SIGNIFICANT OTHER

We asked our cast about romance, dating, and falling in love (or not) in the new millennium. Here's what they had to say...

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JANELLE BUCHANAN (Helene) Back in my day, children, before your Facebook, your Twitter, your Snapchat, your Tumblr and your Grindr, we had to meet potential mates in the old-fashioned ways -- in group therapy, at mass arrests during protests, at Grateful Dead concerts, while working in theatrical productions and on film sets (actors -- there's a reliable dating pool!). As I watch my own daughters, both of them beautiful and accomplished at 17 and 21 and savvier about love and how to find it than I was at their ages, I hope what any mother hopes for her children -- that they will each find that one special person they can annoy for the rest of their lives. As Helene says, "It's the most important thing."

 

 

WILL DOUGLAS (Jordan) I’m about to sound like a complete pessimist, but I’m not. I promise. You don’t need to call and see how I’m doing, Mom. Dating in the 21st century sucks, but maybe it’s just me. You’d think that dating apps would make things easier; but in my mind, they have the same problem that all social media has—it’s a curated version of our ideal selves. The digital age forces us to be outward and image-focused. My biggest problem though is I don’t want to go through the awkward stages—I hate small talk. So, maybe I wouldn’t enjoy dating in any century. 

 

 

NATALIE GARCIA (Vanessa) Be mindful in realizing that love is there with you already. It comes disguised as those friends who’ve become family you created, and the people you allow all the way into your weird little world. It’s "the ones" not "the one" – and when you find the joy in the loves you have already, it makes it so much easier to recognize that one person you should spend your life with... if that’s something you’re into.

 

 

SAM HOWARD (Zach/Evan/Roger) I think finding love in the 21st century has turned into a live action game of GUESS WHO, where you have to navigate all these layers, websites, and profiles of someone before you ever truly get to know them. It’s exhausting.

 

 

KELSEY MAZAK (Kiki) Oh man, looking for love in the 21st century is BRUTAL. I found my person 6 months after I had sworn off men forever and decided I was just going to happily live on a ranch, by myself, with hundreds of rescue dogs. I think the key to finding a partner is to get yourself to a place where you are happy and confident with your life alone; only when you are in a place where you realize you don’t NEED SOMEONE can you truly find someone worthy of you.   

 

 

SUSAN MYBURGH (Laura) Looking for love in the 21st century? Oh boy! I barely know how to use Excel, so I imagine I would be pretty dang terrible at it. Then again, I wasn't particularly good at dating before Tinder, Bumble, and whatever other apps were around either. Let's just say I count my lucky stars that I happened to swipe right (and right...get it?) on my husband waaaay back in 2000-whatever and then again in 2014 when we tied the knot. Here's what I will say, in my limited experience, love and commitment appear to be something that is a choice and something you work very hard at. Sure, it can totally be the fairytale they show in movies and magazine ads, but it also takes lots of compromise, honesty, and teamwork (something I don't think we see displayed enough in our current pop culture). Bottom-line, I'm really thrilled that I get to be a part of a show that explores a very real and very common aspect of looking for the love in 21st century and I look forward to having this dialogue with our community! 

 

 

TANNER SMITH (Will/Conrad/Tony) Searching for love in the 21st century is like looking through photos of a house you can't afford. After hours of dreaming about someone else's pool, you somehow forget that you don't know how to swim.