Speaker 1: Hey, folks, I could not decide what to say to
Speaker 1: start this episode of Amy and TJ because I was
Speaker 1: so concerned about making a good impression on our in
Speaker 1: studio guest today and with that, welcome to Amy and TJ. Really,
Speaker 1: I got nothing. I got nothing. That's how I'm starting.
Speaker 1: I got nothing. That was Wow.
Speaker 2: Are you nervous?
Speaker 1: I am nervous. I'm sitting here, my heart is pumping.
Speaker 1: I always get a little nervous before we start any
Speaker 1: broadcast of any kind my whole career. I used to
Speaker 1: actually put my hand out and make sure I was
Speaker 1: shaking a little bit, make sure I was a little nervous.
Speaker 1: Don't every want to get too comfortable and too cool
Speaker 1: and think you got it. I am nervous today.
Speaker 2: Do you want to tell I? Well? I would only.
Speaker 1: Compare it to the first podcast we did that aired
Speaker 1: on December fifth. I would argue, this is is as
Speaker 1: nervous as I've been because of our guests. Yes, and
Speaker 1: I have some options, folks about what we start every podcast.
Speaker 1: You say you start right? You always want me to start?
Speaker 3: Yes?
Speaker 1: And why is that?
Speaker 2: Because you're a better starter than me?
Speaker 1: And but how so, how do you what do I
Speaker 1: do at the beginning, you find it well.
Speaker 4: You usually have like a card up your sleeve, and
Speaker 4: so you have something funny or something provocative or something
Speaker 4: just to kind of shake me up a little bit,
Speaker 4: to make it interesting.
Speaker 1: Okay, I had some things. Here's my problem. I'm serious.
Speaker 1: I had some options. I didn't like any of them
Speaker 1: enough because I was trying to make it perfect, because
Speaker 1: you go too far. As some of the best advice
Speaker 1: I ever got was don't let perfect get in the
Speaker 1: way of good. And today I let perfect get in
Speaker 1: the way of it, and I've got nothing.
Speaker 4: Wait, but you texted me earlier this morning saying I
Speaker 4: got it because you're always trying to figure out how
Speaker 4: you're starting, and so so let me text me.
Speaker 2: I got it.
Speaker 1: Okay, So this is what I'm going to tell you.
Speaker 1: This is why I got it, because instead of just
Speaker 1: starting with something, I'm going to give you the four options.
Speaker 1: I had four options for how to start this podcast,
Speaker 1: in which our guests are your parents and folks of you.
Speaker 1: You can hear the sound of my voice and I
Speaker 1: don't know if it's trembling or not, but sitting about
Speaker 1: eight inches to my right is Amy Robot's mother, in
Speaker 1: this studio, a woman that I have spent a lot
Speaker 1: of time with over the years and have had a
Speaker 1: good time with stated at a home all this, but
Speaker 1: today I'm nervous. Why would that make sense?
Speaker 2: Because you want to impress her.
Speaker 1: Okay, there it is, and that's good and let's go. Okay,
Speaker 1: here am I and you all helped me. So this
Speaker 1: was my option one. Ro So I was going to
Speaker 1: start the podcast. It was hello, folks, making a good
Speaker 1: impression on your partner's parents. I'm about to teach a
Speaker 1: master class. Oh okay, okay, So I'm glad I didn't
Speaker 1: go with that one. The other Okay, hello folks, they
Speaker 1: deserve admiration for being married fifty two years. They deserve
Speaker 1: sainthood for raising Amy Robot.
Speaker 2: Whoa shot across the bow?
Speaker 1: Okay, okay, I'm glad I didn't go with those Twodi Yeah, okay,
Speaker 1: number three this was a little heavier. Hey, folks, we
Speaker 1: worried about what the world thought about us, but all
Speaker 1: we really wanted was the acceptance of the two people
Speaker 1: in the studio with us.
Speaker 2: That's nice, that's nice.
Speaker 1: Maybe that's the one I see. But nobody reacted emotionally
Speaker 1: in heavenly they say, yeah, it didn't worry.
Speaker 2: Maybe it felt like you were pandering or something.
Speaker 1: Okay, you know what, good point? Glad I didn't go
Speaker 1: This is the last one. Hey, folks, I haven't asked
Speaker 1: for permission or the blessing to marry Amy Roback. But
Speaker 1: the two people i'd need to ask are our guests today.
Speaker 2: Wow. Yea yeah, that's one.
Speaker 1: And this is why I didn't use any of those.
Speaker 2: Why don't we ask Why don't we ask the guests
Speaker 2: next to you what they thought or which one they
Speaker 2: would pay?
Speaker 1: Yes, folks, we have Mama Roback and Papa Roback in
Speaker 1: studio with us. Hey, gang, welcome. Mom and Dad are
Speaker 1: in the building.
Speaker 2: None and Pop has their affections called in our house.
Speaker 2: How are you doing today? Doing great? Are you all
Speaker 2: nervous if it's just talking about you? No, No, we
Speaker 2: want to talk about you. No, that's what we don't want.
Speaker 3: Let me ask, should we be nervous?
Speaker 2: No?
Speaker 1: I don't think I told you all before you started
Speaker 1: that there's not a question we're going to ask that
Speaker 1: you don't know the answers, I assure you. But I
Speaker 1: do want to say, Congress isn't the anniversary coming up
Speaker 1: in a couple of weeks, right, fifty two years? Fifty?
Speaker 1: Is that right?
Speaker 3: Right? It'll be fifty two years the life.
Speaker 1: First, anybody listening is in a relationship. You hear somebody's
Speaker 1: been together for fifty years, you always want to ask,
Speaker 1: what is the secret? How do you do they want
Speaker 1: us have something to help their relationship last that long?
Speaker 1: What do you got?
Speaker 2: I already I always answer this question first, So I'm
Speaker 2: gonna let you do it today.
Speaker 3: Oh, you're gonna let me answer? That's that's turning the tables,
Speaker 3: all right? There is no secret. How's that? It's making
Speaker 3: a decision every day that you are in love with
Speaker 3: someone and you were in love with them for you've
Speaker 3: been We've been in love for a long time, and
Speaker 3: every day it's a decision. You know, I'm going to
Speaker 3: love this person and you know we are going to
Speaker 3: continue going through life together.
Speaker 2: That sounds kind of ominous that you have to redecide
Speaker 2: every morning.
Speaker 3: It's positive affirmation.
Speaker 2: Okay, I will do it again one more day, one
Speaker 2: day more.
Speaker 1: Oh you disagree, You don't think of it the same way.
Speaker 2: No, I don't know. Okay, how do you think I
Speaker 2: have massive attraction to this man always have.
Speaker 1: What is that he's good?
Speaker 2: I say, the attraction motivates you to continue. Yes, absolutely,
Speaker 2: When he turns like eighty five, it's going to be
Speaker 2: a little tough, but I'll be eighty five too.
Speaker 1: So okay, now this is something she explained. This your
Speaker 1: whole family. People who are familiar with robots see her
Speaker 1: and great shape, and she's fifty one, but she has
Speaker 1: great genes. You all are freaking amazing. And like you said,
Speaker 1: you say, when he's eighty five, I mean, I've bet
Speaker 1: what he's eighty five, he's gonna look pretty damn good.
Speaker 2: On the lawn. Right.
Speaker 1: It's still at eighty five, So how much of that
Speaker 1: I mean for you all, it's just jeans genetics, your
Speaker 1: family that helps people maybe understand why robot has the genes.
Speaker 2: Yet I agree. Both my parents lived until their nineties.
Speaker 2: My dad was ninety eight, Yeah.
Speaker 3: My mom is ninety one. I had grandparents grandfather that
Speaker 3: was ninety eight and a grandmother ninety six, so a
Speaker 3: lot of people lived into their nineties. So yeah, I
Speaker 3: think we have good genes for a long lung jitivity, longevity, well, longevity.
Speaker 4: I look at that as TG does that scare you
Speaker 4: because I'm not dying anytime soon. You're stuck with me
Speaker 4: for a long long time.
Speaker 1: That's a good thing. And we talk about this something
Speaker 1: I hate to turn it on a but your health
Speaker 1: right when you talk about your breast cancer survivor and
Speaker 1: to think that every six months, every year, you have
Speaker 1: to get a report that says whether or not you
Speaker 1: got another six months another year, that is and it
Speaker 1: makes you live a certain way. But I appreciate the
Speaker 1: health that you're in. Okay, youre as healthy as your a.
Speaker 1: Youre's active as your This is great, all right, it's
Speaker 1: good to see them. I see your family. You got
Speaker 1: good jeens.
Speaker 4: Yep, it's true. I mean, and my whole life. Everyone
Speaker 4: my parents would walk into the newsroom when I was
Speaker 4: twenty two and they were forty one, right because they're
Speaker 4: nineteen years old within me and they were nineteen when
Speaker 4: they had me.
Speaker 2: But every my whole.
Speaker 4: Life, everyone their jaw drops when they see my parents
Speaker 4: because a they are young, but they also look really
Speaker 4: young and good for their age.
Speaker 2: So it's like a combo.
Speaker 4: But everyone Dad, how many people thought we were married
Speaker 4: when we would like go somewhere together. It was so embarrassing.
Speaker 4: We had the last same last name. We would go
Speaker 4: to a hotel together a couple of times and we'd say,
Speaker 4: can we get the two you know, the two twin beds,
Speaker 4: and they would look at us.
Speaker 2: My dad's like, this is my daughter, and nobody would believe. Oh,
Speaker 2: please please stop saying that.
Speaker 1: And I've heard that a lot. But until I had
Speaker 1: the picture of you, it might have been your wedding day,
Speaker 1: but you will. It is unbelievable. You should post that picture.
Speaker 4: I will to see because on the wedding when I
Speaker 4: was twenty three years old, Dad, you were forty two.
Speaker 4: Everyone do you remember when we were getting ready, they
Speaker 4: all thought you were the groom.
Speaker 2: They all thought you were the groom and that was
Speaker 2: so weird.
Speaker 3: But it was even more weird for me.
Speaker 1: Was a compliment, though, Has it always been a compliment
Speaker 1: that you've gotten?
Speaker 5: Is that?
Speaker 1: Wow, you're only I.
Speaker 3: Don't know, you know. I think I think when you're
Speaker 3: that age, you know, it's not necessarily a compliment because
Speaker 3: you're trying to be taken serious. And I think sometimes
Speaker 3: people look at you as being young and maybe not
Speaker 3: as experienced as you are, So it wasn't always an advantage.
Speaker 1: But for your marriage, for your wife absolutely absolutely? What
Speaker 1: was did you all you have a Eric as how
Speaker 1: what's about your brother?
Speaker 4: He's twenty months younger than me? So he is gush?
Speaker 4: Is he about to turn fifty this year?
Speaker 3: Yes?
Speaker 2: Okay, yes, he's turning fifty in October forty nine? Yeah.
Speaker 1: Tell were there easy and obvious distinctions when you had
Speaker 1: these You had these two kids, did you see them?
Speaker 1: They were going to be going two different directions? Could
Speaker 1: you tell? From very early on they were just different?
Speaker 2: Absolutely?
Speaker 1: Really?
Speaker 2: I mean Amy was go, go, go, go go, never
Speaker 2: stop banging on the door, like I want out of
Speaker 2: this cage that I'm in. And Eric was more you know,
Speaker 2: he'd have my skirt if we went to the shopping
Speaker 2: because he was like, look at all these people. Amy.
Speaker 2: Here's what Amy would do. Walk into a store. Amy
Speaker 2: had learned a lesson that if you make a beeline
Speaker 2: for the customer service and you say I'm lost, they
Speaker 2: give you like, you know, candy. So I would even say,
Speaker 2: watch her because she's going to go running up there,
Speaker 2: and before when you bam, you're up there the lollipop
Speaker 2: smiling at us. And then you'd hear the announcement. Yes,
Speaker 2: there's a loss of good What age was this? Oh,
Speaker 2: you were like.
Speaker 3: Three, that's when we first moved to Blacksburg that you
Speaker 3: started doing it. Yeah, you would just take off. You
Speaker 3: were probably two and a half three years old and boom,
Speaker 3: you were right to the customer service counter asking, uh
Speaker 3: for someone to call your parents because you were lost,
Speaker 3: and they'd give you a lollipop and you were happy.
Speaker 1: That is as a that's a sociopath. I mean, what
Speaker 1: is what? How are you at two and three? You
Speaker 1: possess enough to manipulate a system that way at two
Speaker 1: or three.
Speaker 4: I was motivated by sugar jeez and attention, because I'm
Speaker 4: sure that they all were like, oh, poor little girl,
Speaker 4: where's your mommy and daddy.
Speaker 2: I'm guessing I don't know. I have no memory of this,
Speaker 2: So what would you it?
Speaker 1: Was it attention?
Speaker 2: I would say number two first was the lollipop. Number
Speaker 2: two was she was just had a little bit of
Speaker 2: a flair for the dramatic. So she she did like
Speaker 2: to kind of be in the spot like, oh wow,
Speaker 2: I never did he was pulled.
Speaker 1: We're peeling this thing back layer.
Speaker 2: Oh no, we should get aimed to do some of
Speaker 2: her cute, little cute little songs and dances that we
Speaker 2: taught you. Yeah, no, thank you. I'm sure there's a
Speaker 2: video somewhere. The girls are trying to pull them up
Speaker 2: and show them to TJ. The other day. I was like,
Speaker 2: please stop, please stop pageant stuff. Yes, they were trying to.
Speaker 1: She is online, yes, I mean, I'm not going to
Speaker 1: post a link, please don't.
Speaker 4: But it is googleable, and my daughters, I think, don't
Speaker 4: let I don't even think they let two weeks go
Speaker 4: by without all of a sudden, they'll just play it
Speaker 4: and they'll.
Speaker 2: Start laughing because they'll know that I get said. I'm like,
Speaker 2: please turn that on now. Yes, even things you did.
Speaker 4: Before the internet now can live forever online. And I
Speaker 4: found this out the hard way.
Speaker 1: But who is she more like between you two?
Speaker 3: Would you say, Oh, that's a good question. There's definitely
Speaker 3: she's definitely a combination of the two of us. I mean,
Speaker 3: her musical talent and her artistic talent. Her creative talent
Speaker 3: comes from her mother, not from me, that's for sure.
Speaker 3: I think maybe her wunderlust attitude comes from me. I mean,
Speaker 3: I traveled a lot for work over the years, and
Speaker 3: I think Amy you know has kind of had that
Speaker 3: same sense of adventure by going out, but you know,
Speaker 3: from but from a creative side. It's totally on her
Speaker 3: mom's side.
Speaker 1: Is that right?
Speaker 2: Yes? I agree, yeah, dad.
Speaker 4: When Dad traveled around the world always when I was
Speaker 4: growing up. So I the one thing, you know, some
Speaker 4: people have boxes of memorabilia. I have a shoebox, and
Speaker 4: my shoebox memorabilia of my childhood consists of my gymnastics
Speaker 4: medals and the stickers and money that my dad would
Speaker 4: come back from around the world. So we have like
Speaker 4: currency from all the different countries he would go to,
Speaker 4: and I put them in baggies and I labeled them,
Speaker 4: and I have all the like little stickers you could
Speaker 4: get at the airport, you know that that you come
Speaker 4: back and so that's my memorabilia.
Speaker 2: Why are you looking like that?
Speaker 1: No, I cannot believe how much I'm learning about you.
Speaker 1: And No, I know a lot about you, and I'm
Speaker 1: probably know you better than by anybody outside of these
Speaker 1: two and your daughters. I would probably argue I did
Speaker 1: not know about the customer service thing that is blowing
Speaker 1: my mind right now? Does it ring true about you?
Speaker 1: The candy know the attention. Yes, the flare for the dramatic, yes, yes,
Speaker 1: so lutely. But does she get that from either one
Speaker 1: of you? The flair for the dramatic.
Speaker 2: I think guilty is charged. I was thinking you were
Speaker 2: going to own that.
Speaker 1: Yeah, but do you want her and Mama Robot, I
Speaker 1: hear this from you. I think the time, or at
Speaker 1: least she passes it along, that that wanderlust, the travel,
Speaker 1: the venture and whatnot. You would like for her to
Speaker 1: sometimes just fit the hell down stop for a second.
Speaker 2: Yeah, A thousand times. Yes, yeah. When she's climbing and
Speaker 2: then she send me videos or climb on the very
Speaker 2: edge of a mountain that's just death below and she's
Speaker 2: just walking along on like a two inch platform. I
Speaker 2: don't want to see that, and I don't even want to.
Speaker 2: I was secured by the way with ropes, just so
Speaker 2: you know, I didn't know that. Yes I was. I
Speaker 2: was tethered to a guide who knew better than me
Speaker 2: to yes.
Speaker 1: So her point remains, you're still hanging off the side
Speaker 1: of a mountain with dental floss essentially, Yeah.
Speaker 2: I know, and I have slowed down.
Speaker 4: It was It was not something that I chose, but
Speaker 4: I know that that's part of all of what's happened
Speaker 4: in the last year and a half that I know
Speaker 4: you have I think expressed me that that's one one
Speaker 4: of the good things that's happened that I've I've settled down,
Speaker 4: I've been still, and I was forced to like and
Speaker 4: and now I'm in a pattern where I'm with the
Speaker 4: person who I want to be with. I'm not searching
Speaker 4: as much. I think I was always searching for something.
Speaker 4: And it's not that I don't still have that adventurous spirit.
Speaker 4: I absolutely do, but I do feel very different about
Speaker 4: how I approach what fun is, what excitement is. I
Speaker 4: think really honestly, watching a movie with him on the
Speaker 4: couch is like as exciting as it gets. And that's
Speaker 4: where I am right now. And it's a very different
Speaker 4: place than I was before.
Speaker 2: Right. Yeah, before she never would stop. I mean, if
Speaker 2: we would come to visit her, it's like, I'm exhausted
Speaker 2: after two days because we're just you know, running everywhere
Speaker 2: in the city. But I've noticed, Ye, you definitely stopped
Speaker 2: that slowing down.
Speaker 1: But did you all over the years see it as her? Yeah,
Speaker 1: she has that sense of adventure you talked about Papa Rovak,
Speaker 1: But did you all get a sense that there was
Speaker 1: something else to it than just adventure, That she was
Speaker 1: ripping and running and moving and I don't want to
Speaker 1: say running from something, but there was something else motivating
Speaker 1: her to be adventurous.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think so. I mean, you know, especially when
Speaker 3: you can look at things and you know retrospect that
Speaker 3: she was definitely looking for outlets that would be almost
Speaker 3: distractions from maybe what was going on, you know, inner life.
Speaker 3: So I think those adventures. Sure, they some of them
Speaker 3: were work related and you enjoyed them, but some of
Speaker 3: them were I think escapism to an extent. So yeah,
Speaker 3: we definitely saw that.
Speaker 2: Yeah, no, that's all true.
Speaker 4: And I think, like what you're saying is in retrospect,
Speaker 4: when you're doing it, you don't realize why you're doing it.
Speaker 4: You just know you need to do it, like you
Speaker 4: feel almost a compulsion to do it, because you need
Speaker 4: to constantly not be where you are, to not actually.
Speaker 2: Let anything that's a problem.
Speaker 4: You don't have to deal with it if you just
Speaker 4: distract yourself with other things. And I think funny enough,
Speaker 4: with cancer, it almost it it put everything I think
Speaker 4: on hyper speed. It went into like it's almost like
Speaker 4: it was like that I already had and then put
Speaker 4: steroids you know, onto it, and then all of a sudden,
Speaker 4: now I'm running out of time.
Speaker 2: I'm running out of time.
Speaker 4: And so that all I think made for the last
Speaker 4: decade a very wild, busy, NonStop life.
Speaker 2: It always felt like you were running away from something,
Speaker 2: not running towards something. So I just I knew what
Speaker 2: you were doing, but I couldn't tell you. You had to
Speaker 2: figure it out yourself.
Speaker 1: Advise because a lot of parents listening. How do you
Speaker 1: sit by? How difficult is it to sit by? How
Speaker 1: do you comfort or counsel a child when you season
Speaker 1: zero at that point an adult and a strong one,
Speaker 1: a strong minded one. How do you if you sit
Speaker 1: back and that you really think somebody's making mistake or
Speaker 1: doing something wrong? Or how do you support without also
Speaker 1: ruining the relationship by saying no, you shouldn't be doing that,
Speaker 1: Or how do you strike that balance? Say somebody?
Speaker 3: Well, saying no to amy never worked. We have some
Speaker 3: stories we could tell, but no, I think you.
Speaker 2: Should tell the door.
Speaker 3: We'll get to the door. Well, yeah, no, I think
Speaker 3: that the way, at least the way that I think
Speaker 3: we approached it was by continuing to love her and
Speaker 3: to let her know that we loved her, and then
Speaker 3: also by setting an example in the way that we
Speaker 3: conduct ourselves and the way that we live our lives,
Speaker 3: and that to me. And then we participated in a
Speaker 3: lot of these adventures Dad climbed, So we did things
Speaker 3: together that I believe demonstrates, you know, the way that
Speaker 3: you feel and the way that we modeled our lives
Speaker 3: or lived our lives. We were hoping would be an example,
Speaker 3: you know, and that the light bulb will come on
Speaker 3: at some point.
Speaker 2: But it's kind of not fair because I found we
Speaker 2: found each other when we were seventeen, and so we
Speaker 2: didn't want to judge you because that's not ours, not
Speaker 2: our job anyway. But in private where we disappointed that
Speaker 2: your life was kind of crazy, and yeah, we were disappointed,
Speaker 2: but only for you, not for ourselves. So we just
Speaker 2: love Amy very very much. So we just loved her.
Speaker 2: We tried to love her. I don't know if you
Speaker 2: always felt like we were loving you, but that's what
Speaker 2: we were trying to do. I always, I always felt
Speaker 2: loved always, and I knew that you didn't love the
Speaker 2: way I was operating, but I knew you loved me, yes, always, always, always.
Speaker 1: Well, how did you deal with robes? Then? Right, they
Speaker 1: loved you, but there was some point, I mean I
Speaker 1: deal with with my parents and okay, your parents always
Speaker 1: so proud of you, Yes, we want to hold you up.
Speaker 1: But then when things kind of crumblow or you make mistakes,
Speaker 1: you're so worried about disappointing your parents.
Speaker 4: Oh my god, Yes, that's such a huge part of it.
Speaker 4: And like, especially with what happened to you and a
Speaker 4: half ago, the crazy thing is all of everything, everything
Speaker 4: happened on the day my mom and dad we talked
Speaker 4: about this came to New York. So that was like
Speaker 4: such a just a gut punch. It was already crazy
Speaker 4: to have the tabloids saying what they were saying, but
Speaker 4: it all broke on the day my mom and dad
Speaker 4: were flying to New York, previously scheduled, previously scheduled, they
Speaker 4: were already here, going to a Christmas party, one of
Speaker 4: my dad's work events, and so yes, to have them see,
Speaker 4: like not just hear how it was going or read
Speaker 4: what was happening, but to actually be in this city
Speaker 4: when everything all went to hell and you all were
Speaker 4: there when the paparazzi descended on my apartment and saw
Speaker 4: everything firsthand. And I hated that for you, that you
Speaker 4: got caught up in this just worst case scenario situation
Speaker 4: and you were there to witness it all, because I
Speaker 4: could only imagine, as painful as it was for me,
Speaker 4: how hard it would be if it were my daughters
Speaker 4: going through that. Like to have it happen to you
Speaker 4: is one thing. To have it happen to your child,
Speaker 4: it's a whole other thing. When you're a parent, you
Speaker 4: understand that. So I was actually then feeling awful for
Speaker 4: my daughters and for my parents. While this was all happening.
Speaker 2: We were fine. We were just worried about you and
Speaker 2: what's the best way to show you that we loved you?
Speaker 2: And it took us a while to think through how
Speaker 2: do we show her we love her without scolding her
Speaker 2: saying I told you you shouldn't have done this or
Speaker 2: done that. Am you knows what I'm talking about?
Speaker 5: I told you so, so, oh you know it's past now,
Speaker 5: do you all actually and she actually expressed that to you,
Speaker 5: or I would kind of imagine you all ever looked
Speaker 5: at her at any point.
Speaker 1: In the past year and a half and said, I
Speaker 1: told you so, right, And that's no, that's not is
Speaker 1: you always lane to do?
Speaker 2: We would never say that. I would never say that
Speaker 2: to Amy.
Speaker 1: No, no, but you can see it in our eyes.
Speaker 2: No, Actually, it's funny. It's funny.
Speaker 4: I've gone this isn't the first miss Like, I don't
Speaker 4: even want to say mistake. I would just you know,
Speaker 4: I hate to say the end of a marriage is
Speaker 4: a mistake.
Speaker 2: It isn't always a mistake.
Speaker 4: In fact, sometimes it's what the right thing is to
Speaker 4: do and you learn a lot through it. Funny enough,
Speaker 4: with everything that's happened in the last two years, I've
Speaker 4: never felt more supported by the two of you than
Speaker 4: I was this past year and a half, more so
Speaker 4: than any other moment in my life.
Speaker 1: You know what she did, both of you all. She
Speaker 1: did say this several times. She's her relationship with her
Speaker 1: parents is the best she can remember it in a
Speaker 1: long time. She has. She has said that several times
Speaker 1: in the past year and a half. That is true.
Speaker 4: Absolutely, Yes, I felt the love, I felt the support,
Speaker 4: and I didn't feel judged at all.
Speaker 1: Do some get lucky? You said you all found each
Speaker 1: other at seventeen did you all just get lucky and
Speaker 1: other people don't get that lucky and certainly not that early.
Speaker 1: Or is it something more about the way you all
Speaker 1: are built that you all made a decision that you
Speaker 1: all are going to be together these fifty two years
Speaker 1: most of us are looking at like, oh, I found
Speaker 1: the one or looking for the one and sold me
Speaker 1: all this kind of stuff.
Speaker 3: Well, I mean, I guess you could say we were lucky.
Speaker 3: It's kind of by chance that we met. Know, we
Speaker 3: met at church, and actually we've known each other since
Speaker 3: we were what twelve years old, and we're both from
Speaker 3: big Catholic families, and so Jones family would sit on
Speaker 3: one side of the church with her eight brothers and sisters,
Speaker 3: and then I would sit on the other side with
Speaker 3: my five brothers and sisters. And over time, you know,
Speaker 3: we went to CCD, so we were going to religious education,
Speaker 3: and we got to know each other. We went to
Speaker 3: different high schools, different junior highs in different high schools,
Speaker 3: so we didn't see each other every day, and we
Speaker 3: over time, you know, noticed each other. And I always
Speaker 3: glancing over at her with her cute little cheerleading outfit on,
Speaker 3: you know, and and uh, you know, I asked her
Speaker 3: out on a date. And I'll tell you when I
Speaker 3: first called for the first date. I dialed her number.
Speaker 3: I was downstairs with my one of my friends, and
Speaker 3: he's kind of giggling while I'm doing this, and I said, Hi, Joan,
Speaker 3: this is Mike, and the answer comes back, Mike, who.
Speaker 2: I knew lots of Mikes I did. I said, which
Speaker 2: mic are you? Oh no, But when you told me,
Speaker 2: I was like, that's the mic that I would want
Speaker 2: to hear. And the rest is history.
Speaker 3: Yes, I mean the first date. My I couldn't drive yet,
Speaker 3: so I was not quite yet. Oh yeah, that was
Speaker 3: I was not quite yet sixteen, so I didn't have
Speaker 3: a driver's license. So my dad had to drive us over,
Speaker 3: pick you up, and take us to a dance at
Speaker 3: the high school, and then take us home and then
Speaker 3: take take me home. So it was not exactly, you know,
Speaker 3: the way you might envision a first date with your
Speaker 3: dad driving, you know.
Speaker 2: No kiss at the front door, no exactly, you know.
Speaker 4: I always remember some of the sweet stories I heard,
Speaker 4: and I think maybe I took for granted how special
Speaker 4: you all were from the very beginning, because it just
Speaker 4: kind of when you see that your whole life. I
Speaker 4: was raised with a lot of love, and I saw
Speaker 4: you all. Your relationship was always remarkable to me. My
Speaker 4: friends and I would be grossed out at your public
Speaker 4: displays of affection.
Speaker 2: When I was in high school, it was so embarrassed.
Speaker 2: I was like, oh, my gosh, keep your hands off
Speaker 2: each other. Oh, it was so I think that's why
Speaker 2: part of the reason why I said I didn't like PDA,
Speaker 2: because I was like, ew. But anyway, I can look
Speaker 2: at it now and say, oh, yeah, you guys would
Speaker 2: chase each other around the house, giggling and laughing, and
Speaker 2: when you were a nice girls, all the time you'd
Speaker 2: be kissing. Oh it's awesome now. At the time, it
Speaker 2: did not seem awesome, But it's incredible now, especially with
Speaker 2: all the life I've lived. I'm blown away by it.
Speaker 2: But I remember hearing these stories about Dad. He had
Speaker 2: a very strict father.
Speaker 4: My grandpa was a tough man, and he would get
Speaker 4: in trouble for whatever reason, and he would lose car privileges,
Speaker 4: and I remember dad Mom telling me or Dad explaining
Speaker 4: that he would have to run over the bridge separating
Speaker 4: your two towns and run how many.
Speaker 2: Miles was it Dad.
Speaker 3: It was about three and a half to.
Speaker 4: See mom and then run back to That was the
Speaker 4: way they could see each other if he was in trouble.
Speaker 4: But I remember Mom kind of saying the same thing
Speaker 4: to me. She said, find a guy who will run
Speaker 4: three and a half miles to see you, to be
Speaker 4: with you, no matter what. Like if a man likes you,
Speaker 4: if you're with the right person, he will walk on
Speaker 4: water to get to you.
Speaker 2: And that's when my mom fell in love with him.
Speaker 2: When she would see him run over and she was like,
Speaker 2: go get him some water, get his shirt off and
Speaker 2: put in the dry I mean, it's just.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you were no, no, you were literally making a
Speaker 1: three mile run to her. You didn't walk it.
Speaker 3: No, No, I ran, I ran, No I ran.
Speaker 1: And to remind folk, you ran your first marathon at
Speaker 1: what age?
Speaker 3: What's fifty four?
Speaker 4: It's pretty cool, right, Dad and I were talking about
Speaker 4: this today because or last night, because I was thinking like, oh,
Speaker 4: I'm kind of I don't know how many more marathons
Speaker 4: I have in me, and my dad said, remember I
Speaker 4: ran my first marathon at fifty four, and.
Speaker 1: Your last one, Berlin was what you were at sixty nine.
Speaker 1: That's amazing.
Speaker 2: That's incredible.
Speaker 4: That was a really really cool way to if you
Speaker 4: don't really run anymore, right, Dad.
Speaker 3: Not much. I just had my right hip replaced about
Speaker 3: two months ago.
Speaker 2: There he goes.
Speaker 4: So it's not a it's not a it's not a
Speaker 4: sport or a passion. You can continue for the rest
Speaker 4: of your life. Unfortunately for most people.
Speaker 2: I think I'll find a way. He's going to get
Speaker 2: the other one done, and then I suspect he's going
Speaker 2: to be out the door.
Speaker 3: Well funny, no marathons though, Well.
Speaker 4: Fun story though, Dad, because you came to cheer me
Speaker 4: on the first New York City It's the first marathon
Speaker 4: I ever ran, was the New York City Marathon, and you,
Speaker 4: I think, got a little bit of the running bug
Speaker 4: back in you, and you went and got your knees replaced, right,
Speaker 4: so that you could then run in Berlin?
Speaker 2: Is am I wrong?
Speaker 3: I didn't get my knees replaced. I had meniscus surgery.
Speaker 2: Okay, sorry, that was a little bit more dramatic. See
Speaker 2: I am dramatic. But you had a surgery because you
Speaker 2: were remotivated to run again. And then I convinced you, well, if.
Speaker 3: You remember after that marathon. We went down to that
Speaker 3: beer hall and so yes, yes, and everybody was, you know, going,
Speaker 3: m poppa, um poppa, Let's run Berlin, Let's run Berlin.
Speaker 3: And I inadvertently said, okay.
Speaker 2: So that's one of the reasons why I love some
Speaker 2: liquid courage every now and then.
Speaker 4: Yes, that was at a Houston hall. Yes, I remember that,
Speaker 4: and we made the plan to Berlin. The pandemic happened,
Speaker 4: so we had to wait a year, but I was
Speaker 4: I remember just being so impressed. And even now as
Speaker 4: I'm gosh, I'm fifty one, but think about sixty nine.
Speaker 4: If I want to complain about aching this or that,
Speaker 4: I think about what you did in Berlin.
Speaker 2: It's remarkable.
Speaker 1: How is the hip now? You feel better? All good?
Speaker 3: And the right hip, which has been replaced, has no
Speaker 3: pain at all, and the left hip will be replaced soon.
Speaker 2: He's got like sixteen years you will have sixteen year
Speaker 2: old hips. And he says like, I feel like I'm.
Speaker 1: A kid, so sixteen, which I'm sure you appreciate that
Speaker 1: he has sixteen year old hips.
Speaker 2: I would like to get sixteen year old. Oh and mom,
Speaker 2: I know your recovery. How are you doing? Because you
Speaker 2: also took You took a nasty fall. Yeah. I was
Speaker 2: the worst pain that I've ever been in my life,
Speaker 2: for several reasons that I won't get into now. I
Speaker 2: fell while I was standing straight up, and I fell
Speaker 2: and hit my shoulder and my head, and as soon
Speaker 2: as I did, I thought I did something really bad here.
Speaker 2: So I had to crawl to the back door because
Speaker 2: she's outside and I'm just yelling help. That's when you
Speaker 2: need the I've fallen and I can't. But we talked
Speaker 2: about it. I can't believe you don't have one of
Speaker 2: those moms you guys are riding to age. Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2: So Yeah, So he came in and I remember he
Speaker 2: was saying, Okay, let's get the well, I'll help you
Speaker 2: into the car or go to the midge room, and
Speaker 2: I just said ambulance, ambulance, that's all. I kept repeating it.
Speaker 2: And then when they came in, I was like pain relievers.
Speaker 2: So they get they. I didn't realize they could do it,
Speaker 2: but they did.
Speaker 1: Have you always as Robot always been, it is it.
Speaker 1: I don't think your accident prone, but she's always ends
Speaker 1: up in the hospital for some reason. But it's always
Speaker 1: a big reare. It's not like I nick the finger.
Speaker 4: It's like I have cancer, cancer, or I have a terotoma.
Speaker 1: Something serious. He always had surgery and in and out
Speaker 1: and had issue when she was a little girl.
Speaker 2: No, she didn't have any, but as she got older.
Speaker 2: But yeah, when when when you talk about the time
Speaker 2: that you called Eric to tell him that you had
Speaker 2: a tarat tellman response to her, Yes, So, by the way,
Speaker 2: I don't think I was ever in the hospital before
Speaker 2: I had a baby, just so you know. So I
Speaker 2: wasn't accident. Pro it's their fault. Yes, they started a
Speaker 2: whole Yes, you're right. We can't get into that later.
Speaker 3: But you're right, it's always the kid's fault, right.
Speaker 2: So I my brother's a doctor, and I found out
Speaker 2: that I had They told me I had a tarotoma.
Speaker 2: I had to have surgery, and I didn't know what
Speaker 2: it was. Did we have Google back then, No, I
Speaker 2: don't think so. So I called Eric and he started
Speaker 2: laughing so hard. I was like, why are you laughing.
Speaker 2: He's like, because when you go to medical school, this
Speaker 2: is the one thing that is the grossest, nastiest, weirdest
Speaker 2: tumor you can possibly have. And he was just he could.
Speaker 2: He was saying this through tears of laughter as.
Speaker 4: A brother would and does he thought it was the
Speaker 4: funniest thing, and I just I was like, wait, but like,
Speaker 4: this isn't that unusual?
Speaker 2: Where He's like, no, it's it actually is really rare.
Speaker 2: And I said, well, what is so awful about this tumor?
Speaker 2: And he could barely get it out. It has like
Speaker 2: teeth and eyeballs and hair like it's like warped DNA
Speaker 2: that's gonna ride. It's growing inside of you, And he
Speaker 2: could barely speak.
Speaker 1: He was like, you should see our producer's face in
Speaker 1: the room. You're describing this. Yeah, and you if you
Speaker 1: know I sing the move horror movie malignant have you?
Speaker 4: But the thing is this one was growing on a
Speaker 4: main vein on my ovary, and so they were worried.
Speaker 4: It was growing rapidly, so if it twisted, that was
Speaker 4: the concern. It can actually cut off your blood supply
Speaker 4: and you can drop dead.
Speaker 2: So I don't you know what. So here's the deal.
Speaker 2: I was freaked out. What's my brother told me stop
Speaker 2: Mike co Ancher. At the time, I was at MSNBC
Speaker 2: and I happened to be pregnant with Anna at the
Speaker 2: same time, so we had to wait like six months
Speaker 2: before I could get this. They had to wait. They didn't.
Speaker 4: They had to measure it every three weeks because if
Speaker 4: it got big enough, they were going to have to
Speaker 4: go in for surgery while I was pregnant, which is dangerous.
Speaker 4: So they wanted to wait, obviously until I had the baby.
Speaker 4: So the whole time both of these things were growing
Speaker 4: inside of me, and my co anchor, Randy Meyer said,
Speaker 4: he named him Mobley.
Speaker 2: He goes, how's Mobley doing? And I was like, can
Speaker 2: you stop? So I had told Annelie she had.
Speaker 4: An evil twin brother growing next to her. No, it's
Speaker 4: all funny, but it's I asked.
Speaker 2: The doctor when they took it out, did you see it?
Speaker 2: I didn't want to. Eric ask me to have them
Speaker 2: take it, and he'd like to put it in a jar.
Speaker 1: It.
Speaker 2: I was so freaked out. I didn't want to look.
Speaker 2: They told me they assured me and didn't have teeth.
Speaker 2: They were lying, honey. It was like, just tell me
Speaker 2: it didn't have teeth. No, I didn't want to see it.
Speaker 2: I was freaked out. We were planning for another grandchild.
Speaker 2: I don't know anyone else who said to Tara Tonema
Speaker 2: either so it's so embarrassing. Yes, I know when I
Speaker 2: go into NYU for you know, you go in for
Speaker 2: the checkps. I think I've had several doctors say, wow,
Speaker 2: you are very interesting. You have a very interesting life.
Speaker 2: You've had a lot of procedures that are very unusual
Speaker 2: now for you all.
Speaker 1: Did you all think, and still sitting here, think that
Speaker 1: so much of the issue, so many of the issues
Speaker 1: she's had medically over the years were absolutely related to
Speaker 1: the way she was living, how she was working, the
Speaker 1: stress she was under. Do you think those two things
Speaker 1: are related?
Speaker 2: We did, but specific things like a teratoma or your heart,
Speaker 2: your heart problem I I would contribute to. But I
Speaker 2: didn't know it made sense that it was your extremely
Speaker 2: busy life, you know, migranine headaches, yes, and cancer, unhappiness
Speaker 2: and cancer and then yeah, I'm getting there. There's a
Speaker 2: lot to go through. No, but some of the things,
Speaker 2: you know, you couldn't help. I mean, but maybe your
Speaker 2: heart procedure could have sure been exacerbated by stress. But no,
Speaker 2: I just we always were there.
Speaker 4: Well, you always said to me, Amy, slow down. You
Speaker 4: said that to me all the time, And I was
Speaker 4: like never going to happen. Look at me now, Yeah,
Speaker 4: I just I couldn't sit still.
Speaker 1: But you're part of the You had to sit still
Speaker 1: for a year.
Speaker 2: Wait, we had we had to sit still for a year.
Speaker 1: But now you are you? Are you ready to get
Speaker 1: to be crazy again? I got it crazy you or adventurous,
Speaker 1: but as there some part about you that you now
Speaker 1: feel settled or calm in some way, because anytime you
Speaker 1: say it to me, like oh, well she's with Mina,
Speaker 1: I don't want that part of you to be gone
Speaker 1: just because you're in a relationship with me.
Speaker 2: You've said that a couple of times, you know, like
Speaker 2: I've joked like I missed some hiking. But it's really
Speaker 2: not the end of the world.
Speaker 4: The truth is, it's crazy that this dramatic, unthinkable situation
Speaker 4: was the catalyst for me to actually find peace, which
Speaker 4: seems strange and maybe.
Speaker 2: The opposite of what you think would happen. But I'm
Speaker 2: feeling peace. I feel joy in a different way.
Speaker 4: It's not because I'm being stimulated or I'm I'm I'm
Speaker 4: attaining or achieving something. See, I think a lot of
Speaker 4: it was all about what I can climb that mountain,
Speaker 4: I can, and I love crossing finish line, but the
Speaker 4: joy came from accomplishment and the getting there, like getting
Speaker 4: the goal, created the distraction from dealing with my life.
Speaker 2: So yes, we were forced.
Speaker 4: I was forced to sit and be quiet and think
Speaker 4: about my choices, how I've acted, how I operate, and
Speaker 4: realized that none of it was working. And I've been
Speaker 4: doing and I'll continue, hopefully for the rest of my
Speaker 4: life to do that deep searching and realize that joy
Speaker 4: comes from within, it doesn't come from outside sources. And
Speaker 4: that's what I think I was always trying to avoid
Speaker 4: and I'm still working on it.
Speaker 2: But being with the right person absolutely creates a balance,
Speaker 2: and it gives you that safety. When you feel safe,
Speaker 2: you can relax, and I don't think I ever felt
Speaker 2: that way before. Now, Yeah, I totally agree. Safety to
Speaker 2: me is one of them. I've got a lot of them,
Speaker 2: But one of the reasons that I love being with
Speaker 2: Mike is I've always felt safe with them, and I
Speaker 2: think that's I've talked to other women about it, and
Speaker 2: almost at the top two or three things that they say,
Speaker 2: why why they were in a relationship or married because
Speaker 2: they feel safe. Now, yeah, emotionally safe.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I don't think I ever really realized how important
Speaker 4: that was. I always felt like I and look, I'm
Speaker 4: all about It's got to come from me. I'm the
Speaker 4: one who has to be whole. I'm the one who
Speaker 4: has to create my own balance in my life. But
Speaker 4: the dynamics you have with people absolutely affects your inner
Speaker 4: psyche in a lot of ways, and to say that
Speaker 4: it doesn't is not being truthful.
Speaker 2: It absolutely does.
Speaker 4: So, yes, we can do our own work, but who
Speaker 4: we surround ourselves with is very important.
Speaker 1: And I want to go back out. I don't think
Speaker 1: I've actually asked you all in private this, So.
Speaker 2: Now you're gonna do it in bubble?
Speaker 1: Yeah, I guess so. But I say that because we
Speaker 1: to be honest. Once we get together and we hang out,
Speaker 1: we usually like to talk about other stuff. We don't
Speaker 1: want to go back and talk about the dark days,
Speaker 1: if you will. But going back to November thirtieth of
Speaker 1: twenty twenty two, when that article came out, you all
Speaker 1: were sitting in a different position from the public in
Speaker 1: that you all at least had a handle on You
Speaker 1: knew divorce was happening. You all had known that for months. Yes,
Speaker 1: at this point, so you all were already getting adjusted
Speaker 1: to the idea, she's going to be going through divorce,
Speaker 1: They're going to be changes coming.
Speaker 2: Yeah, we were totally adjusted to that one.
Speaker 1: Okay, so let me ask let me start with that first,
Speaker 1: just the idea and the thought your reaction when knowing
Speaker 1: your daughter again you feel bad for her, what was
Speaker 1: going to be going through another divorce? Now, initially, how
Speaker 1: did you all take that news?
Speaker 3: You mean news of the divorce or the divorce.
Speaker 1: Yeah, so that was in summer that twenty twenty.
Speaker 3: That that did not bother us at all. I mean
Speaker 3: we had reconciled ourselves and we had told Amy that
Speaker 3: we totally supported her in leaving that marriage, So that
Speaker 3: was not an issue at all for us.
Speaker 1: So then we the November thirtieth, the article comes out
Speaker 1: that there that we were exposed that we were in
Speaker 1: a relationship. Now, how did you all and just tell
Speaker 1: me how that initial reaction. Well, there was a lot
Speaker 1: of ways to go with that, because you could have
Speaker 1: been upset that what was happening to her publicly, upset
Speaker 1: about work, or upset that she would put herself in
Speaker 1: a position to be dating her co anker. So what
Speaker 1: was you all's reaction.
Speaker 3: To that that it? I mean, for me, it was,
Speaker 3: this is way too fast. You know, we would have
Speaker 3: much preferred that the divorce has been made known publicly
Speaker 3: and been finalized, you know, before you all became a couple. Yeah,
Speaker 3: I mean that would have been our preference.
Speaker 1: It was it was ours too, by the.
Speaker 2: Way, but we were shocked. We were in the car
Speaker 2: drive almost at the airport and Amy sent us a link.
Speaker 2: Did you know read this before you come, or something
Speaker 2: to that effect. I just wanted you to hear it
Speaker 2: from me first before someone else texted you or you
Speaker 2: just happened to see it. I wanted to make sure
Speaker 2: you knew I was letting you know what was going on.
Speaker 2: Thank you. I read it aloud, and neither want of
Speaker 2: us said anything, just like I got nothing. And then
Speaker 2: we got in the plane, said nothing, got back checked
Speaker 2: at the hotel, said nothing, which is really rare. Yeah,
Speaker 2: because I think both of us were thinking, and we're
Speaker 2: also pretty strong Catholics, so we were also praying about
Speaker 2: how do we handle this right so that we don't
Speaker 2: hurt Amy's feelings and we don't hurt her. That was
Speaker 2: our number one goal, and so we took her time
Speaker 2: before we even approached. You invited us for dinner and
Speaker 2: we said not tonight.
Speaker 4: It scared me because normally you all have opinions right away,
Speaker 4: and so to not hear from you and to have
Speaker 4: you pass on dinner, I was like, I mean, I
Speaker 4: was panicked that night.
Speaker 3: Well, we had an opinion.
Speaker 2: You are trying to.
Speaker 3: We we were praying about, you know, how do we
Speaker 3: best communicate this and how can we put ourselves in
Speaker 3: a position to show you our love and our support,
Speaker 3: but do it in a meaningful.
Speaker 4: Way, And you did because so yes that night. I
Speaker 4: woke up the next morning and I remember, Mom, you
Speaker 4: sent an incredibly thoughtful text, and I remember just feeling
Speaker 4: my whole body just relaxed. And from that moment on,
Speaker 4: I know you all prayed that night and you took
Speaker 4: your time, which is actually something that I need to
Speaker 4: always do better at, because to react verbally to how
Speaker 4: you're feeling emotionally is usually not.
Speaker 2: Ever a good thing. And when you can.
Speaker 4: Give yourself a beat where you pray, meditate, whatever it
Speaker 4: is you do, just to really take your time to
Speaker 4: choose your words and to think about what your.
Speaker 2: Intent is, what you want. I'm not great at that,
Speaker 2: but you all did that that night, and we're old, honey,
Speaker 2: you're a lot older than you are, so not that
Speaker 2: much just nineteen year Ye, that's true. But when you
Speaker 2: did respond, it was and I don't like this word,
Speaker 2: but it was perfect. It was exactly what I needed
Speaker 2: to hear.
Speaker 4: And then from that moment on you came over, because
Speaker 4: I went to work that day and you came over,
Speaker 4: and you were the two of you were my rocks
Speaker 4: from that moment on, and I remember being so upset
Speaker 4: that you were in town when this was all happening.
Speaker 4: And then I remember the next day thinking, thank God
Speaker 4: they were here when all of this was happening. So
Speaker 4: that was everything. And so I actually, just hearing you
Speaker 4: retell that story, it makes me. I'm constantly trying to
Speaker 4: remind myself be better at not immediately.
Speaker 2: Responding take a beat. Teacher's really good at that, I
Speaker 2: will say, but it's you know, it's not my instinct,
Speaker 2: but it's the right thing to do, right and for
Speaker 2: us to say, you know what, we really didn't talk
Speaker 2: about it the whole first day or night because it's
Speaker 2: just like we just didn't know what to say. To you,
Speaker 2: even to each other. Yeah, so both said let's pray
Speaker 2: about it and see what happens, and see what. And
Speaker 2: then the next day I got Mike out of a
Speaker 2: meeting and said, guess what, I know what we should
Speaker 2: say now, And yeah, it's just like answer.
Speaker 3: So I think you had a divine revelation. I do too,
Speaker 3: you know, I truly do believe that. Yeah, it was
Speaker 3: a divine revelation that you had that you told me about.
Speaker 1: Did you say you text a link to them?
Speaker 2: I think I think I wanted them to read it
Speaker 2: because I knew, but you.
Speaker 1: Your first thing was, hey, I need to tell you something.
Speaker 1: Our heads up, I need to call it. You just
Speaker 1: sent the link.
Speaker 2: Well, they were on the plane. I couldn't call them.
Speaker 2: We're in the car. Oh but you were super busy,
Speaker 2: you were.
Speaker 4: I think we were dealing with ABC, we were dealing
Speaker 4: with PR, we were dealing with lawyers, we were dealing with.
Speaker 1: I can, but I can't imagine your parents getting a
Speaker 1: message say hey, read this and then no kind of
Speaker 1: follow up or no.
Speaker 3: You need to read this before you land in New York.
Speaker 1: Oh she did that dramatic thing.
Speaker 2: Oh well, she also went doune them dumb.
Speaker 1: Oh my god, you did this to me the other
Speaker 1: day on the phone.
Speaker 2: I do, I get.
Speaker 4: I have some very visceral emotional reactions sometimes to things
Speaker 4: that don't necessarily fit what's actually happening.
Speaker 2: In this case, it was warrants it.
Speaker 1: I did not know that they were alerted just by
Speaker 1: a link versus, Hey, mom and Dad need to tell
Speaker 1: you something blah blah blah bla blah blah blah. And
Speaker 1: here's the link that just came out. You just hear
Speaker 1: the link, read this before you land.
Speaker 4: I mean, I did, I give you a warning saying
Speaker 4: something something off us happened and I need you to
Speaker 4: read this before you come.
Speaker 2: So it was like, oh, no, you know so yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2: My dad always told us to when we were growing up.
Speaker 2: Do not react.
Speaker 3: Act.
Speaker 2: Don't react to somebody. Act, make a decision on how
Speaker 2: you want to respond to somebody, and you do the acting.
Speaker 2: And that always kind of stuck with us. By the way,
Speaker 2: I'm sorry I gave you all the dramatic flare because
Speaker 2: it came from me, and everything you're saying of me,
Speaker 2: just just ask does it get better? Mom? Does it
Speaker 2: get better when you get older? Do you learn how
Speaker 2: to control and curb that. I don't know, do you
Speaker 2: really want to?
Speaker 1: Huh? So you're at this point?
Speaker 2: Keeps it interesting?
Speaker 1: And did you all want like you said, Buffo Rovoc,
Speaker 1: you were I thought it was too fast and all
Speaker 1: that makes sense. But were you surprised that she was
Speaker 1: dating me? Not as a co anchor, but okay, I
Speaker 1: could understand. Did you see were you totally shocked that
Speaker 1: the two of us would end up dating?
Speaker 3: Well, we could see your on camera chemistry, you know,
Speaker 3: and we had spent enough time with you all that
Speaker 3: you know, we knew that you guys were in sync
Speaker 3: in a lot of ways. I think the romantic part
Speaker 3: was a little bit of a shock. I mean I
Speaker 3: didn't see it coming. And maybe it's just me. I
Speaker 3: mean I'm old and I don't see that well all
Speaker 3: the time, so you know, but it was it was,
Speaker 3: I think at the time surprising, but again one of
Speaker 3: those things when you take a step back and you
Speaker 3: think about it, and you look at your your on
Speaker 3: camera chemistry and you know, the time we spent with you,
Speaker 3: it it wasn't surprising after the thought about.
Speaker 2: It, and also what you've been going through Amy, so
Speaker 2: that also was like Yep, it all fit. So yes,
Speaker 2: Mom and Dad knew.
Speaker 4: I mean, look, there are only a few people we've
Speaker 4: talked about this who knew what was happening in my
Speaker 4: private life, and you all were had front row seats.
Speaker 4: And so I would say, Nikki and the two of you,
Speaker 4: my best friend NICKI, who's been on the podcast.
Speaker 2: Had front row seats in a way that no one
Speaker 2: else did. I was very good at putting out a
Speaker 2: certain image and a certain front, which I've talked about,
Speaker 2: which you know, I it's an awful way to live
Speaker 2: because you not living your truth and you're projecting or
Speaker 2: presenting what you wish was the case versus what actually
Speaker 2: is the case, or protecting yourself in some way. Yeah,
Speaker 2: and it's it's ego.
Speaker 4: It's a lot of things, you know. It's not like
Speaker 4: all altruistic or something. I mean it definitely you don't.
Speaker 2: I don't want people to know my mess. I don't
Speaker 2: want people to know. I want people to think things
Speaker 2: are good.
Speaker 4: But you all did have a front row seat for
Speaker 4: a very long time, and so you were very supportive
Speaker 4: about my decisions. I just didn't let you in on
Speaker 4: what was happening and developing between TEAJ and me. But Mom,
Speaker 4: you even said, you know, you always saw our friendship,
Speaker 4: and I know you always spoke and you guys always
Speaker 4: spoke highly of it. You all loved watching us on
Speaker 4: television together and chemistry. We would go out to lunch
Speaker 4: with you, and we definitely spent time with you just
Speaker 4: as friends before any of this all happened.
Speaker 2: So I don't know.
Speaker 4: I mean, I know you all have had, like I said,
Speaker 4: a real insight into my life and who I am
Speaker 4: and the right person for me. I don't know if
Speaker 4: you ever even thought about who that would be or
Speaker 4: what that person would look like or be like or
Speaker 4: seem like.
Speaker 2: What do you like?
Speaker 4: And you haven't spent a ton of time with us.
Speaker 4: It's a couple of but work coming up on our
Speaker 4: two years here, Yeah, gift time t J. I was
Speaker 4: a hint, but yeah, in August it'll be you know,
Speaker 4: end of August will be two years since we've been
Speaker 4: You know that we made a decision to have a relationship,
Speaker 4: and we did make that decision.
Speaker 2: So I mean, what do you see? What do you think?
Speaker 2: How do you let me ask you this? How do
Speaker 2: you think I am now? How have I changed? And
Speaker 2: how would you describe me. Now, that's easy. You're so
Speaker 2: much more settled. You're also so much more happy. I mean,
Speaker 2: you're just happy. I haven't seen you happy in quite
Speaker 2: a while. So, yeah, you're a happy person. You have
Speaker 2: a glow about This sounds corny, but you do. And
Speaker 2: when you talk. You have fewer friends, but the friends
Speaker 2: you have are the friends you know, and the right
Speaker 2: ones when you go through something like that. But yeah,
Speaker 2: you're just more carefree, happy, You're giggly. You're in love.
Speaker 2: I can see it.
Speaker 1: So do you remember saying that was at your birthday?
Speaker 1: There was a birthday in August last summer.
Speaker 2: Then it was like right about a year.
Speaker 1: We were down in Athens. You after the dinner we
Speaker 1: had down there, it was outside when I heard you say,
Speaker 1: he said, I got my Ami back. You said that
Speaker 1: I got my Amy back. And I didn't fully comprehend
Speaker 1: what that meant at the time, but you you went
Speaker 1: on and were speaking about how she's a different type
Speaker 1: of joy from her child, your child. You talked about
Speaker 1: her in that way that night. I'll never forget that.
Speaker 2: Now you're gonna make me cry. We've got tissues. I've
Speaker 2: already dabbled, no I'm sure I said that because that's
Speaker 2: exactly how I felt, because we lost you for a while.
Speaker 2: I mean, we'd stay in touch, but it was you
Speaker 2: were very guarded and we could feel it. So yeah,
Speaker 2: I was so lovely to have our daughter back.
Speaker 3: Yeah. There's a sense of freedom, I think, and a
Speaker 3: sense of contentment that you didn't have before. It seemed like,
Speaker 3: and we talked about this earlier, always seemed to be
Speaker 3: searching for something, you know, and maybe that was going
Speaker 3: places and searching for something. Well, you know, it seemed
Speaker 3: to us that you found it, Yeah, and that that
Speaker 3: contentment and that joy was coming back, you know, to
Speaker 3: when you were younger.
Speaker 2: It's one of those amazing things when I've always seen
Speaker 2: your relationship and it's not perfect at all. Oh it is,
Speaker 2: It's perfect. Come on, But I've always seen this, like
Speaker 2: like you all are a team, and I've always wanted
Speaker 2: a teammate, and I've always seen that, like through all
Speaker 2: the tough times, you guys stick together. Even when Eric
Speaker 2: and I would try to divide and conquer, like we
Speaker 2: wanted to get what we wanted, it never worked.
Speaker 4: You guys were rock solid. It wasn't you know, go
Speaker 4: ask your mom. Or ask your dad, it was did
Speaker 4: your mom? What did your mom say? What did your
Speaker 4: dad say? And then you always backed each other up,
Speaker 4: even if you disagreed about it and talked about it behind,
Speaker 4: you know, closed doors, in front of.
Speaker 2: Us, you were a solid front. And I think maybe
Speaker 2: I was so spoiled or like always wanted that and
Speaker 2: could never Like it's hard to find a teammate, it's
Speaker 2: hard to find someone who you can especially when you've
Speaker 2: got kids and crazy lives, like to not have that
Speaker 2: person who you can count on to back you up.
Speaker 2: I think that I saw that in you.
Speaker 4: Two, and talk about safety, that's part of it, right,
Speaker 4: knowing you've got that person who's going to back you up.
Speaker 4: So interestingly, like being with TJ as his friend, but
Speaker 4: being his co anchor and going around the world and
Speaker 4: traveling and really doing complicated, stressful things with him and
Speaker 4: knowing he had my back always and I had his
Speaker 4: on the air like we're talking just professionally speaking, it
Speaker 4: built something that I saw in you were like, this
Speaker 4: is the person who I can count on, who isn't
Speaker 4: going to throw me under the bus, who isn't going to,
Speaker 4: you know, do anything to undermine me or us, and
Speaker 4: so I did. I always recognize that in you, and
Speaker 4: I think that is one of the things I was
Speaker 4: searching for. And I filled up my life with lots
Speaker 4: of friends and lots of parties and lots of and
Speaker 4: I do love to dance, and I do love music,
Speaker 4: and I do love all. It's nothing that I wasn't
Speaker 4: not being myself, but I was dad. I was searching
Speaker 4: or not. Maybe I couldn't find a person, but I
Speaker 4: was trying to find people right where I could have
Speaker 4: a tribe, where I could have that support.
Speaker 2: I was looking for that and I found it.
Speaker 1: What was that like? Is it different for a dad
Speaker 1: than a mom watching your You're hearing her say it now,
Speaker 1: but when you watch your daughter go through that or
Speaker 1: express it now, it's like Dads, I mean, I got girls,
Speaker 1: little girls. As it means eleven that you always feel
Speaker 1: like some kind of a protector.
Speaker 3: Well yeah, I mean I think that's kind of a
Speaker 3: natural feeling. But I would say that the philosophy we
Speaker 3: had in raising both of our kids was to prepare
Speaker 3: them to go out in life on their own and
Speaker 3: providing that foundation and that moral compass, if you will,
Speaker 3: you know, to go out and to live your life
Speaker 3: and not to be dependent, but to know that we're there,
Speaker 3: we love them, and to be supportive but not to enable.
Speaker 3: So it's very difficult when things like that happened and
Speaker 3: you know you don't have any control, And that's part
Speaker 3: of being a parent is being able to let go
Speaker 3: of that control but still try to have influence in
Speaker 3: the way that you live your life and the way
Speaker 3: that you know. We've lived our lives together as an example, and.
Speaker 2: I think if you look at both your parents, your
Speaker 2: parents and my parents raise us like that. Very there
Speaker 2: were so many kids. I don't think my parents had
Speaker 2: a choice, but it was we knew what to do.
Speaker 2: We knew what you were supposed to do. We need
Speaker 2: to get it first of all, in turn sixteen, you
Speaker 2: need to get a job. So there were certain expectations
Speaker 2: that were there in my family, my parents, and in
Speaker 2: Mike's parents, and we were raised pretty much the same way.
Speaker 2: So I think you just kind of go on autopilot,
Speaker 2: and that's where you turn to your examples in life.
Speaker 1: Something she said to me, she said, you, oh, were
Speaker 1: always and correct me if I'm wrong here. But growing
Speaker 1: up they made clear that they put themselves in their
Speaker 1: relationship first, like you are kids, yes, but it was
Speaker 1: something that was the way we put it that this relationship,
Speaker 1: our marriage is what's first, and you kids are yes.
Speaker 2: Yes.
Speaker 4: I mean I think they kind of said that, like,
Speaker 4: you know, we love you and we will always love you,
Speaker 4: but we come first. Our marriage comes first, our marriage
Speaker 4: comes before, like and that was it sounds.
Speaker 2: I think people might hear that and say what, but
Speaker 2: it actually was comforting to us as kids, like I
Speaker 2: knew my place first.
Speaker 6: Of all, did you though, Well, I put I pushed
Speaker 6: as much as I could. But but and then some yes,
Speaker 6: But I don't hear many people say yes, I was
Speaker 6: the problem child.
Speaker 2: And obviously I've continued the theme.
Speaker 4: But I don't think you hear many people say that
Speaker 4: that they put their marriage ahead of like not that
Speaker 4: you're like not loving your kids, but if there.
Speaker 2: Was now go on vacation for like a month and
Speaker 2: just leave you guys, no, do you know.
Speaker 4: You all were joke, always there and structured. But it
Speaker 4: was just like, our marriage is the most important thing
Speaker 4: in this family unit.
Speaker 3: Well, I think people have to recognize, you know, husbands
Speaker 3: and wives need to recognize that they have their kids
Speaker 3: for maybe eighteen to you know, twenty three years, and then.
Speaker 2: They're adults and they're gone and they never come there
Speaker 2: on their own.
Speaker 3: It's really yeah, and you know they may come and
Speaker 3: see you, and they may not.
Speaker 2: Even now I've got this huge meal prepared. It's like
Speaker 2: we just stand there and wait for somebody to comment,
Speaker 2: and we do.
Speaker 3: We're always looking out the window, you know, where are they?
Speaker 2: Where they go?
Speaker 3: But no, I think that's that's true. I mean, you know,
Speaker 3: fifty two years versus you know, eighteen to twenty three years.
Speaker 3: I mean, and the fifty two years are you know,
Speaker 3: they're they're mounting up. You know, we're going to continue on.
Speaker 3: So yeah, so we we we love one another. We
Speaker 3: are partners and we've always been partners, and that has
Speaker 3: to come first. And I think that's set's an example
Speaker 3: for your children then too, so what their expectations should be.
Speaker 2: We still loved and do now love our children unconditionally.
Speaker 2: You've proven that.
Speaker 1: My last thing, of course, we have to do. She
Speaker 1: knows where I'm going. Already you said that she was
Speaker 1: the problem child, and Vins I never said.
Speaker 2: I just said, and then it's okay, I take it.
Speaker 1: I take and part of the problem child was right.
Speaker 1: She has a flair for the dramatic, as you described,
Speaker 1: but part of her being dramatic, one of her go
Speaker 1: tos was the slamming of the door she was. I thought,
Speaker 1: so do you take when does she start this as
Speaker 1: a kid? And it continued up to a point, and
Speaker 1: we're gonna take it up to that point. But when
Speaker 1: why was this a thing of her slamming doors?
Speaker 3: It was her way of showing that maybe we weren't
Speaker 3: in charge, that maybe she was in charge, and it
Speaker 3: was maybe a control thing for her. Uh. And it
Speaker 3: was one of those I think emotional reactions instead of
Speaker 3: an intellectual reaction.
Speaker 2: I think you might be right, and usually geared toward
Speaker 2: which one of us. I don't know. I think, who
Speaker 2: do you think it was? Mom? I know who it was,
Speaker 2: because you and your dad would get into some arguments.
Speaker 2: I'm silly. I mean he had you grounded in college. Yeah,
Speaker 2: which is that that's not gonna work. I was grounded
Speaker 2: on my sixteenth birthday and I think I got grounded
Speaker 2: for up to six weeks, like and you. And when
Speaker 2: you grounded me, you did not go you know what,
Speaker 2: never mind, you can go to the party. Uh. It
Speaker 2: was six weeks, like you would not back down if
Speaker 2: you punish me. You followed through.
Speaker 1: What was her usually her offense that got her grounded?
Speaker 3: Oh well, this particular offense, there were a couple of things.
Speaker 3: One member, she had a bedroom up at the top
Speaker 3: floor of the house that was all by itself, a
Speaker 3: bedroom and a bathroom, so it was up by itself,
Speaker 3: and she moved up there and had a telephone in
Speaker 3: her room, and she figured out something I don't know
Speaker 3: what it was with call waiting, so that she could
Speaker 3: take the phone off the hook and then people would call.
Speaker 2: And I can tell you what I did.
Speaker 4: I called my I worked at a party supply store.
Speaker 4: I knew it was closed, so and I knew I
Speaker 4: had a plan for friends to call. This is what
Speaker 4: we had to do when we didn't have cell phones
Speaker 4: and texting, and I wanted to meet up and probably
Speaker 4: sneak out of the house because I was grounded, So
Speaker 4: I would set up a I don't know how I
Speaker 4: set up a time for I knew they'd probably call
Speaker 4: me after like eleven or midnight, when I was clearly
Speaker 4: not allowed to be on the phone. Take my phone
Speaker 4: and call my work and it would just ring incessantly, incessantly,
Speaker 4: and then as the rings would go, eventually someone go
Speaker 4: peep and call in, and I could click over and
Speaker 4: go hey, and you all would not know that anyone
Speaker 4: called the house pretty good, christ on sale.
Speaker 3: Pretty ingenious. But so she also then would would always
Speaker 3: close the door and keep the door closed, and we
Speaker 3: kept saying, no, you need to have lock it and
Speaker 3: lock it, so don't open the door, keep the door open.
Speaker 3: You don't need to be closing the door all the time.
Speaker 3: And I think at one point she said, okay, fine,
Speaker 3: and she walked back into the room and just slammed
Speaker 3: the door shut. Boom, just slammed it shut. And so
Speaker 3: I went up there and made her open and closed
Speaker 3: the door.
Speaker 2: I don't know if it was one hundred fifty, it.
Speaker 3: Could have been fifty, could have been und a lot.
Speaker 2: It was from my mother. So I passed that on
Speaker 2: as punishment because I evidently was a door slammer as well.
Speaker 2: And the phone, it's not your fault.
Speaker 3: Open open and close the door and get up, you know,
Speaker 3: forty nine times forty nine, and then the fiftieth one
Speaker 3: she would just take it and slam it shut.
Speaker 2: So eventually I.
Speaker 3: Then decided to come up with my tools and remove
Speaker 3: the door. So we removed the phone jack and we removed.
Speaker 1: Yes, how old was this child at the time, sixteen
Speaker 1: seventeen maybe sixteen.
Speaker 3: Seven, sixteen.
Speaker 1: Did she ever get the door back in her high
Speaker 1: school days?
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think eventually, you know, it may have been
Speaker 3: six months.
Speaker 2: It was a while. It was a long time. No,
Speaker 2: I did not.
Speaker 4: I did learn the lesson, I will say that much.
Speaker 4: But I think a lot of my are problems and
Speaker 4: me getting grounded, like for extended periods of time was
Speaker 4: because I talked back. My dad would say, don't say
Speaker 4: another word, and I was like, I'm going to say
Speaker 4: it anyway. And then he's like, way, now you have
Speaker 4: another week. And I'm like, really, let's just keep going.
Speaker 4: My Dad's like, okay, let's make.
Speaker 2: It two weeks. And so it would just that's what
Speaker 2: would happen. And I would and my brother would look
Speaker 2: at me, you are so dumb. Just stop talking, like
Speaker 2: he's like, why do you do that to yourself?
Speaker 3: I'd inspire a lot of control. You had this this
Speaker 3: sense of you wanted justice for what you felt justice
Speaker 3: should be, and that's not the way it works.
Speaker 2: I lost you were just as stubborn as at the
Speaker 2: two of you are like, Wow, I have to say
Speaker 2: I got this one.
Speaker 4: I got my emotional dramatic flare from you, and I
Speaker 4: got my stubbornness from dad.
Speaker 2: See not my fault.
Speaker 1: Thanks guys. It does wonders for us at home. No,
Speaker 1: I've heard that Hinge story for solo. I have one
Speaker 1: question about it. Did she counting out loud? Are you
Speaker 1: watching her while she's doing it?
Speaker 2: Or no? We could just hear she had to count
Speaker 2: out one due forty nine and then fifty bad. I
Speaker 2: have to say it felt really good.
Speaker 1: Still to this day, she still feels like that's just.
Speaker 2: I kind of might do it again.
Speaker 4: She's Oh, and then my oldest ava inherited it too,
Speaker 4: so yes, it's been passed along.
Speaker 1: So again, you all are in town now because actually
Speaker 1: it's part of time we are at least her graduation
Speaker 1: is high school graduation. You all are in town for that.
Speaker 1: I know that's a big, a good time in a
Speaker 1: family time. There's a lot being planned, and I know
Speaker 1: it's a lot you all are looking forward to. And
Speaker 1: I know you all have been through a lot the
Speaker 1: past year and a half. And yeah, I had a
Speaker 1: hand in a lot of what you've gone through, your
Speaker 1: family's going through, and what your daughter's going through. And
Speaker 1: for that, I apologize. Never meant that to be the case, obviously,
Speaker 1: But I love this one. I've loved it for a
Speaker 1: long time. I love her in a different way now.
Speaker 1: But you all have been around saying it here on Mike,
Speaker 1: you all have talked to me, We've this isn't new
Speaker 1: to you all now, but I'll just I will say
Speaker 1: it here that it is really really settling and loved
Speaker 1: to be in the place we all are now, given
Speaker 1: where we all were a year and a half ago.
Speaker 1: The fact that I'm as I think you all know,
Speaker 1: I've been hanging out with the girls and cutting up,
Speaker 1: and just the fact that we're all together in this
Speaker 1: way now that so much of the storm has passed,
Speaker 1: is a big deal. So it's great to even be
Speaker 1: able to sit here on the microphones and talk to
Speaker 1: you guys with smiles on your face.
Speaker 2: Same here going to lunch and it's picking up the tab.
Speaker 1: Well, oh him, we've been through this. It didn't go
Speaker 1: So that might be the one of the biggest mistakes
Speaker 1: I've made in your my relationship with your parents, is
Speaker 1: I paid the bill when we went to dinner, and.
Speaker 2: Your dad and like that, well he got you back.
Speaker 1: Well I already called ahead to the restaurant.
Speaker 4: Thank you, guys, and if I have, I know I've
Speaker 4: said it to you privately, but I would like to
Speaker 4: say it publicly.
Speaker 2: Thank you. Thank you for being the most amazing parents
Speaker 2: through an unimaginably tough time and just knowing that you
Speaker 2: stood by my side no matter what that was everything.
Speaker 2: So thank you. Oh, I don't even it's just in
Speaker 2: you know how you feel about your children. You die
Speaker 2: for them, you would, So that's how we felt. And
Speaker 2: I'm going to stop talking so I don't cry.
Speaker 3: Yeah, we love you, We love you, and I think
Speaker 3: that says at all. We love you and we'll continue
Speaker 3: to love you.
Speaker 4: Thank you, guys, Thank you for coming on the podcast.
Speaker 4: I know it's not exactly in your wheelhouse, so thank you.
Speaker 4: We appreciate it.
Speaker 2: It is now. Oh repeat, guests, we got it once
Speaker 2: a year update with the robots