01x07 - Meet the Parents

[bunniefuu]

["Back Of My Mind" playing]

♪ Feelings comes and words are said ♪

♪ Forgiveness lingers with the dead ♪

♪ But will we ever rise up
From this grave ♪

♪ I'm hearing a love song ♪

♪ In the back of my mind ♪

[Mark] I've been engaged for 10 days,

and finding somebody

that truly fell in love with me

for me on the inside,

and then coming into the real world

and fighting all these external battles,

it, it really has shown me that

this society today is very superficial

in age, race, creed, color,

uh, social status, money...

There's a connection between two people,

but one person is letting
all this external stuff affect that love,

and it's kind of sad.

- How are you feeling?
- Mm.

[sighs] Well, a little not good.

Drank too much.

- Yeah, I didn't...
- Sorry. It was totally my bad.

Waking up this morning,
I know I overstepped my bounds last night.

I...

overdrank.

I definitely said some things
I didn't really mean.

I'm disappointed in myself about that,

and definitely did not act
according to my character

or any way that I wanna portray myself
to my fiancé.

You threw a couple wild cards,

and I'm just like,
"What are you talking about?"

I know. I don't even know
where that came from.

- [Mark] Yeah, and that's another thing...
- My bad. That's not cool.

[Mark] If you were sober,

and you're throwing something in my face
like that,

I would probably walk out.

Like, last night,
I understood the situation,

- what was kind of happening...
- [Jessica] Uh-huh.

and the alcohol that was involved.

That's, you know,
something I gotta do better at,

just knowing when to cut myself off
and not...

get to that level.

[Mark] I'm not holding anything
against you.

[Mark voice-over] I'm still here
because I see how she looks at me.

She's just fighting with herself.

I think we're both very intelligent people
that we can just...

- We can work through it.
- Yeah.

You know what I'm saying?
I'm not upset.

Okay, good.

Thanks for being so understanding and...

still being here in the morning.

["Secrets" playing]

[Giannina] Come hang out with me.

Please.

[Damian] I just need a minute.

I don't wanna...

leave

on a weird note.

So, tell me...

[sighs]

what do we do now?

Well, it's hard, G,
because, I mean, things get heated.

I don't like how it's handled.

- [Giannina] Like, me yelling?
- Yeah.

[Giannina] I come from a loud family.

We fight a lot. When we fight, we yell.

We all yell, so it's normal.

It's not normal to Damian.
He doesn't yell.

Okay, I won't yell at you.

But when I'm at my wit's end,

everything immediately becomes
self-sabotage,

partly because I just didn't know
how to communicate

things that were really bothering me.

Right now.

This whole process,
it's everything sped up,

including...

the honeymoon stage.

You know how you tell me

this is the best sex of your life?

Have you noticed

that I don't return the compliment?

I don't say,
"It's the best sex of my life, too."

[dramatic percussion punch]

I said that one time,

and also you did say,

"Wow! That was amazing. That was great."

Every time, "That was really good."

[Giannina] It's great,
but it's not f*cking mind-blowing.

And the thing that states differently

is I've never initiated with you.

You've always initiated it with me.

That's the problem! Thank you so much!

Why? Why don't you initiate it?

Why don't you seduce me?

Even though I jump on you
every freaking second,

why don't you just look at me

and take it?

I don't understand it.

- It's...
- Why can't you just seduce me?

It's because you connect and disconnect
with me so bad that...

To you, it's sex. To me, it's not.

No, to me, it's not just sex.

If it was just sex,
then I would have sex with everyone.

I don't.

I chose you.

Yeah, but the difference is you say,
"Hey, I don't love you anymore.

I don't feel it with you.
Hey, let's have sex.

Hey, we just had a massive fight
in front of all of our friends.

f*ck this! f*ck me."

And that's what it always.

It's always after we have an argument,
aggressive discussion.

I mean, it can't...

Because then we make up.

You're saying
that I like to have angry sex.

No, I'm not saying that.
What I'm saying is

you put an emotional roller coaster,
and that's why I don't initiate it.

When those thing happen consecutively,

and you make it
a consistent change all the time

with your attitude and personality,
I don't know when you're up or down.

You know where passion comes for me,
and where strong love comes for me,

and great sex is
when we can have a good f*cking day, G.

You don't have to take a great moment
and crush it with something,

because you feel like it's going too good.

Do I give you butterflies, Damian?

Not right now.

I lost my butterflies.

And I've been trying to get them back.

So you're not in love with me anymore.

I don't know.

Because I have been feeling
so up and down,

and so in love and then so out of it.

Do you understand?

I don't.

[sighs]

That's it. All cards on the table.

I told you
it was all gonna come out at once.

It sure came out.

But nonetheless...

I appreciate you opening up
and being honest.

I feel like
it's easier communicating like this,

like we're back in the pods,
than it is face-to-face.

Do you feel like it's easier?

I feel like
we just got a lot more on the table

than we have in a while.

Yeah.

Samesies.

Maybe I can be passionate now.

[Giannina] What?

[Damian snickers]

You're lucky there's a wall between us.

- [Giannina] Oh, yeah?
- Yeah.

What wall? [chuckles]
No wall.

You're so annoying.

[Damian] I can be passionate as f*ck.

All this tension and energy is, like,
just coursing through my body right now.

I don't know what to do with it.

Like, I'm getting so anxious.

Oh, I honestly hope they like me.

I hope I'm not, like, like...

I want to be...
I want them to be impressed by me...

a little bit, like...

I want them to be, like, happy for you
because of me.

Darling, you are setting a new standard.
I promise.

[Barnett] Okay. Hey, if you say so.

I am super-excited to get
to introduce Barnett to my family.

I told him earlier
my mom's gonna be so stoked

to find out that I'm engaged,

because she thinks
it means I'm gonna settle down.

I mean, technically, I mean, yes,

but I told him the joke's gonna be on her,

because he's as crazy as I am.

- [Barnett] Is that your niece?
- [Amber] That's one of my nieces.

[Barnett] sh**t! I'm nervous as hell.

Addison!

Come here!

Hi, baby. [kisses]

[Barnett] Amber's childhood home is
in a rougher area, it felt like.

I mean, I wouldn't have, like,
imagined it, I guess,

that that's where she's from.

One of the biggest things
I was worried about when she saw my house

is it just wasn't gonna be good enough
for her.

Honestly, it made me think,
you know, she doesn't care,

and there's no reason
I should have cared in the first place,

and I don't know why I was ever worried,
I guess, about that.

- [Amber] Hi.
- Hi, love. [chuckles]

[Amber] Hi! You look nice.

[Vickie] When do we get to talk
about what's going on?

Um, well...

that's going on.

- [Samantha] You what?
- Amber Lynn!

I'm getting married.

- [Vickie] Are you kidding me, Amber Lynn?
- No, I swear.

Mom, this is Matt.

- Matt, this is my mom, Vickie.
- Hi. Nice to meet you.

Hi.

His name is Matt?

- Matt. Matthew Barnett.
- Okay.

This is my sister, Samantha.

- Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you.

And this is my stepdad, Pat.

[Vickie] Oh, my God!

[Amber laughs]

Momma! Come here.

Don't cry.

Mom, stop crying. What are you doing?

- Go get me a tissue.
- I'll go get you a tissue.

That's my baby.

I know. I know.

[Vickie voice-over]
Well, my daughter came home,

surprised me,
and told me she's getting married.

I think my biggest fear as a parent is...

For Amber, I know
that she has been hurt in the past.

She's very friendly,
and she's very outgoing,

and I'm always so scared
somebody's gonna take advantage of that,

and she's gonna end up getting hurt.

[Amber] Are you excited?

Yes, I am, but it just...

- So, but you're stable right? You work?
- Um...

You're reliable?

[Barnett] Financially stable.

Mentally, maybe not so much at times.

- You're in the right family for that.
- [Barnett laughs]

He's an engineer.
He works in construction.

Well, I gotta make sure
you're taken care of.

- I can take care of myself, Mom.
- [Vickie] I don't care.

I know you can,
but that's besides the point.

Because you kids are all I have.

I know.

She never got to know her father
'cause he d*ed...

He d*ed when she had turned five, so...

She had it tough
because it was just me and them.

Yeah.

Why are you marrying my daughter?

[Barnett]
'Cause the way she makes me feel.

I just can pretty much be myself with her,

and that's really all I've ever wanted

out of someone that's gonna be my wife.

- [VIckie] Aww.
- [laughs]

You just better take care of her.

[Barnett] I'm going to.

You raised a good girl, too, so...

She's a very good girl, and she's smart,

and she don't take no crap.

That's one of the things
I love about her, so...

[Amber] I like it.

[Amber and Barnett laughing]

In the moment,
I couldn't tell if she was angry or happy,

'cause she started tearing up.

But I know she wants the best
for her daughter.

That's for sure.

So, I want her mom to like me,

and I want her mom to think that
I'll be a great husband for her daughter,

and it would be tough
if she didn't approve.

[Vickie] You've just been engaged
for two weeks, huh?

What did it for you?

I don't know. It kind of occurred to me.

I was like, "The conversation is so easy,
and we had so much fun."

I was like,
"He's gonna be my best friend."

After he proposed,

I still didn't know
what the hell he looked like.

It's all based on just hearing each other,
and talking,

and getting to know each other that way,
and you went for it.

- [Barnett] Yeah.
- Very good.

[Amber and Vickie laughing]

[upbeat music playing]

[Damian] Hey.

Yeah.

No, I mean, it wasn't that.

I just really wanted y'all to meet her.

Yeah, I got you.

[Giannina] We were supposed
to go see Damian's parents,

and, um...

They canceled, last minute.

[Damian] This was me
really wanting you guys to meet her,

and she's excited about meeting you also.

You know, I'll try and figure out a way
to, you know, let her meet you guys.

So...

All right.

Okay. I love you, too.

[Giannina] Is it me
that they don't want to meet?

What did you tell them?

Like, who wants to feel that?

This is so annoying, like...

My parents are supportive of me,

but I don't know if they're supportive
of how this experience is going.

I'm not going to make them do
something they don't wanna do.

Honestly...

Oh!

I'm thrown for a loop right now.

You know how your parents react.

Do they even know
what's been going on this entire time?

No, they're very familiar
with what's been going on,

and that's why I was saying
it wasn't you that they didn't wanna meet.

You know how your parents are.
You knew this would be a problem.

You didn't do anything to prevent it.

You didn't give them
the full story beforehand.

I'm just saying
we could have handled it differently.

There's obviously a bigger issue here.

You're not really fighting
for them to meet me.

'Cause this is the only time
that I have, that we have to see them.

All I know is that,
before leaving to come here,

Damian's mom says,

"Don't marry some whore
off a reality TV show."

So, they probably think I am some whore
off of a reality TV show

This is gonna be really hard. [sobbing]

We knew that
this is what we signed up for.

We knew that when we met our parents,
it had to be in this process.

- You knew that.
- I didn't know that in the very beginning.

- Hello!
- Everybody reacts differently.

You've known this for three weeks.

- I'm over it.
- One, don't yell. Do not yell at me.

- Okay. Fine.
- Don't yell at me.

- 'Cause that's gonna ruin our whole day.
- Okay.

And if my family,
they don't wanna do all this, then...

I may not like it, but it's still
my family at the end of the day.

And I would not disrespect
you and your family

because it is last-minute,
and it's stressful.

And right now,
I feel like you're jabbing at my family,

and I don't appreciate that.

- [softly] I am not...
- That's what it feels like.

- Okay.
- That's what it feels like.

Okay, that's what it feels like.

Thank you for telling me
what you're feeling.

G may not get a chance to meet my family.

And the question is
do we go through with the marriage

without my family being there?

Or if they are there,

without really knowing her?

I'm so... [groans]

Like, this was already
a really stressful morning,

and I don't wanna make it
more stressful on you,

'cause I know this is really stressful
on you.

I'm not.

But I also...

think that you should see
a bigger picture,

because it's a really big thing right now.

I mean, like...

[kisses]

[Giannina] So, what?
Am I just gonna meet them at the wedding?

[Damian] Maybe.

- Maybe?
- [chuckles]

You're gonna leave me till last minute?

No. No, I'm gonna handle it.

I fell in love with Damian in the pods,
fell in love hard.

Do I still love him? Yeah.

Do I want those butterflies back?
Absolutely.

Do I want someone
that I have to teach and tell,

"Hey, babe, touch me like that"? No.

But, I mean, it just depends.

How strong is your love?
How much are you willing to fight for it?

I have no idea what's gonna happen
at that wedding.

I'm gonna handle it.

["Sky High Love" playing]

♪ The sun is just hot enough ♪

♪ To light our fuse ♪

- [Kelly] Will you do me a favor...
- [Kenny] Yeah.

...and text my parents and tell them
that we're on the way?

Got ya.

[Kelly] Kenny is gonna be meeting
my parents today,

and then later on in the evening,

Kenny's parents will be coming over,
and the families will meet.

I've told my parents about my engagement.

Their reactions, actually, were better
than I thought they were going to be.

- Are you writing a novel? [laughs]
- [Kenny] Huh?

[Kelly] Are you writing a novel?

[Kenny] Giving her details.

I'm saying, if I just said,
"ETA's 40 minutes,"

she's gonna come back and say,
"Why are you doing this and that?"

[Kelly] Kenny reminds me of my dad.

My dad has the nickname "Detail,"

and Kenny is all about telling me,
like, every detail. [laughs]

I think she's gonna appreciate
that text, too,

'cause it shows my personality.

[Kelly] Yes, it does.

I definitely think that my parents
and Kenny will get along really well.

Almost there!

[Kenny] Deep breaths.

[Kelly] Deep breaths.

[laughs]

["Sky High Love" continues]

♪ Oh oh oh ♪

♪ Reaching up, Up above ♪

♪ Your sky high love ♪

♪ Sky high love ♪

[Kenny] Today, I'm going to get
to meet my soon-to-be in-laws.

- [Kelly] Are you ready?
- [Kenny] Let's do it.

[Kelly] Hello.

- Hi.
- [Kenny] Hola.

I've got little hints
of anxiety and nervousness, just...

Which is natural.

It's like, "Okay, stakes are on."
It's a make-it-or-break-it moment.

So, tell me what was the deciding factor
that attracted you to Kenny?

If you're not seeing the person, right,

- and you're just talking...
- Right.

So, something he said...

On our third date, in a sense,

we just connected more.

- Um...
- [Kenny] Mm-hmm.

[Kelly] I asked him what his favorite,
like, childhood book was or something,

and it was the Love of You Forever book,

- and that was something...
- Oh, yeah.

- [Kelly] You know.
- You love that book.

And that was your favorite book, too?

It was my favorite book.

I mean, childhood book.
That's really interesting.

It still is, actually.
No, I'm just kidding.

[laughs]

- It is!
- I didn't graduate off of that, yeah.

It is tough to, you know,
provide all the details, right,

that matter most
to how you guys can interpret it.

- [Liz] Right.
- To make sense of it.

But it was just based off the connection
that we, we knew that we had.

[Liz] You know, we dated.
And that was in October.

We were engaged by December,

and we were married in August,
and it's been 38 years.

[Kenny] Wow!

So, I keep saying to him,
"Keep an open mind."

Yeah.

That's how I feel. How do you feel, hon?

Um, yeah, I just, like...

Even though, you know,
it's only been weeks, actually,

and so I kind of had to wrap my head

around, like, the quickness of it all,

but me being 60-something years old

and thinking about it,
and my young daughter,

you, you tend to think,

"Well, it sounds a little bit crazy."

But if I think back to how I was

when I was younger,

and falling in love with somebody,
I could see,

you know, that's...

Sometimes things just work out.

[Liz] Kelly has been not quick
to date someone.

So, this is really a leap of faith
for her,

but I trust her judgment,

and if she tells me that this guy

is somebody special

and somebody to be, you know,
in love with,

then I'm okay with that.

This morning,
I was thinking about you, Kelly,

and I was getting really emotional,
'cause I was like, "Oh, my gosh!"

She'll always be my baby.

For 33 years
we've been very, very connected.

- Now, I'm gonna get upset, too.
- [Kenny chuckles]

[Liz] But...

Kelly...

[sobs lightly]

- [Kelly] It's okay.
- [sniffles]

Because I want her to be happy,

and I want her to find someone.

She's been yearning for someone

for a very long time.

When she told me that she found someone,

- I was like, "Yes!" You know?
- [all laughing]

And then the other side of me is like,
"I just want him to be good to her."

This morning, when I woke up,
I was like, "Oh, my gosh!"

- You know, "This is it."
- [Kenny chuckles]

And then...

But then I started thinking,
"You know what?

I'm not losing my daughter.
I'm gaining a son."

- Right.
- [Liz] So I'm very happy for that.

[Kenny] I feel like
I wanna give you a hug right now.

I love Kelly's parents.

They're very sweet people, very genuine.

Clearly, they care about their daughter.

And I know they're gonna get along
with my mom and dad.

Uh, so that's kinda like
icing on the cake.

- [doorbell rings, dog barking]
- Oh!

- [Jeff 2] Give you a hug.
- [Kelly] Hey! How are you?

- [Marcia] How are you?
- Hi, Marcia. I'm Jeff.

Nice to meet you, Jeff. This is great.

[Kelly] I think meeting Kenny's parents
is a big deal.

I've grown such a unique bond
with their son

in such a short amount of time,

and I want them to truly feel that.

But it's just nerve-racking. [laughs]

Well, I have to say when Kenny came in,
and we started talking today,

and he's just a breath of fresh air.

He's just delightful.

- He looks like the Ken doll.
- He does.

[all laughing]

- How old were you when you got married?
- I was 25.

- So, we met at a swimming pool.
- Yeah.

And I had just happened to come by
the first hot day of spring,

and she was playing hooky from school

and actually sitting with her boyfriend
by the pool,

and I wasn't coming on to her.

We just kind of talked
and started talking and talking.

We talked for a couple of hours
like we'd known each other forever.

- So...
- [Marcia] And that was it.

- Destiny.
- [Jeff 2] Mm-hmm.

- Yeah. What year did you do get married?
- '86.

- Yeah.
- [Liz] Okay.

Long and short, we only dated...

It wasn't even three months
before we got married.

[Kelly] My parents and Kenny's parents,

they dated for a short time
before they got engaged,

and I think that they understand...

us and our connection with each other
because of that.

Are they gonna have wine
at this reception?

Yes. I mean, it's a wedding.

- If not, I'll bring us in some wine.
- [Liz laughing]

Aw. [laughs]

A marriage is between the two people,

but it can be enriched

by the support of the extended family.

So for Kenny and Kelly,
they just won the lottery,

because both sets of parents...

We're all-in.
We're going to support them.

I'm very happy for you both
for a successful engagement.

I think you're beautiful together.

- [Liz] Cheers!
- [Kelly] Cheers!

[Kenny] Yeah.

["Heart Won't Say It" playing]

♪ No my heart won't say it ♪

♪ No my heart won't say it ♪

Hello.

- Hi!
- [Mark] What's up?

Hey.

[Rosa] Mark, how are you?

I'm going with Mark to his family's house
for their Sunday get-together.

This is Jess.

- Hi, nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you.

- Hi.
- Hi. I'm Jessica.

It's nice to meet you.

[Rosa] You, too.

Thank you for having me.

Everybody, this is Jess.
Introduce yourselves.

[Jessica voice-over] If I'm his mom,
and he brings a girl

ten years older than him to meet me,

I'm not happy.

I think
I probably am about to get grilled.

I just think it's funny
because Mark is so gung-ho about,

"Oh, yeah, babe, don't worry.
Nothing to worry about."

And I think
it's probably not gonna go that way.

Thank you.

- [Mark] Mom, you said you wanted one, too?
- [Rosa] Yeah, babe.

That's for me, for the queen of the house.

- [Rosa] Excuse me, ma'am.
- [Jessica] Thank you so much.

- I'm hoping you like this.
- Wow! This is beautiful.

Thank you for doing all of this.

I'm the skinnier one, so...

[chuckles]

- I feed everyone.
- John, you ready?

- [John] Me?
- [Mark laughs]

Not yet? Not quite? Okay.

- [Mark] And dig in.
- Let's try the Cuevas' dinner.

- [Jessica laughs]
- [Rosa] Hopefully...

You didn't get too crazy
with the lasagna, right?

- No.
- [Mark] All right.

- You know what I was thinking?
- [Mark] What?

[Rosa] What I really need to know is...

how you guys got together?

Well...

Yeah.

Yeah, because in two weeks, he's engaged.

Oh, my God!

Well, so here's the deal. [clears throat]

There's this whole setup.
It's called "the pods."

It's almost like a confessional.

Like, if you're a Catholic,
and all of a sudden you hear, "Hello."

From a guy.

- [Rosa] Oh!
- And you're like, "Hey."

So, you know, I just start talking,

and I got through a couple
really terrible dates,

and my third date was Mark,

and it was so easy with him, immediately.

"Where you from?"
"Chicago."

"Cool. What's the coolest thing
about you?"

"I've got a golden retriever."
"So do I."

[Mark] "Makes Italian beef." That's cool.
All right, "Chicago."

And I'm writing my notes in there, like...

- I do make Italian beef.
- She.. She, yeah...

- It's the one thing I make, yeah.
- [laughs]

She makes Italian beef.
And I, like, starred it.

"Italian Beef."
All right, awesome. Cool.

[Jessica]
And I'm a super-Christian person.

I go to church
and wanna raise my family in the church.

And we're just, like,
"This is my same person."

I mean, I know how he is.
I mean, he's a great kid.

He thinks very, very, very highly of you.

- [Rosa] Thank you.
- Yeah.

When he told me, "I met this girl.
Her name is Jessica.

She's a little bit older than me."

I thought, "Oh, that's great."

Because a lot of the girls his age...

they a little bit crazy.

[laughing]

So, I figured...

And I've been through a lot of that.

[Jessica laughing]

I think the thing for me is, like,
my twenties were so amazing.

You know, with him, I'm like,

"Are you sure that you would want
to give that up?"

I mean, that's a really prime time
of your life.

I feel like if I was 34,
there wouldn't have been any doubt.

With 24 and 34,
it's, "What does society think of us?"

We made such a strong
emotional connection,

but when reality hit,
it's like something's off.

And that may be an insecurity,
that might be a past relationship trauma,

but are you going to let that stop you
from really finding the love you deserve?

I don't think the age matter.

But for me, I think it's just...

I think when you know it, you know it.
It doesn't matter.

I think people...
I got married when I was 18.

So, you know...

Love conquers everything.

Absolutely.

- And so...
- Yeah.

We've been married forever.

- [Jessica] How long?
- [Rosa] Oh, Lord!

- [Mark] Thirty-one.
- Wow.

Wow, congratulations.

- [Rosa] Thank you.
- That's amazing.

You're right.
It's the connection that you just know,

and I knew...

I tried to pump the brakes on it
every single time.

I was like, "Let me take my time."
And the more and more we talked,

I was like, "Yep."

- Well, that's good.
- Yeah.

[Mark] Whenever I do something,
I'm, like...

I'm all in, and I don't...

- [Jessica] Yeah.
- [Mark] I don't look back.

[Rosa] I like you already.

[Jessica] Yeah, well,
I'm happy to be here.

I haven't sat down
to a family dinner in Atlanta ever.

[Rosa] This is your home,

and we will be happy to be your family.

[Jessica] My family isn't here,
so it means everything.

I listen, and you know...

That's exactly how my dad is.

You guys enjoy.

I enjoyed that you guys are here, so...

Well, cheers for having Jessica here.

- Salud.
- Salud.

Thank you for having me.

I was expecting a bigger reaction
on the age difference,

and they didn't give it to me at all.
It was easy.

So I think a lot of it's in my head.

So far, no one has said anything negative,

but I don't think anyone would
to your face, though, so...

Mark's perspective is, "We're happy.
It doesn't matter, and who cares?"

But that's one thing
that I challenge him on is

we haven't really experienced it yet.

We haven't experienced anyone
calling us on it, and it will happen.

["Attention" playing]

♪ I know that I need to give you ♪

♪ A little more time babe ♪

♪ A little more time babe ♪

♪ I'm working hard but I know
That's not enough for you ♪

[Giannina] Perfect.

♪ Enough for you
Ooh ooh ♪

Are you excited to eat my arepas?

[Damian Those look really good.

- Yeah?
- Yeah.

You haven't seen nothing yet.

So today, Damian is meeting my parents.

It feels like
a really, really surreal experience.

Parents are meeting your fiancé,
who they have never met before.

They don't want to let just anyone in.

I need the love and support of my family,

and I can't marry someone
if I don't have that.

- [Giannina] Are you excited?
- I'm excited.

I wrote a poem for your parents.

- Oh!
- I'm kidding. [chuckles]

- Wow.
- I'm gonna be Pod Damian.

Oh, they would love Pod Damian!
You are Pod Damian.

[Damian] Gigi's family has come in
from Florida.

Part of me is nervous.
The other part is excited,

'cause she's talked about them so much.

She's like,
"They're really excited to meet you."

[laughing]

"You think I'm a lot to handle?
Wait till you meet my mom."

And I'm like...

"What?" [chuckles]

"Don't tell me that, G."

[both screaming, laughing]

[Milady speaking Spanish]

[Giannina] Hola, mami.

[both speaking Spanish]

[Giannina kisses]

[Damian] It's gonna be interesting.

She said mostly they speak Spanish,
so that's something I'm not used to.

[GIannina speaking Spanish]

- Milady, Damian.
- Pleasure to meet you.

Damian, this is Oscar.

Oscar, pleasure to meet you, sir.

I don't know a lot of Spanish.
I'm willing to learn.

But we'll see how it goes. [chuckles]

- Are you guys hungry?
- [Giovanni] Yes, we are.

[Giannina]
Yes? Wanna help me. He's helping me.

- What are you doing?
- Mom, he's helping me.

- Arepa!
- Arepa.

Ah! [speaking Spanish]

[Damian chuckles]

[in Spanish] I made three different types
of arepas.

- [in Spanish] Why?
- [Gianninna, in Spanish] Why not?

Let me speak in English so he understands.

Uh, biscuits from the United States,
"arepas."

[Giannina] I was trying to explain it
to him.

This is what I grew up eating
every single day.

- [Oscar] Damian, I have a question.
- Yes, sir.

[Oscar] What makes you think
that you're ready to get married?

It's something that I've always wanted,
'cause I want family.

Family means everything to me.
That's, that's the most important thing.

I don't think you ever really know
you're ready until you meet somebody.

And against all odds, I found Giannina.

[Oscar] Giannina, what about you?

What make you think
you're ready to get married?

That's what I've been figuring out
this whole time, and...

it freaks me out.

Because...

I see that it can be not pretty.

I don't want to get a divorce.

I don't.

I want to be ready to get married.

But I have to figure things out first,

and I'm sorry
that I put you through so much...

- [Damian] It's okay.
- ...to figure that out.

I'm so sorry.

[Damian] Don't apologize.

I am, 'cause I really, really need to,
'cause...

Because of every single thing
that we've been through,

I know that Damian is someone that
will stick by my side through everything.

When I'm committing to marriage,
I'm committing to that person,

good or bad.

[Giannina] And I've shown him everything.
Everything.

I needed someone strong, 'cause I'm a lot.

I'm 100% crazy or 100% sweet,

and a lot of people can't handle that.

[Oscar] Marriage is not about
these happy moments.

Marriage is about...

- Forever.
- Long-term.

- I think you need more time...
- To know each other.

...to know each other.

More time.

[Milady] Damian is a good guy.

He's a gentleman.

Damian is ready to be married, but..

I think she need more time,
but she will be married with him.

Absolutely.

- More time.
- A little more time.

[Oscar] At the end, it's your decision.
We can only give you feedback.

- [GIannina] Thank you.
- And...

- I like this guy.
- [Damian] We appreciate it.

- I mean, it is something...
- We have to be honest.

[Damian] Me and her are trying
to figure it out through these processes.

- We have to be honest with each other.
- And not only for her.

It's also for you.
Because I tell you this:

You're married to a tough woman.

It's a tough decision, believe me.

[Lauren] Cameron is a great guy.

I think that he will make a great husband
and a great father.

Just honestly, tell me how you feel, Ma.

- Well, I haven't met him yet, but...
- I mean, just period, with everything.

- I mean, do you really...
- I'm excited for you,

because this is a big step for you,
and you made a decision, and...

I mean, I just feel like,
like my whole life, you were like,

"Well, you need to get a husband, Lauren.
You're single. You need a husband.

How are you going to find a husband
in the house, Lauren?

Oh, you're by yourself.

Oh, Lauren, your eggs are drying up.

Oh, you need to have kids."

Finally.

[both laughing]

Cameron is gonna
meet my parents separately

because they're divorced.

But what questions do you think
you wanna ask him?

- Anything you wanna ask me before?
- I'll be like this.

- "So, who are you really?"
- [Lauren laughing]

- I do that all the time.
- [Pamela laughing]

[Lauren] My mom is
a very interesting lady.

She's very quirky.

I think that's
where I get a lot of my quirks from.

She definitely says what's on her mind.

So, you know,

I'm just hoping
that everything goes smooth on both ends.

[door unlocking]

- [imitates suspenseful music]
- [Pamela] Oh, my God!

It's Cameron!

[Pamela laughing]

- Hey. How are you?
- Hi.

I'm great. Thank you.

[Lauren] Cameron, this is my mom.

- Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you, too.

[Lauren] Pam Speed. Well?

How do you feel?

- [Lauren chuckles]
- I'm very excited to finally meet you.

- Yeah.
- And, uh...

[Pamela] So you think you're gonna
go through with this?

- Oh, 100%.
- 100%?

[Lauren]
Well, just jump right into it, Ma.

Yeah, I mean,
I love your daughter very, very much.

- Okay.
- And, uh...

And I feel 100% in,

and then there's no one else
I would want to be with.

[Pamela] Oh, my!

So, the experiment worked
according to you, huh?

- [laughs] Yeah.
- Oh, wow!

- Yeah.
- Yeah.

She's an amazing woman.

- Okay. [laughs]
- Hee-hee.

Well, that's great to hear.
I'm glad you feel that way about her.

[Cameron] I've been anxiously anticipating
meeting Lauren's mom.

I'm the first white man that she's dated.

And also I'm the first man
that she's ever introduced to her parents.

But, you know, I'm gonna give her
the old Cameron charm,

and we'll see... [chuckles]

We'll see if that wins her over.

So, Ma, what questions do you have
for Cameron?

[Cameron] Yeah, lay them on me.

How did you feel when you met her
for the first time you saw her?

- [Cameron] Physically?
- Yeah, physically.

I mean, I was blown away.

[Pamela] Oh...

- I was very stunned.
- [Pamela] Really?

Yeah, she is the most beautiful woman
I've ever seen.

Oh, thank you!

She's saying, "She looks like me.
Mm, thank you."

[Cameron] No, I'm very serious.

Yeah, she looks like a lot of my pictures
when I was at her age.

I noticed, yeah.
She showed me some of the photo albums.

- [Pamela] Really?
- Yeah.

- Definitely the smile.
- Yeah.

- And a lot of the...
- [Pamela] Yeah, somewhere in there.

- Yeah.
- That's my mama.

[Pamela] Well, I heard something.

[laughing] She said that you were
in a rap group at one time.

Yeah, back in college,
I used to do a lot of...

I was in a hip hop group,
and we performed a little bit.

Do you remember any?

[Pamela and Lauren laughing]

- You want me to do that?
- Yeah, why not?

Sure.

[laughs]

[rapping]
♪ I'm feeling like a kid with you ♪

♪ You're my main chick
Those other girls are previews ♪

♪ Hop in the back
Rolling up ♪

♪ Then we're free to cruise ♪

♪ I drop the top down
Feeling like we can't lose ♪

♪ I'm living in the dream
And those haters wonder why ♪

♪ Why I'm so high up
I feel like I can fly ♪

♪ So we throw our hands up ♪

♪ No concern for those lames
That desert us ♪

♪ They don't deserve us ♪

♪ Blast off
The course is like a crash collision ♪

♪ 'Cause every choice we make
Is like a rash decision ♪

♪ But the truth is hard to swallow ♪

♪ We're the leaders, baby
And they just hope to follow ♪

- All right!
- Yay!

That was great.

[Lauren] I definitely think
that Cameron, uh, won my mom over.

I saw her soften up right before my eyes.

I mean, she's all laughing
at Cameron's jokes.

I do think that my mom was impressed
by Cameron's rapping.

I think he gained some extra points.

So it's like we're opposites,

but we have a lot in common.

We have a lot in common, yeah.

And I'm sure Lauren's told you by now
that my parents are also Pam and Bill.

Yeah. Isn't that... [laughs]

- [Lauren] That's crazy.
- It's so weird.

- [Pamela] So weird.
- [laughs]

[Pamela] Did you tell your dad?

- Yeah, I told him.
- [Pamela laughs]

- He's just like, "What?"
- [Cameron laughs]

- Wait till you meet him.
- [Cameron] Oh, yeah.

- Looking forward to it.
- [Pamela] Yeah.

He's really crazy about his daughter,
his one and only daughter.

- Right.
- And he'll probably tell you...

Take no offense at this.
"I will k*ll for her."

- [Pamela] But I mean, that's just...
- I mean, even literally...

He won't k*ll you.

- He will k*ll you.
- [Pamela laughs]

I mean, he would be just in doing that
if I did something, you know...

[laughs]

[Pamela] When Lauren's dad meets Cameron,

I would love to be a fly on the wall,
because...

he's just always wanted our kids to marry
within our race.

So...

I don't know how he'll handle that.

You guys make a cute couple.

That means a lot to me,
to hear you say that.

[Barnett] My family, like,
they had this party phase,

and now they're not there anymore.

So, literally, I'm the only one
that drinks in my family.

[Amber] Oh, God!

Oh, Lord!

[Barnett] Amber's personality,
with my family, makes me nervous,

because they are more
on the conservative side.

I think one of the biggest things
in my life is

I've always wanted to do
what my family thinks is best, I guess.

And... I'm scared of disappointing them.

I'm scared of doing something wrong
in their eyes.

I think Amber is gonna be fine,

but I'm still scared that they're gonna
ask her lots of questions and...

try to figure out real quick who she is.

So, this is my home,

or where I lived for a long time.

[Barnett sighs deeply]

- [Amber] I don't wanna get out yet.
- [Barnett] No?

- [Amber] I'm nervous.
- [Barnett] We can wait here a sec.

I know I can be a lot to take in.

It's a lot of personality,

and I'm just a little scared
I'm gonna say the wrong thing.

- What's up, guys?
- Hey!

[Barnett] This is Amber.

Hi. It's so nice to meet you.

I'm sorry. I'm freaking out a little.
I'm shaking a little.

- Hey, guys.
- Hey.

- We're here together.
- [Amber] Oh, my gosh!

- Hi.
- I'm Debra.

- I'm Amber.
- This is my mom.

So nice to meet you.

- Oh, my God! I'm like...
- [Deb laughs]

Holy crap!

[Deb laughs]

- I'm Danny.
- This is my brother, Danny.

Hi, Danny. I'm Amber. Nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you, Amber. It's okay.

I'm freaking out. What is this?

- Chillax.
- Hi, how are you?

Oh, gosh! [laughs]

How's it been?

It's been a lot.

[Danny] How have you handled the stress?

- Beer?
- Salud.

[Danny] Yep.

[exhales loudly]

Shh. No, I'm kidding.

[laughs]

She's been more stressed out than I have.

[laughs, snorts]

[David] So, what what's the worst thing
that you've learned of Matt?

Besides the fact that he's totally okay
with farting on me?

- [David] If that's the worst thing...
- That wasn't that bad.

- [Amber and Danny laughing]
- [Barnett] It caught me off guard, too.

So.. [laughs]

[snorts] Oh, my God!

[Barnett] My parents, they seemed
a little uncomfortable. [chuckles]

Maybe shell-shocked is a good word for it.

Yeah, very spur-of-the-moment.

[Amber] Matt, once we got further along
in the process,

I realized it's really hard
to get him to open up.

It's like pulling teeth.
He's very stubborn.

Notice the ring.

That ring is on there
because he kept changing his mind

between me and another girl.

- And I was like...
- [Deb] What?

[Andy] He likes to keep his options open.

[Amber] Well, I told him,
"Hold up. Give me your hand.

Put this on.

You're not changing your mind again.
You're stuck.

You're not going nowhere."

[Deb] Amber's personality...

Very friendly, very outspoken.

Knows what she wants.

I can see
why Matt would be attracted to her.

I'm may worry that's lust.
It's not really love.

[Danny] Why marriage, though?

What I'm trying to say is
that you start out in a...

In a lust mode.

You have a spark,

and, and in that spark, you do everything
to make the other person happy,

but after ten years of marriage,
things get real.

When I tell you
the way that we match up is unrealistic.

- It doesn't make any sense.
- It's unrealistic.

And I'm a huge weirdo,
and I am all over the place,

and, like, every time I jump
from one kind of crazy to another,

just the oddness,
Matt's right there with me.

And I feel like there's enough differences
that we get to learn from each other.

It won't get boring.

But also we're so similar
in so many of the ways that matter

that it just makes sense.

[Barnett] You guys know me.

I wouldn't make this decision
unless I was 100% sure, because...

[Danny] Were you, though?

You went back and forth,
from what we're hearing.

So, so, so... Hold on.

Because she was so passionate
and so, like, into me.

And I was like...

Like, I knew how our relationship
would be,

and we got along so well.

But I just knew that I would be loved
the way that I wanted to be loved,

and I think that was kind of what sold me.

I know my brother,
and, like, he thinks I'm crazy.

He's not saying it. He's not saying...

Yeah, but he thinks I'm crazy.

You take one side of the table.
I'll take the other.

- Can I just get under it?
- [laughs] If that's what you wanna do.

I don't think he understands it.
He's never seen me act like I'm acting.

He's never seen me certain
about anything like that before.

I always compare myself to him
and what he has.

I'm nervous that he's not gonna be
accepting of what I'm doing.

It's, it's hard to explain it, I guess,
in a way that makes sense.

I'm... I rush into relationships.

I have.

This is something different.

It's like...

She is... She's cooler than me.

She, she understands me, my humor.

I can literally say anything, do anything,
and be myself 100% around her,

and I've never once felt like...

She loves it. Like, it's so crazy.

I don't want you
to be jumping into something

because of how you guys met.

So many other things that are involved
when saying you want to marry someone,

because marriage is the hardest
f*cking thing I've ever done in my life.

Right?

- And I think...
- And it took me...

two to three years to even get married,

much less two to three weeks.

You don't even realize
how difficult it really, really gets.

Marriage is about stopping...
Forgetting about yourself,

and making sure that you put
that other person before your needs

in everything that you do.

Are you willing to give up everything
for this person?

Everything?

[Lauren] This is the moment
we've been talking about for a long time.

Are you nervous?

You know, of course, I want him to like me

and to approve of us.

Yeah.

There's definitely been a lot of build-up
leading to today.

Because today is the day
that Cameron's going to meet my father.

[sighs deeply] Okay.

My dad is also very vocal
about the black community

and, um, you know,
keeping the black family structure strong.

So I just...

You know, I don't know what to expect.

I'm hoping that everything goes smooth,
but I know...

that Papa Speed is ready to grill Cameron.

Very high anxiety, very high anticipation.

It is truly and honestly
the craziest set of emotions

that I've ever felt in my life.

It would be nice to find
some common ground with your father.

Don't look so nervous.

[Cameron] You think I look nervous?

[Lauren] Just relax.

[Cameron]
I think when you're dating someone,

you really have to impress both parents,

and, for Lauren,
her dad is absolutely her role model.

So, I know how important it is
to impress him.

Lauren has told me many times

that she feels like me meeting her father

was one of the biggest things

on her list of potential roadblocks

on our path to being husband and wife.

She wanted to make sure
that everything went smoothly,

and that her father really approves of me.

- [Lauren] Let's go meet Papa Speed.
- [Cameron] All right, let's do it.

[Lauren] I know that my dad is concerned,

and I definitely value his opinion.

So if he doesn't like Cameron,

I don't know what I'm going to do.

[Bill] Let me call you back, man. Bye bye.

Hi, sweetheart.

Hi, Dad.

[moans affectionately]

- Hi.
- [Bill] This is Cameron.

[Cameron] This is me.

- [Lauren] This is Cameron.
- Okay.

- Finally, you know, we get to meet.
- [Bill] Well...

Yeah.

Hmm.

I got a million questions.

Um, I mean,
I... I want to put your mind at ease

as much as I can.

Really?

What kind of life do you intend
to give my daughter?

I want us to be equal partners
in our marriage...

[Bill] Mm-hmm.

...and I want to do everything that I can
to make her happy.

[clears throat] Well...

I don't really know you.

- I have to get to know you.
- [Cameron] Sure.

- [Bill] You know what I'm saying?
- [Cameron] I want you to know me.

- Okay.
- [Cameron] Yeah.

[Bill] The fact that she has chosen you...

It's not gonna be a gauntlet.

But until I feel absolutely comfortable...

[dramatic music escalates]

[dramatic music crescendos]

["I Am the Diamond" playing]

♪ I am the diamond ♪

♪ I am the diamond ♪

♪ You'll never find me ♪

♪ All that you find is lost ♪

♪ Oh I am the diamond ♪

♪ I am the diamond ♪

♪ You'll never hide me ♪

♪ Keep me from shining on ♪