark? I was like, sorry, no clue whatsoever.

• 26:11Speaker 01

  You're getting annoyed.

• 26:13Speaker 03

  I had, yes, absolutely. I really was. I'm about to block you. Right. So I send back and I was like, sorry, I have no clue. She said, so your name and number just so happened to make its way into my box tonight? I was like, oh my God. So I did the dreaded call after someone's texted, but I'm like, it's warranted at this point. I have to apologize to this girl. Yes. So I get on the phone. We have a great conversation. We talked for probably thirty, forty five minutes. I was like, look, I apologize. I never expected to hear from you, but really glad I did. I'd love to take you out on a date. This was Thursday, the night before the Auburn blackout.

• 26:46Speaker 01

  Oh shit. Wait, two thousand seven?

• 26:49Speaker 03

  Two thousand seven, yeah.

• 26:51Speaker 01

  I was definitely there.

• 26:52Speaker 03

  Wait, you gotta let us know what you guys just said.

• 26:55Speaker 01

  Oh, it's a big deal. Okay.

• 26:56Speaker 03

  You heard blackout? Yeah.

• 26:57Speaker 01

  Everyone wore black and it was a night game. So the whole stadium was blacked out and the players wore black jerseys, I believe.

• 27:06Speaker 03

  Correct. So they came out in red jerseys, but they changed in pregame in the locker room and came back out black. Guys, you got me. I'm now really jealous. I wasn't there.

• 27:15Speaker 01

  It was a night game. So you tailgated all day from like six AM. Everyone was so wasted.

• 27:21Speaker 03

  Going back to my whole lack of partying, the night that we talked on the phone, she did invite me out. She was twenty one at the time. I was twenty. I did have a fake ID, but it was also a really good college football game on Thursday night. So I was like, let's do Sunday if you're free Sunday. So went to De Palma's for our first date.

• 27:37Speaker 01

  Love it.

• 27:38Speaker 03

  What's that? What's the vibe, guys? Italian. It's an Athens staple. It's been around for a long time. You blew like a week's worth of wages from Express Kitchen to take her there? Maybe two weeks.

• 27:48Speaker 01

  That's a nice place.

• 27:49Speaker 03

  Chow zones are not cheap.

• 27:51Speaker 01

  That's like if your parents come to town, you go there.

• 27:53Dax Shepard?

  Okay, great.

• 27:54Speaker 03

  Took her to Marvel's lab after that to get some ice cream. Got choked on my waffle cone, but she still agreed to do a second date.

• 28:01Dax Shepard?

  How do we explain why she was in town from Savannah? Was she going to UGA as well?

• 28:05Speaker 03

  She was. So we have a smaller community college in Watkinsville that's kind of a feeder school into UGA. Used to be Gainesville State College, now it's North Georgia. So she and I were both in school at North Georgia at the time. I had already been accepted into UGA, but was not starting until January.

• 28:21Dax Shepard?

  Got it, got it, got it.

• 28:22Speaker 03

  One thing kind of led to another. We went on quite a few dates after that. Kind of started dating hot and heavy, probably mid-December. And then she is now my wife of almost 16 years and may. We have two beautiful 28-year-old daughters together, Emerson and Henley.

• 28:36Speaker 01

  Oh, what a great story. Sometimes you just gotta put yourself out there. You gotta put your number in the box.

• 28:43Speaker 03

  To add to it, she was my first girlfriend, too.

• 28:46Speaker 01

  Oh, I love this.

• 28:48Speaker 03

  She's an amazing person. She's actually the reason that I'm in Armcherry's. One other thing to add to the story that's pretty cool. So the night that she plugged me in her phone, her roommate basically begged her to text me. She was on the verge of not texting. And she was like, I'm plugging him in your phone. So even if you don't text him tonight, you're gonna do it at some point. But she put me in her phone as Jeremy Chicken Boy. And I am still to this day in her phone as Jeremy Chicken Boy.

• 29:14Dax Shepard?

  I gotta give her a lot of credit because if I'm her and you put this napkin in my thing and then my roommate says, you gotta reach out. And then I reach out and the guy's like, what? Who this? My assumption would be this motherfucker puts a napkin in every girl's bag. He can't even keep straight which one of the girls I am.

• 29:29Speaker 03

  I was asked about that several times with my coworkers and I will go on record saying it was a one and done for me.

• 29:35Speaker 01

  Oh, it was meant to be.

• 29:37Speaker 03

  It was.

• 29:38Dax Shepard?

  It's an honor to have you on the Cookie Boy shirt.

• 29:41Speaker 01

  I know, it really is. I feel glee.

• 29:44Dax Shepard?

  Is she around?

• 29:45Speaker 03

  She is not, and this is a surprise. So our friend group knows that I'm on here. She does not yet. So I'm assuming when this airs, we are going to be flying to Mexico. I'm assuming it'll air Valentine's weekend. So I am going to surprise her and. Let her listen to it on the way to the airport.

• 30:03Dax Shepard?

  Oh, wonderful.

• 30:06Speaker 03

  She actually just tried to call me a second ago, so I think her ears were burning, but she will be a little upset that she wasn't here to listen to it, but I'm in a lovely tent of my own making at Walt Disney World right now, so she's not anywhere nearby to say hello.

• 30:18Dax Shepard?

  You're clearly handy. It's structurally sound.

• 30:21Speaker 01

  What's her name?

• 30:22Speaker 03

  Candace.

• 30:23Speaker 01

  Candace, shout out.

• 30:24Dax Shepard?

  I'm happy for both of you guys.

• 30:26Speaker 01

  Me too. This is a beautiful story.

• 30:28Dax Shepard?

  Way to put yourself out there, both of you.

• 30:30Speaker 03

  Well, I appreciate it. Said, okay, if I give a couple of quick shout outs?

• 30:32Dax Shepard?

  Yes, please.

• 30:33Speaker 03

  Our little friend group we're going to Mexico with. We had four of us last year. We've grown to three couples this year, so six of us going down. It's our little ohana, as we call it, but also call ourselves the cool kids. All of the cool kids will be listening together at the same time. And then shout out to Candace and my sweet girls, Emerson and Henley, obviously, and my best boss for letting me come to Disney World for a few days during our busy season. So shout out to Amy as well.

• 30:59Speaker 01

  Incredible.

• 31:00Dax Shepard?

  God, you're surrounded by great gals.

• 31:01Speaker 01

  We love it.

• 31:02Speaker 03

  Well, thank you guys so much. I appreciate y'all being a bright spot in everybody's day and bright spot in my day every day, too. So thanks.

• 31:08Dax Shepard?

  No, thanks, brother. Take care.

• 31:10Speaker 03

  All right. It's a pleasure.

• 31:12Speaker 01

  Hi. Oh, my God, it's happening.

• 31:14Dax Shepard?

  You're like a mouse, too. There's two mice in the house. Does he look like Minnie Mouse?

• 31:19Speaker 01

  Yeah, you're very cute.

• 31:21Speaker 04

  I would be so honored to be a mouse. I would love to be a mouse.

• 31:26Speaker 01

  Are you like six feet tall?

• 31:27Speaker 04

  I am five, four, but I can be diminutive and be smaller.

• 31:31Dax Shepard?

  Oh, five, four makes the cut. Anything under five, five. Five, five is probably borderline, but anything under five, five.

• 31:37Speaker 01

  We'll count it.

• 31:38Speaker 04

  I love it.

• 31:38Dax Shepard?

  Should we do like a mouse house? We need to think about some kind of merch for your crew.

• 31:42Speaker 01

  Oh, I like that. Okay.

• 31:44Speaker 04

  I would totally buy all those things.

• 31:48Dax Shepard?

  Where are you at, Claire?

• 31:49Speaker 04

  Salt Lake City.

• 31:51Dax Shepard?

  Wow, did you listen to the Elizabeth Smart episode?

• 31:53Speaker 04

  Loved it. And I was 11 when it happened, so it was such a pivotal story for me. And I was like, that's an option that someone can come grab you in your home?

• 32:05Speaker 01

  Did you ever see her on the street, do you think?

• 32:07Speaker 04

  No, I did not. But nine months later, when it came out that she was just so close, it was so mind blowing. It was really crazy.

• 32:15Dax Shepard?

  And the fact that that bozo had been arrested and shit for stealing beer. The whole thing is impossible amount of.

• 32:21Speaker 04

  Bad luck.

• 32:22Dax Shepard?

  Yeah.

• 32:23Speaker 04

  It's so true. And she had such an amazing story and I really loved your interview. So it was really awesome.

• 32:28Dax Shepard?

  Yeah, we did too. We did too. That was a very special one.

• 32:31Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 32:31Dax Shepard?

  You grew up there and you didn't leave. Did you go to BYU?

• 32:34Speaker 04

  No, went to University of Utah. I went some other places, but that's part of the meet. Ooh. Let's hear it. Having said up, probably the most exciting thing that happened in Salt Lake City was the Elizabeth Smart kidnapping. Growing up, I wouldn't call Salt Lake City an exotic locale destination, very tame. And so when I went to University of Utah, my best friend and I, we were like kind of craving some adventure. We wanted some excitement. We wanted to really spread our wings. So we decided, let's go to Europe and let's ride the rails and just go to hostels. So we get the big maps. We're making our routes.

• 33:14Dax Shepard?

  What age is this?

• 33:15Speaker 04

  Eighteen.

• 33:15Dax Shepard?

  Oh, this is before you start college?

• 33:17Speaker 04

  So we start planning while we're in the dorm room and it's going to be the summer after our first year of college. We're saving up our money. It's like the daydream I have every day in class. About six months before, my best friend came to me. She said, I don't want to go.

• 33:33Dax Shepard?

  I don't want to. Not even I can't.

• 33:35Speaker 04

  I talked to her today and she was like, I don't think I saved any money. Oh.

• 33:40Dax Shepard?

  Uh oh.

• 33:41Speaker 04

  He wasn't a saving mouse. She didn't keep up her end of the deal. I am devastated. I'm like, what am I gonna do? It felt too overwhelming to go by myself and ride the rails.

• 33:53Dax Shepard?

  You make it sound like a hobo returning home from the war. Ride the rails.

• 33:57Speaker 04

  I ride the rails. I know. Around that same time, my dad came across this brochure that it was a tour company and it was eighteen to thirty-five year olds camping in Europe. And I'm like, this is perfect. I have some structure. This is what I'm gonna do. I did not know it at the time, but this bus is affectionately called the fuck bus.

• 34:18Dax Shepard?

  Oh, wow, wow, wow. Really quick, are you not Mormon? This seems like a trip that. When it normally happens.

• 34:25Speaker 04

  So I grew up Mormon, but I was friends with all non Mormon people. And so I kind of prided myself on being like, I can hang. This is fun. But I did not know it was called the fuck bus.

• 34:37Dax Shepard?

  Nor did your father, probably more importantly, yeah.

• 34:39Speaker 04

  He did offer like, take some condoms, but I'm like, no, no. Oh, wow. He's progressive.

• 34:45Dax Shepard?

  Yeah.

• 34:46Speaker 04

  He was pretty progressive. I was still very sheltered. So I was like, that would never happen.

• 34:50Dax Shepard?

  Cut to the fuck bus.

• 34:52Speaker 04

  I know. Cut to the fuck bus. So I, out of like 50 people, I am the only American girl. It's mostly Kiwis and Aussies on the tour. So I am like the exotic one. So summer comes around, I fly to London and I am so stoked. And I am also so horny. Wow. This is great. This is great. You're bursting at the seams. I was as horny as a 19 year old Mormon girl could be. There are things in the Utah Mormon culture called Nikmos, which stands for non-committed makeout, which is the Mormon version of a one night stand. I'm like, I'm gonna Nikmo all over the place. I am so excited. I get

• 35:34Speaker 04

  on the bus and I'm like, ready for my summer hookup. So I sit down and I just see all the talent coming down the aisles. And there's just like hot Aussies, hot Kiwis. And then there's this one guy, broad shoulders, green eyes, tan, looks like he could surf. And I'm like, ooh.

• 35:50Dax Shepard?

  Aussie?

• 35:51Speaker 04

  New Zealand.

• 35:51Dax Shepard?

  Okay. That's what I get for stereotyping. All right.

• 35:55Speaker 04

  And I'm like, I'm gonna keep an eye on you.

• 36:05Dax Shepard?

  We get support from our sponsor, Lilly. For adults with obesity or with excess weight and weight related medical problems, it's time to find out about Foundo or for Glee Pro. Foundo is a once daily prescription GLP-1 medicine used with a reduced calorie diet and increased physical activity to help adults with obesity or some adults with overweight who also have weight related medical problems to lose excess body weight and keep the weight off.

• 36:30Speaker 05

  Foundo should not be used with other GLP-1 receptor agonist medicines. It is not known if Foundo is safe and effective for use in children. Don't take Foundo if you're allergic to it, or if you or someone in your family had majorary thyroid cancer or multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2. Stop and call your doctor right away if you have an allergic reaction, a lump or swelling in your neck, or severe stomach pain. Serious side effects may include inflamed pancreas and gallbladder problems. Tell your doctor if you experience vision changes, if you're nursing, pregnant, plant to be, or taking birth control pills, and before scheduled procedures with anesthesia. Taking Foundo with an insulin or sulfonylurea may cause low blood sugar. Side effects include diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting, which can cause dehydration and may cause kidney problems. Once daily Foundo is available by prescription only

• 37:12Speaker 05

  in 0.8 milligram, 2.5 milligram, 5.5 milligram, 9 milligram, 14.5 milligram, and 17.2 milligram tablets. Learn more at foundo.lily.com or call 1-800-LILY-RX. Now is perfect to talk to your doctor about Foundo.

• 37:28Dax Shepard?

  We get support by Peloton. You know that feeling when you're spiraling over a problem and you just can't figure it out? When that happens to me, I need a change of pace. And I've found that running is the best way. It takes my brain out of the driver's seat and I come back with a fresh perspective. Running can be freeing and cathartic, and Peloton helps you feel all of that. And now that feeling fits wherever you need it with the new Peloton Tread Flex. It's movable and foldable, designed to fit your life. So next time you feel stuck, you can go for a run literally anywhere, whether that's in your office, living room, or even the attic. Plus, they have classes with expert instructors and programs to meet you at any level and keep you moving. Let yourself run.

• 38:11Dax Shepard?

  Explore the new Peloton Tread Flex at onepeloton.com. We get support from Instagram teen accounts. So, we talk a lot on this show about how the world is different now than when we were growing up. And one of the biggest differences is obviously social media. And I think a lot of people wonder, okay, what's actually being done to make it safer for teenagers?

• 38:33Speaker 01

  Which is a fair question.

• 38:34Dax Shepard?

  Yeah, so Instagram has got something called teen accounts, and they come with automatic protections built in by default. So, anyone between 13 and 17 is automatically placed into this experience. They get age-appropriate content settings, contact limits, so that by default, only people they're already connected to can message them. And time management tools, daily time limit reminders, and also sleep mode that mutes notifications from 10:00 PM to 7:00 AM.

• 39:00Speaker 01

  Sleep mode is genius.

• 39:01Dax Shepard?

  Right? And here's the thing, for anyone under 16, a parent has to give permission to change any of those settings to be less strict. The guardrails are on, and Instagram keeps building new safety features to create age-appropriate experiences for teens.

• 39:17Speaker 01

  I am really glad Instagram's helping to give parents peace of mind with teen accounts.

• 39:21Dax Shepard?

  Learn more about teen accounts and Instagram's ongoing work to protect teens online at instagram.com/teenaccounts.

• 39:37Speaker 04

  So, something to know about campsites in Europe, it's how European, middle-class people travel. So, it isn't like a campground like we think of. There's like a bar, there's a restaurant, there's a pool, and it's really close to the city. So, we get to the first stop, and all of the Kiwis and Aussies like head straight to the bar. Like I said, I'm trying to be cool. I'm trying to like, show that I can hang. And Monica, I'm so sorry, I don't want to get you offside, but I totally leaned into the American girl thing, and I lied and said I was a cheerleader.

• 40:10Speaker 01

  Oh.

• 40:10Dax Shepard?

  Yeah, good for you.

• 40:11Speaker 01

  Okay, I understand. I actually find that flattering.

• 40:14Dax Shepard?

  Of all the appropriation that she would be tolerant of, that would be the one.

• 40:17Speaker 01

  By the way, that's what I was doing. I was trying to be an American girl, so that's why I went into cheerleading.

• 40:22Speaker 04

  I need to like, have something that is semi-cool to these people, because Mormon girl from Utah is not.

• 40:28Speaker 01

  What if they said, "Prove it"? Did you know any cheers?

• 40:31Speaker 04

  I feel like I could have pulled something out. You know, I can clap.

• 40:35Speaker 01

  You saw Bring It On.

• 40:37Speaker 04

  I also leaned into the other thing that I was pretty loose about at the time, which is my friends and I, we would go streaking and skinny dipping. So, I became Will Ferrell from Old School. I'm like, "Let's go streaking! Like, this'll be so fun!"

• 40:53Dax Shepard?

  I gotta tell you, you're shattering all my stereotypes of a young Mormon girl.

• 40:56Speaker 01

  I'm glad. I'm really glad. I'm glad you're here.

• 40:59Speaker 04

  I like hanging out with these people for 30 days. Like, I want to show them like I am not a wet blanket. So I think that put them a little bit at ease. Unclear. I'm sure I was not very subtle. So we keep going. We're touring Europe. We go down to Monaco. It's the south of France and it's near the beach. So our campsite is right near the beach. And so I am like, this is my time to shine. So I'm like, guys, we are young. It's summer. We're in the south of France. Let's go skinny dipping. And we're at the bar and everyone at the beginning of the night is like, yes, that sounds like a great plan. But as you know, enthusiasm starts to wane. You know, people are like, it's cold outside. I don't want to walk far. But I have like, kind of painted myself into a corner.

• 41:43Dax Shepard?

  You are the cheerleader of this mission.

• 41:45Speaker 04

  Oh, my God. I am the cheerleader. So I say, I'm going skinny dipping. Anyone want to come? And only two people. And they're two dudes. I am like, oh, no, I thought this would be like a group activity. I did not mean for this like to be a date. There is a South African guy, and then there's my tall, broad New Zealand.

• 42:04Dax Shepard?

  Oh, good. He volunteered. Okay.

• 42:06Speaker 04

  He's on board. They kind of look at each other and then one of them backs down. The South African backs down. Oh, shit.

• 42:13Dax Shepard?

  Perfect.

• 42:13Speaker 04

  Okay. Suddenly, it's just me and this cute New Zealand man. And I am half excited and scared. No man has ever seen me naked, much less a man that I think is cute. Oh, you really? Wow.

• 42:26Dax Shepard?

  You wrote a check your ass can't cash is what happened. Yeah.

• 42:30Speaker 04

  Which sometimes works out.

• 42:31Dax Shepard?

  Yes, it does.

• 42:33Speaker 04

  Exactly right. So I'm like, well, too late now. We have to keep going. So we start making our way to the beach. On the way there, there is this carnival with a Ferris wheel lit up. And this man is just like laying on the charm. I didn't realize it at the time, but he is also slightly intoxicated. So he's like telling me he's David Hasselhoff's stunt double. And I am just eating it up. And I'm like, you're so charming.

• 42:58Dax Shepard?

  The bar's so low at 19.

• 42:59Speaker 04

  I know. Everyone's lying. She's lying. He's lying.

• 43:03Dax Shepard?

  Everyone's bullshit.

• 43:05Speaker 04

  So we kiss. I feel like I've died and gone to rom com heaven. I'm like, this is one of the best kisses I've ever had. And then he rolls me out and I'm like, oh, fuck. I have to get naked with this guy. We. Make our way closer to the beach. And I'm like, how am I going to navigate this? What am I gonna do? And suddenly he starts sprinting away from me and starts like taking off all of his clothes. And then I see his cute ass and then he just dives into the ocean.

• 43:29Dax Shepard?

  Oh, what a study. He's a little dolphin.

• 43:31Speaker 04

  Oh, my god.

• 43:32Dax Shepard?

  Or a big dolphin, yeah.

• 43:33Speaker 04

  So he turns around and he's got like this shitty grin on his face and he's like, all right, ready to skinny dip. And I'm like, oh, no, no, no, no, no. This is not, this is not what we're doing. Oh. Oh, boy. And he's like, well, you saw me naked. And I said, I saw a flash. And then I said, okay, you can see a flash. So then I say, turn around. And so then I get undressed and then I say, go. And then I jump into the ocean like starfish. And then I pop back up. He goes, that was the best three seconds of my life. Oh, that's cute. And then he starts swinging towards me like to make out with me. I'm like, oh, no, no, no, I'm a skinny dipping purist. We are just here to skinny dip.

• 44:15Dax Shepard?

  It's hard to navigate these situations when you're a boy. You're like, hold on, was we kissing? You said let's go skinny dip. I'm so where, what do I do here?

• 44:26Speaker 04

  I like that he's following your lead, though, which I like.

• 44:29Dax Shepard?

  Yeah, so far in the story.

• 44:30Speaker 04

  It's so true. So yeah, we have this like lovely moonlight skinny dip and I can't really remember how we disembarked from this skinny dip. But that started my very, very sexy summer with more than Nick Mose, started drinking cocktails.

• 44:46Dax Shepard?

  Oh, I want a time machine. I'm getting my time machine feeling.

• 44:49Speaker 04

  And then 19 years later and three kids were still. Wait, Sam with that guy?

• 44:55Dax Shepard?

  How did you make it all work when everyone went home?

• 44:57Speaker 04

  We had this like hot summer and then it was like, when can I see you again? And he had just finished his degree. So he's like, I could do a gap year in Salt Lake. So he moved here.

• 45:07Dax Shepard?

  What a champ.

• 45:08Speaker 04

  How did he do that as David Hasselhoff's?

• 45:11Dax Shepard?

  Well, he was doing a lot of work up there in Salt Lake. Now, look, no disrespect to Salt Lake. It's a wonderful place. My father in law lived there for a minute. It's so beautiful. You're so close to so many great things. And if I'm coming from New Zealand to live in this an American city, there's a few I might try before Salt Lake City.

• 45:26Speaker 04

  I totally agree. I was like, are you sure? And he's like, yeah, let's do this. So he lived here for a year and then I lived in New Zealand for a year and then we both lived in Australia for a couple of years.

• 45:38Dax Shepard?

  What city in New Zealand?

• 45:39Speaker 04

  Auckland.

• 45:39Dax Shepard?

  Oh, wonderful.

• 45:41Speaker 04

  And I do want to say, Dax, I want to defend you. They do put eggs on weird things.

• 45:45Dax Shepard?

  Thank you.

• 45:46Speaker 01

  No, that's not the issue. The issue is soft boiled.

• 45:50Dax Shepard?

  No, poached. It's poached. I've always said it was poached. I don't even know what a soft boiled egg is.

• 45:54Speaker 01

  I know.

• 45:54Dax Shepard?

  I would never report one. I would not identify a soft boiled egg, but I know what a fucking poached egg is.

• 46:00Speaker 01

  Very good.

• 46:01Dax Shepard?

  Primarily poached, right?

• 46:02Speaker 04

  Yes. Lots of eggs everywhere. And also in Australia, lots of beets. So those are the two weird things. Well, and I actually have the lumberjack sexy rugby guy over here if you want to.

• 46:11Speaker 01

  Oh, yes.

• 46:14Speaker 04

  He was the original Arm Cherry.

• 46:16Dax Shepard?

  Hello.

• 46:18Speaker 06

  Oh, this is crazy. Hey, nice to meet you.

• 46:22Dax Shepard?

  How are you?

• 46:23Speaker 06

  Good. Welcome to my closet. Still looking for that cheerleader uniform.

• 46:27Speaker 01

  Wow, well, that was such a lovely story.

• 46:30Speaker 06

  Turned out pretty well. Very happy with what happened.

• 46:32Dax Shepard?

  Do you have children?

• 46:33Speaker 06

  We do. We've got a three year old, a five year old and a seven year old. So we're in the thick of it.

• 46:37Dax Shepard?

  God bless. God bless.

• 46:41Dax Shepard?

  Oh, wow. I love this story.

• 46:43Speaker 01

  Thanks for being an Arm Cherry.

• 46:45Speaker 06

  Of course. Thank you, guys. I love what you're doing. Can I give a quick shout out?

• 46:48Dax Shepard?

  Yes, of course.

• 46:50Speaker 06

  Okay, I'm gonna shout out to Claire's best friend, Hill, who's also an Arm Cherry, and I think she would have killed Claire if she didn't get some sort of mention.

• 46:58Dax Shepard?

  Great, great. What's her name? Hill?

• 47:00Speaker 06

  Hill, yeah, like Hillary.

• 47:01Dax Shepard?

  Oh, Hillary. A lot of cute stuff happening up there.

• 47:05Speaker 01

  I love this.

• 47:07Dax Shepard?

  Well, delightful meeting you. We love Claire. You got lucky. She's such a cute mouse.

• 47:12Speaker 06

  I did. She's the best.

• 47:13Dax Shepard?

  Oh, I love it.

• 47:14Speaker 01

  Thanks for chatting. Bye.

• 47:17Speaker 06

  Appreciate it. Bye.

• 47:18Speaker 04

  Hi, guys.

• 47:19Dax Shepard?

  Oh, my God. Emily, you're floating in a void.

• 47:22Speaker 04

  I have this really terrible fort going on right now, so I just wanted to make sure you guys didn't see it.

• 47:27Dax Shepard?

  We always see terrible forts. In fact, do you think any of the forts we've seen have been nice? They're always blankets strewn over chairs.

• 47:34Speaker 04

  Well, ask and you shall receive.

• 47:36Dax Shepard?

  Oh, let's see. Let's see. Oh, I love it.

• 47:40Speaker 01

  It's cute.

• 47:40Dax Shepard?

  Yes.

• 47:41Speaker 01

  What's wrong with that?

• 47:42Speaker 07

  My daughter's Christmas blankets.

• 47:44Dax Shepard?

  I was gonna say, this is how we learn a little bit about you, because clearly there's some children in the mix, because that's way too cute of a blanket for an adult.

• 47:50Speaker 01

  And we know you're a perfectionist, because you think this is great.

• 47:54Dax Shepard?

  This is actually, if we had to rank all of the forts we've seen, this is in the top 10%.

• 47:58Speaker 07

  Great, thank you.

• 47:59Dax Shepard?

  Where are you at?

• 48:00Speaker 07

  I am in Canton, Ohio, so during the snowpocalypse we're currently having.

• 48:04Dax Shepard?

  Canton, that's off of 75 or no?

• 48:06Speaker 07

  77.

• 48:07Dax Shepard?

  Okay, and how bad is it there? You got power, obviously.

• 48:11Speaker 07

  We have power, but we have about a foot of snow, and I have kids home from school.

• 48:16Dax Shepard?

  They're supposed to be in the front yard building the snowman and shit, fucking ice skating on the sidewalk.

• 48:20Speaker 07

  Yes, maybe later, but it's negative two outside, it's freaking cold.

• 48:23Speaker 01

  Negative two?

• 48:24Dax Shepard?

  They can handle it, they can, that's child's play for us Midwesterners, yeah. I'm so jealous of them at snow day. God, there's nothing more fun for them.

• 48:33Speaker 07

  Not me.

• 48:35Speaker 01

  I know, you just got out of Christmas break and then they're home again.

• 48:38Dax Shepard?

  Yeah, psych.

• 48:39Speaker 07

  The joy of my life.

• 48:41Dax Shepard?

  So Emily, are you from Canton? Have you always been in Canton, or did you move to Canton?

• 48:45Speaker 07

  No, I moved to Canton, I'll get into it a little bit of my story, but I'm originally from Appleton, Wisconsin area, so we're friends with the Michiganders, for sure.

• 48:54Dax Shepard?

  Good stock up there in Wisconsin. Okay, so hit us with your meet cue.

• 48:58Speaker 07

  Yes, I am from Kokona, Wisconsin, originally a little town outside of Green Bay. Back in 1991, I was born the third of three daughters. My parents didn't know what they were having. In the delivery room, my mom naturally asked, is it a boy or a girl? And they said, we don't know.

• 49:17Dax Shepard?

  Oh, interesting.

• 49:19Speaker 07

  So come to later find out, I was born with a birth defect called bladder extrophy.

• 49:24Dax Shepard?

  Ooh, tell me about bladder extrophy.

• 49:26Speaker 07

  Yeah, lots of catheters, I thought you'd be interested. When I was born, my bladder was on the outside.

• 49:31Dax Shepard?

  Wow.

• 49:31Speaker 01

  Oh, wow.

• 49:32Speaker 07

  Everything was outside, so they couldn't determine if I was a male or female. Shortly after birth, I was transported to a children's hospital where they put it back in and stabilized me. And when you're four years old, maybe a little earlier, your parents are starting to think about potty training you and achieving continence, something that with bladder extrophy kids is pretty tough. There are specialists out at Johns Hopkins in Maryland, where my mom did a lot of research, and that's where the best surgeon was. So we traveled out to Johns Hopkins when I was four years old and got ready for what's called a bladder neck reconstruction. So basically, what that is, is kids with extrophy, they're born, their hips are too wide.

• 50:10Dax Shepard?

  Oh.

• 50:11Speaker 07

  So what they do is they break your hips.

• 50:13Dax Shepard?

  Oh, boy, oh, boy.

• 50:15Speaker 07

  Push them back together and then secure them with steel pins. So your bladder is supported and you're laying on your back for about eight weeks. You have to lay flat and your legs are in traction for a good amount of time, so they're up in the air above your body. In Baltimore, you know, I'm a four-year-old with my mom. I was in a wagon the majority of the time, just laying flat in a Fisher Price wagon. My mom and I had to find some fun things to do. Our surgeon said, hey, there's a mom and another little boy about her age here. He just got the same surgery a few days before her.

• 50:49Dax Shepard?

  Boys can have this as well?

• 50:50Speaker 07

  Yeah, girls and boys can have it. Boys have it a little bit tougher than girls, just from a complication perspective. So we met these wonderful people, became friends, spent our eight weeks together, went our separate ways. I went back to Wisconsin, they went back to where they're from. A couple of years later, before Facebook, social media, we get this phone book. So it's the Association for Bladder Extrophy Community.

• 51:15Dax Shepard?

  Like a directory?

• 51:16Speaker 07

  Yes. Parents have registered for this, said, hey, my kid has this. If you want to connect and share stories, share experiences, here's my phone number. So I look up their name and I say, hey, Mom, they're in this phone book. Can you reconnect with them? I'm too nervous to call. So my mom calls.

• 51:34Dax Shepard?

  How old were you at this point?

• 51:35Speaker 07

  Probably about 12 or 13.

• 51:37Dax Shepard?

  You're starting to think about boys?

• 51:39Speaker 07

  Oh, yeah, very boy crazy, very.

• 51:41Dax Shepard?

  Okay, good for you. I like boy crazy.

• 51:43Speaker 07

  My mom and his mom reconnected and then I got his email address and his AIM screen name when that was really cool. And we would message back and forth. And then come to find out, I was a freshman in high school. He was in eighth grade. I like to call myself a cougar because I'm a little bit old.

• 52:00Dax Shepard?

  Good for you.

• 52:00Speaker 07

  His mom called and said, hey, he's not doing well. His name is Cameron. His bladder perforated. Just want to let you know, he could use some well wishes. So, long story short, he recovered, but it was a long recovery process. So I finally said to my mom, hey, I want to go out and see him. I haven't seen him since I've been four years old.

• 52:16Speaker 01

  Oh, my gosh.

• 52:16Dax Shepard?

  And where did they live?

• 52:17Speaker 07

  They lived in Ohio.

• 52:19Dax Shepard?

  Okay.

• 52:20Speaker 07

  We reunited. I was a freshman. He was in eighth grade and we became boyfriend and girlfriend shortly after.

• 52:26Dax Shepard?

  Oh, my goodness.

• 52:28Speaker 01

  And you've been together ever since?

• 52:31Speaker 07

  Yeah, 2006, we started dating. We got engaged in 2012.

• 52:36Dax Shepard?

  You've been together 20 years?

• 52:38Speaker 07

  Yeah.

• 52:38Speaker 01

  Wow, that's so sweet.

• 52:40Dax Shepard?

  Oh, my god.

• 52:40Speaker 01

  And you've known each other since you were four.

• 52:43Dax Shepard?

  My lord, this is the earliest meet you. We've never had a meet you where four year olds met. Oh, man, me too. Now, can I ask a really hard question?

• 52:54Speaker 07

  Sure.

• 52:54Dax Shepard?

  Which is, if I had gone through all of this stuff, and I know the challenge of it, and then my partner has gone through it, my thought is, wow, genetically, maybe we're pretty much guaranteed for our children to have to go through it. Was that in the mix of consideration with children?

• 53:09Speaker 07

  Absolutely. So we got married in 2015 and then shortly after started thinking about having babies and had a lot of conversations around genetics and just, we wanted to be responsible about it and, you know, not cause anyone pain because we've been through it. But also thought, hey, who better to take care of a child that has this than two people who have been through it?

• 53:29Dax Shepard?

  You're there valuing your own life and you're like, yeah, that was a challenge, but I like my life. I'm glad I'm here.

• 53:33Speaker 07

  The amount of times I think that I have it throughout the day is next to zero. So truly, it's not very impactful to my life now. But we were concerned about it, had a lot of specialist conversations and got pregnant with our first baby in 2016 and happy to report she did not have it.

• 53:48Dax Shepard?

  Oh, did you have so much relief?

• 53:50Speaker 07

  Yeah, we had scans a lot and they were finally able to visualize the bladder filling up and. Emptying and that was the sign that the bladder was inside, working properly. And then I had another successful pregnancy in 2021. So we have two little girls.

• 54:05Speaker 01

  Yay.

• 54:06Speaker 07

  They're the best.

• 54:07Speaker 01

  Oh, what a great story.

• 54:10Dax Shepard?

  I love it. I'm a little teary eyed from that.

• 54:12Speaker 01

  And everyone is doing well, you and your husband.

• 54:15Speaker 07

  Doing well. It's so unimpactful to our day to day. And I just think that's so important with anything, you know, you're stamped with a diagnosis. And some people, they put it right on their name tag when they introduce themselves. I don't care for that. I think it's just so important to live your life and that's part of who I am, but it's not who I am.

• 54:31Speaker 01

  Yeah, absolutely.

• 54:33Speaker 07

  We both live our lives very similarly like that and teach our girls the same kind of morals.

• 54:37Dax Shepard?

  So we have photos. Oh, there's the happy family. They're still Green Bay fans.

• 54:44Speaker 01

  Oh my God, cute.

• 54:46Dax Shepard?

  Oh, look how cute this is with him fucking got his fist in the air kissing you on your wedding day. That's so cute. Oh no, you are so fucking cute, Emily. I can't believe it. Look at these little kids. Oh my God.

• 55:00Speaker 01

  Oh, in your wagons.

• 55:02Dax Shepard?

  Oh no, you ready to see a mom at that age?

• 55:06Speaker 01

  Oh, is this framed in your house? This better be framed in your house.

• 55:11Speaker 07

  Yes, they are all framed and they actually, the wedding one is right behind me.

• 55:15Speaker 01

  Oh my God, four year old soulmate.

• 55:19Dax Shepard?

  This is the heart warmer of the century.

• 55:21Speaker 01

  Maybe I should go back and think about who I knew when I was four.

• 55:25Dax Shepard?

  Yeah, why not? I mean, why not the net a little bit?

• 55:27Speaker 01

  Yeah, widen it out. Thank you for sharing that beautiful story.

• 55:32Dax Shepard?

  Wow, no one your age has known their husband. I mean, this is so rare.

• 55:36Speaker 01

  Yeah, it's rare. It's cool.

• 55:38Dax Shepard?

  I like this story.

• 55:39Speaker 07

  It's pretty cool. I tried not to get to the punchline too soon.

• 55:42Dax Shepard?

  No, you did a very good job. I'm like, she better not meet his friend on this trip to visit him.

• 55:47Speaker 01

  Oh, that would be a twist.

• 55:49Dax Shepard?

  You could like meet his best friend.

• 55:50Speaker 01

  That'd be a big twist, but that'd be really sad. Well, thank you so much for chatting with us.

• 55:55Dax Shepard?

  Yeah, that was lovely.

• 55:57Speaker 07

  Thanks, guys. It was great to meet you. I appreciate everything you do.

• 55:59Dax Shepard?

  Our pleasure and I hope you get through this snow day alive.

• 56:02Speaker 07

  We'll try our best.

• 56:04Dax Shepard?

  Okay, take care.

• 56:06Speaker 01

  Oh, I love me cute so much. They're really heartwarming.

• 56:12Dax Shepard?

  I don't know if I can do this show anymore because I'm just crying so regularly.

• 56:17Speaker 01

  You cry a lot.

• 56:17Dax Shepard?

  I know. It's like getting completely untenable. And I'm like, I wouldn't want to watch a show where the fucking host couldn't go five minutes without.

• 56:25Speaker 01

  Well, they can't see you in this one at least.

• 56:27Dax Shepard?

  That's helpful, I guess. Yeah.

• 56:29Speaker 01

  You really opened a vow?

• 56:31Dax Shepard?

  Yes, well, there was so much back pressure.

• 56:34Speaker 01

  I think it's lovely.

• 56:36Dax Shepard?

  I do you?

• 56:37Speaker 01

  I do. Sometimes.

• 56:39Dax Shepard?

  I don't know.

• 56:39Speaker 01

  No, I do. I do. I do. It's very cute.

• 56:43Dax Shepard?

  What's the downside?

• 56:44Speaker 01

  It's good to have feelings. Exactly. What's the problem? I mean, dehydration. Got to make sure you're getting your electrolytes.

• 56:50Dax Shepard?

  Luckily, I hydrate compulsively, so that's never gonna.

• 56:53Speaker 01

  Then it's all fine.

• 56:53Dax Shepard?

  All right, I'll keep crying. Maybe we'll start wearing sunglasses during the interview.

• 56:59Speaker 01

  Okay, love you.

• 57:02Speaker 08

  Do you want to sing a tune or something? We have a theme song.

• 57:05Dax Shepard?

  Oh.

• 57:06Speaker 08

  Okay, great.

• 57:07Dax Shepard?

  We don't have a theme song for this new show, so here I go, go, go. We're gonna ask some random questions and with the help of our cherries, we'll get some suggestions. On the fly, a rhyme dish. On the fly, a rhyme dish. Enjoy.

• 57:29Dax Shepard?

  We are supported by Allstate. Checking Allstate first could save you hundreds on car insurance. Not checking if the movie is sold out before you show up. You drove across town, found parking, got in line, and now the person behind the counter is giving you that look. Sold out. Guess you're watching whatever starts in 10 minutes. Yeah, checking first is an excellent idea. So check Allstate first for an auto quote. It could save you hundreds. You're in good hands with Allstate. Potential savings vary, subject to terms, conditions, and availability. Allstate North American Insurance Company and affiliates, Northbrook, Illinois.