MELISSA FUMERO Ran Around a Cruise Unsupervised

Summary

Summary of "Family Trips with the Meyers Brothers" Episode: Melissa Fumero Ran Around a Cruise Unsupervised

Release Date: April 15, 2025

In this engaging episode of Family Trips with the Meyers Brothers, hosts Seth and Josh Meyers welcome actress Melissa Fumero to share her nostalgic and humorous tales of childhood family vacations, unforgettable trips, and the delightful chaos that ensues when family dynamics take center stage. The conversation weaves through Melissa's experiences growing up in New Jersey, adventurous cruise ship voyages, and balancing family life with her career.

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1. Childhood Memories and Family Dynamics

Melissa Fumero opens up about her upbringing in Lyndhurst, a small town in Bergen County, New Jersey. She reminisces about frequent family gatherings in Queens, highlighting the vibrant extended Cuban American community.

• Melissa (08:16): “Every Sunday, almost every Sunday, we would go to my great aunt's house in Sunnyside, Queens, and we would spend the day with the family, cooking food and just hanging out.”

She describes the affectionate yet intense hugs from her great aunt, emphasizing the cultural importance of respecting elders.

• Melissa (10:02): “She would just grab you and lift you off the ground. And she was like five foot one and, like, tiny.”

Melissa also shares amusing interactions with her brother, detailing their sibling rivalry and his protective nature over her dating life.

• Melissa (24:00): “My brother definitely pulled the big brother thing of calling. I think it was sweet, like protecting his little sister.”

2. Adventures on the Cruise Ship

A significant portion of the episode delves into Melissa’s memorable experiences aboard Royal Caribbean cruise ships during her childhood.

• Melissa (25:59): “I basically didn't see my parents the whole trip. It was amazing because they let us run around with other kids, completely unsupervised.”

Melissa recounts both the freedom and unexpected challenges, such as dealing with seasickness and witnessing her parents in inebriated states.

• Melissa (26:02): “There was one night where there was a storm. That’s how I learned I get seasick.”

• Melissa (27:56): “I remember on the cruise, that was the first time I saw you drunk. She was putting cold water on her in the shower.”

3. Group Trips and Unexpected Encounters

Melissa narrates stories from large group trips to destinations like the Dominican Republic and Cancun, highlighting both the fun and the occasional mishaps.

• Melissa (35:10): “We went on a hike to these tide pools, and someone sliced their leg on a sea urchin, needing stitches. It was chaos.”

She humorously describes the blend of her father’s coworkers—mostly doctors—and the diverse activities they engaged in during these trips.

4. Balancing Travel with Family Life

Discussing her adult life, Melissa reflects on how her parents’ vacation habits influenced her own approach to family trips. Now retired, her parents enjoy beach outings in Florida, a tradition Melissa continues with her own family.

• Melissa (32:39): “My dad’s favorite joke is that the beach is his office. So, we just got back from the office.”

She emphasizes the importance of fostering independence in her children through controlled freedoms, contrasting her parents' experiences.

• Melissa (14:22): “It’s so good for their independence, for their confidence.”

5. Traveling with Kids and Overcoming Challenges

Melissa shares candid insights into traveling with her two sons, highlighting the challenges and joys that come with family travel.

• Melissa (41:47): “My older son would not sleep on planes. We were those parents with a screaming, crying child very often.”

She offers practical tips and humorous anecdotes about managing her sons' behaviors during trips, fostering a relatable and entertaining narrative.

6. Career Reflections and Personal Growth

Melissa discusses her career journey, particularly her time on the soap opera One Life to Live. She reflects on the fast-paced environment and the skills she developed, such as memorizing lines quickly and managing multiple camera takes.

• Melissa (46:21): “One or two takes, and it was so fast-paced. They don’t really care if the acting’s good; you just say the words.”

Her experiences on set not only honed her professional skills but also deepened her appreciation for ensemble dynamics and storytelling.

7. Family Traditions and Humor

The conversation touches on the playful naming of her sons, Axel and Ash, and the humorous exchanges that arise from their names.

• Melissa (53:36): “The meaning of Axel is father of peace, and my older son is like a literal tornado. My husband quickly said, that’s what we need.”

Melissa shares delightful family moments, such as birthday card exchanges and the unique challenges of having similarly named children.

• Melissa (55:08): “Axel was an agent of chaos, and Ash’s card said, ‘You’re the worst mom in the world,’ and then, ‘April Fools, you’re the best.’”

8. Future Family Adventures and Closing Thoughts

As the episode nears its conclusion, Melissa discusses future family trips, including annual visits to Florida and exploring new destinations like Atlanta. She expresses excitement about continuing to create cherished memories with her family.

• Melissa (51:14): “We go every summer for three weeks or a month, splitting time between two families. It’s fun, especially in Key Largo with fishing and water playgrounds.”

Melissa wraps up by reflecting on the importance of family trips in building strong family bonds and creating lasting memories.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• Melissa (08:16): “Every Sunday, almost every Sunday, we would go to my great aunt's house in Sunnyside, Queens, and we would spend the day with the family, cooking food and just hanging out.”

• Melissa (10:02): “She would just grab you and lift you off the ground. And she was like five foot one and, like, tiny.”

• Melissa (25:59): “I basically didn't see my parents the whole trip. It was amazing because they let us run around with other kids, completely unsupervised.”

• Melissa (32:39): “My dad’s favorite joke is that the beach is his office. So, we just got back from the office.”

• Melissa (53:36): “The meaning of Axel is father of peace, and my older son is like a literal tornado. My husband quickly said, that’s what we need.”

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This episode offers a heartfelt and humorous exploration of Melissa Fumero's family adventures, providing listeners with relatable stories and insightful reflections on the joys and trials of family travel.

Transcript

[Sufi]

This episode of Family Trips is brought to you by the all new 2025 Nissan Armada. Take your adventures to new heights. Learn [e-mail] Here we go.

[Bashi]

Hi, Bashi.

[Sufi]

Hi Sufi.

[Bashi]

How are you?

[Sufi]

I'm great. How are you?

[Bashi]

I'm good. You left a pair of sweatpants at mom and dad's house. That's one of my favorite texts from dad this week.

[Sufi]

It's just a picture of a pair of sweatpants laid out on the kitchen floor. And says one of you lefties here, whose are they now? Those sweatpants, they live there. I like those sweatpants, but they're not my faves. And sometimes when I'm going back and forth to New Hampshire, I'll bring some things that I just can't bring myself to let go of.

[Bashi]

Oh, this is fascinating. You sort of. Okay.

[Sufi]

Yeah. So I give myself a sort of a wardrobe in New Hampshire, you know, just some select pieces that I want to get back to. And there's a chest of drawers in my bedroom and sometimes I'll cycle some things out and I'll say, you can donate this stuff. I'm gonna move some new stuff in here. So those sweatpants live there. And it was, I guess, very troubling to father.

[Bashi]

Well, look, this is the new reality as we've established on the show. If there's anything in their home now that they don't know what it is, they just want to get it out, they want to throw it away.

[Sufi]

Yeah. That attic's emp. That was probably all our stuff.

[Bashi]

So yeah, they just don't want it anymore. But you did say, like, just put it in my drawer and don't worry about it. But obviously dad's lying awake at night because he hates that those sweatpants are there. I had a. 2 weeks ago I had a dream and I don't like. People talk about their dreams, but you will appreciate why I'm telling you this dream.

[Sufi]

Sure.

[Bashi]

You know those transom windows over doors?

[Sufi]

Uh huh.

[Bashi]

So I had a dream where I was being chased and I was trying to squeeze myself through a transom window. Okay.

[Sufi]

Okay. Yeah.

[Bashi]

And then I woke up and my neck was all fucked up.

[Sufi]

Huh.

[Bashi]

So I'm. Now I've reached the age where something can happen in a dream and I'll hurt my neck from that.

[Sufi]

Yeah.

[Bashi]

So I think I must have just been like wiggling around in bed trying to squeeze through that window.

[Sufi]

Yeah.

[Bashi]

And then like two days later my neck was fine. But now as I like feel like I have nerve damage in my arm huh. So it's a hell of a way to go. But when people say, what happened to your brother?

[Sufi]

He like, he did it in a dream.

[Bashi]

Yeah, I dreamed it. I wish I dreamed it.

[Sufi]

I've been trying to figure out how to sleep on my back more. I think that's gonna be good for my neck. And I mean, I haven't been trying to figure it out. I've just been trying to fall asleep on my back. I'm not like I told you about what we're wearing.

[Bashi]

We're taping our mouths. We've talked about that. Right?

[Sufi]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Bashi]

I mean, we're doing so much sleep stuff. It's not.

[Sufi]

Yeah, yeah. But yeah, I inevitably I start on my back, but then I'm just such a side sleeper. Sometimes I get down under my stomach and that's just like terrible for your back. I've read.

[Bashi]

Yeah. We were out a bunch this week. And if I'm out at a dinner and Alexi is home, Axel will fully sleep on my side of the bed until I get home. It's non negotiable. He just feels like if there's an empty spot on the bed that's his to take. And so that I get home and I've got to move Axel back to his room. And I would say Axel's probably a. I'm gonna guess a 51 pound kid.

[Sufi]

Okay.

[Bashi]

Who carrying him is like a 200 pound bag of sand. And I. So I. He's the sweetest. Like when I come home and I see him, I have this like moment of light of, oh my God, I have the sweetest boy in the world. And then I'm like. Cause I gotta pick him up. No help. Yeah, no help at all.

[Sufi]

Yeah. But cutie pie, cutie pie. His. And it's. Yeah. We've talked about how it's birthday season, but his birthday is in like four days from next up.

[Bashi]

Yeah. We have Ash. Total success, Alexi. Total success. We had a great party for Alexi, which was wonderful. And then Alexi doubled up yesterday at his show. So it was not Ash's technical birthday, but she. She party bused 10 kids to New Jersey to go to like a go kart track.

[Sufi]

Whoa.

[Bashi]

So Ash and his and his bros got to full go kart.

[Sufi]

Yeah. Were there any like teenagers or adults on the track just bumping them out?

[Bashi]

I wasn't there, but it did seem like they would tell me because Ash is a full. He. He loves the drama. And in fact, Ash FaceTimed me right before my show. Cause he wanted me. He was, like, so proud of the party bus. And he was so proud of, like, being with all his bros. And I was like, oh, he's being so mature right now. And while he was talking to me and kind of showing off how much fun he was having, Axl ran up behind him and just sort of clipped him in the ear to say hi to me. And then Ash was like, woo. Just fully reverted to, like, three. The one thing that was the bummer was it did come with an adult stripper. And so that was. That was the most awkward thing. Yeah.

[Sufi]

Well, I feel like in, you know, when I think about Party Bus, I think about, like, sort of no one's belted in. You're, like, standing up and there's music playing and probably some, like, lights changing color. But I feel like with a bunch of, you know, eight turning nine year olds, there is a certain level of security or is everyone sort of. Is it just a party in terms of that? It looks different and then everyone's got seatbelts on.

[Bashi]

I'm going to be honest in the hopes that the statute of limitations for this is like a day and a half. I don't know if they were fully belted. I definitely saw some pictures where it did seem to have a party atmosphere.

[Sufi]

Oh, great.

[Bashi]

Yeah. And then. Yeah. And then Axel's next up. I mean, so this is. I mean, for real, the first time we've thrown a party for our kids. And by that I mean we live very close to their cousin, we have a lot of family around, and usually what the kids ask for is they want to have just a family dinner. So historically, that's what we've done. It's not like we've been denying them a party. But coming up on nine, it started to dawn on Ash that you can have a party with your friends. So.

[Sufi]

Right.

[Bashi]

And then Axel said. I mean, the speed at which Alexi comes up with stuff. Axel was like, oh, I want to do a party. And she's like, no, you. You first. Everybody's first party is when they're nine. And he was like, oh, okay. And Addie's like, when do I get a party? She goes, when you're nine. And she's like, okay. And I'm like, God, the speed, the. The confidence. She said, at the kids fully bought in.

[Sufi]

Yeah. They're like, so I'm pretty. I bet Axel will get his first party at nine, and then Addy will get hers at seven. Yeah, I bet.

[Bashi]

Yeah. They'll bend the rules. Whatever she Wants.

[Sufi]

Yeah. It's her world.

[Bashi]

It's her world. All right, buddy. We got a fun podcast, everybody. Melissa Fero. She's fantastic. And thanks, everybody, for being with us.

[Melissa Fumero]

Family trips with the mice brothers. Family trips with the mother's brothers. Here we go.

[Bashi]

Ah.

[Melissa Fumero]

Oh, that was so in sync.

[Bashi]

We're really getting. We're syncing up our hellos.

[Sufi]

Yeah. You're not the. I mean, two guests in a row now have mentioned something about her.

[Melissa Fumero]

It was lovely. It was even, like, pitch perfect.

[Bashi]

Yeah. I would say hi in unison. We're equally. It just genetically, we are the exactly same amount of. Excited to see you a. I'm excited.

[Melissa Fumero]

To see you guys, too.

[Bashi]

How are you, Melissa?

[Melissa Fumero]

I'm good. How are you, Seth? It's been a minute.

[Bashi]

Very well. It has been a minute. But it is lovely to see you again, and it is lovely to see. We've had a lot of guests who have grown up in New Jersey, and this is true of you as well.

[Melissa Fumero]

Yes, it is. Yeah.

[Bashi]

Jersey girl, where in New Jersey did you grow up?

[Melissa Fumero]

I grew up in a small town in Bergen county called Lyndhurst. It's really, really close to, like, the Meadowlands Giant Stadium. I forget what it's called now. Yeah, that area.

[Sufi]

Yeah. So close to the city.

[Melissa Fumero]

Very close to the river.

[Sufi]

Just across the river. Yeah.

[Melissa Fumero]

Yeah, yeah. It's like a commuter town. My dad worked in the city and commuted every day and. Yeah.

[Bashi]

And were you the kind of kids then that went to the city a lot? Social. Not socially, but I. With your parents when you were little?

[Melissa Fumero]

Yeah, we did. We all of my extended family, my cousins and aunts and uncles, they live in, like, Queens and Long Island. So growing up, actually, every Sunday, almost every Sunday, we would go to my great aunt's house in Sunnyside, Queens, and we would, like, spend the day in. The family would be there and just, like, hanging out, cooking food and, you know, and they had, like, one of those. So they had. They owned the whole house. Cause they lived there forever. And they had this long driveway that went down, so it's like the house next door to them. And that's where we would, like, play off the wall. And the kids would be out there, like, just, you know, causing a ruckus, trying not to break windows.

[Bashi]

And as a kid, did you look forward to Sundays with your entire extended family?

[Melissa Fumero]

I did. I did. My great aunt gave these, like, painful bear hugs. So I remember every time we would go into the city, like, on the way there, I'd be like, does Tia have To hug me, though. And they'd be like, yes. You have to take it, like, respect your elders.

[Bashi]

That really does bring me back as a. For me, I think there were certain people in our family who had a very unique smell that I wasn't looking forward to. And then it was usually on the embrace. You had to, like, get through that smell. And then the rest of the trip was fine.

[Melissa Fumero]

She smelled good and she was a tiny woman. I still to this day don't understand how she hugged us so hard. Like you felt like your bones were going to break. She would just, like, grab you and lift you off the ground. And she was like five foot one and, like, tiny.

[Sufi]

Were they long hugs as well?

[Melissa Fumero]

Yes. Yeah, yeah. It was like, just as you were, like, about to pass out because you couldn't breathe, she let go.

[Bashi]

I thought you were going to say, did she have long arms? She was like a tiny woman with very long arms.

[Melissa Fumero]

They would wrap around three times. It was crazy.

[Bashi]

Like a boat. A boa constrictor. Now, this is an extended Cuban American family.

[Melissa Fumero]

Yes, yes, Cuban American. Although all my cousins married, not Cuban. So there was, like, a lot of Italians there and some Irish, and it was like a mixed bag. Yeah. And you never knew who was going to be there every time we went.

[Sufi]

But how many people, like, how many people are showing up to Aunt Diaz, man?

[Melissa Fumero]

Sometimes it was a smaller group, but sometimes It'd be like 20 people.

[Sufi]

Oh, wow.

[Melissa Fumero]

Yeah. And they had this great basement. All the adults would be in there gossiping and shooting the shit. And then the kids would be outside playing off the wall and. Yeah. And then they'd scream at us to come in and eat dinner and. And then we'd go home. And I also. The other funny thing I remember, too, about those trips into the city, this would be like late 80s, early 90s. So when we would go through Lincoln Tunnel, there was always the moment right before we exited the tunnel when my dad would lock all the locks on the car and he'd roll and he'd tell you to roll up the windows. He'd go, roll up the windows. Then you hear click. And it was like, oh, we're going. We're going into the city. Because, yeah, Times Square was a different.

[Bashi]

Vibe back then that it really does speak to. What was New York like in the late 80s? People would pull you from your cars.

[Melissa Fumero]

Yeah, yeah. Was like, don't make strong eye contact with anyone outside the car until we get to the Queensborough Bridge.

[Bashi]

I mean, it really speaks to how bad it is that you would. It was. So it was actually okay to have your windows down in the tunnel.

[Melissa Fumero]

Yeah.

[Sufi]

That'S good air.

[Melissa Fumero]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. This happened in the tunnel. Windows up?

[Bashi]

Yeah.

[Melissa Fumero]

Doors.

[Sufi]

Would you ever take the train or would that. Was that sort of not.

[Melissa Fumero]

No, not. My dad did. So my dad commuted into the city for work and he would take either the bus to the subway, like into Port Authority, or sometimes he would take the train to Hoboken and then the Path. But I didn't really take the train until I was older. But a wild thing that my parents did, looking back as an adult now with children, I'm like, I can't believe they did that. I was a dancer growing up, so when I was 15, they let me go into the city by myself to take dance classes.

[Sufi]

Wow, that must have felt so cool.

[Melissa Fumero]

So cool. And my dad just like very matter of factly was like, here's the bus you're going to take and then you're going to get off of Port Authority and take this train up to Steps on Broadway or Broadway Dance center and your classes at this time. Okay. So then you should be back. And he would just like map out the trip for me. And I didn't have a cell phone, so I would also just like when I'd get to Port Authority, I would call on the pay phone, you know, call collect and do the, like, I'm on the 535 bus and then hang up and. And then they would pick me up and it was. Yeah.

[Sufi]

Wow.

[Bashi]

I mean, I would say like a payphone at Port Authority is where the creeps hang out. I mean, their Dream is a 15 year old solo dancer.

[Melissa Fumero]

Yeah.

[Bashi]

But now this is interesting because you have children now and that was great. Right. You can admit now as an adult, it is great that your parents gave you that freedom.

[Melissa Fumero]

Yes.

[Bashi]

And yet would you give your parent, your kids, the same freedom?

[Melissa Fumero]

Uh, yeah. It's so different how it is. My son just turned 9 and I told my husband, I think this summer maybe we can let him start to ride his bike alone, like in the neighborhood. Like, we'll give him a. My parents did that, like give him a little parameter. He can't like leave, you know, this street to this street. And he was like, are you crazy? Absolutely not. He was like, do you see any other kids riding their bikes around? He's like, they'll call the cops on us. It's.

[Bashi]

I like that. He's not worried about anything happening to your kid. He's just worried about him having to Go to the big house.

[Melissa Fumero]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just like CPS showing up to our house.

[Bashi]

It's fascinating because again, like, you know, forever, for however dangerous things are now, like living in New York. And again, I would say New York is worse than it was five years ago, but a hundred times better than it was in the 70s and 80s, right?

[Melissa Fumero]

Yeah.

[Bashi]

And yet, you know, I don't know, at some point I'm like, yeah, you know, it's like we have about a mile walk to school and at some point I'm just gonna be like, all right, off you go. And it's gonna feel like the craziest thing in the world. But my kids have grown up in New York City and you gotta give them that freedom. Yeah.

[Melissa Fumero]

And I think it is. It's so good for their independence, for their confidence. Like I was when I moved to the city. I knew my way around. I felt so confident around the city and being on the subway and like, I had already had all this experience and I felt like I was a very confident teenager and I think it was because of those experiences. So I'm like, how do I make that happen?

[Bashi]

Hey, we're going to take a quick break and hear from some of our sponsors. This episode of Family Trips is brought to you by Nissan. Hey, Pashi.

[Sufi]

Yes, Sufi?

[Bashi]

Let's talk about some things that never go out of style.

[Sufi]

Ooh, I love this game. Like pasta, bomber jackets, high top shoes.

[Bashi]

Jean jackets, baseball hats. You know what else never goes out of style?

[Sufi]

What's that?

[Bashi]

Going big. That's why we at Family Trips love partnering with Nissan, because they know that going big never goes out of style. Especially when it comes to the 2025 Nissan lineup and the Nissan vehicle we want to give a huge shout out to today. The all new Nissan Armada Pro 4X.

[Sufi]

No terrain is too tough for the all new Nissan Armada Pro 4X. It's the most capable Armada ever built with a new powerful engine, incredible towing capacity and adventure ready technology. This is the first Armada to earn the Pro 4X badge.

[Bashi]

It's built for the most rugged of terrain thanks to the fact that it's powered by a twin turbo V6 engine, which means it's ready to give you the freedom to explore further and to propel your adventures to new heights. So thanks again to Nissan for sponsoring this episode of Family Trips. Explore further with the Nissan Armada Pro 4X. Learn more at nissanusa.com Intelligent Four Wheel Drive cannot prevent collisions or provide enhanced traction in all conditions. Always monitor traffic and weather conditions. Support for family Trips comes from visit Baltimore. Hey, Paschi.

[Sufi]

Yeah, Sufi?

[Bashi]

You've never been to Baltimore, but the people from Baltimore sent us some really nice gift baskets. And you've now had popcorn from Baltimore.

[Sufi]

Popcorn that was seasoned with a little old bay, which I had some old bay in my spice rack, but it was kind of in the back. And now it is back to the forefront where it belongs. It's such a good seasoning, and it is a Maryland classic.

[Bashi]

You don't just have to like old Bay seasoning to enjoy Baltimore. If you're an art lover, Baltimore is a hidden gem. Baltimore Museum of Art boasts the largest collection of Batiste paintings in the world. Another crown jewel of the city is the Flower Mart, the longest running festival in Baltimore. Held each May in Mount Vernon, this vibrant event features vendors offering flowers, plants, arts and crafts.

[Sufi]

I'd love to go to that flower mart. I'm a big flower guy.

[Bashi]

You love a Flower mart?

[Sufi]

I love a flower. I love a plant.

[Bashi]

You love a plant. You treat a plant like a person. I do. You do treat a plant like a person. Makes it very hard to like, do anything with you because you're always like, hold on, let me say goodbye to everybody. And you won't want to miss Artscape, the nation's largest free outdoor arts festival. With interactive exhibits, musical performances, poetry workshops, street dance, and a culinary showcase featuring Baltimore's top food vendors, Artscape is a celebration of creativity in all its forms. Hey, Pachi, There was a band called the Extra Glens.

[Sufi]

Uh huh.

[Bashi]

I feel like nobody knows this band, but they had a song called Baltimore. In Baltimore, you will find what you've been waiting for.

[Sufi]

Oh, yeah. I mean, pretty much hits that nail right on the head. Yeah. Speaking of heads, we got these great Visit Baltimore hats from them. Mackenzie wore it to a horse show all weekend last weekend.

[Bashi]

Do you think there was a horse there named Old Bay?

[Sufi]

There might have been. Yeah. I'm sure there was an old Bay there.

[Bashi]

Yeah. I don't know if they call it an Old bay.

[Sufi]

Yeah.

[Bashi]

Hey, you guys. Baltimore is just a short drive or train ride from New York, Philly and D.C. plan your visit today at baltimore.org that's baltimore.o R G go to baltimore.org Baltimore slogan is you won't get it till you get here.

[Sufi]

It's Charm City, Suef.

[Bashi]

It's Charm City. You're Charm City. That's what people always say about you.

[Sufi]

Yeah, that's nice.

[Bashi]

Support for family trips comes from Airbnb. Hey, Bhaji.

[Sufi]

Yes, Sufi?

[Bashi]

We've got A big trip coming up in June. You're going? I'm going. Very exciting.

[Sufi]

Yeah. We're going.

[Bashi]

We're going to Amsterdam.

[Sufi]

Oh, boy.

[Bashi]

No, I think overtalk is good. Let's just both tell our listeners what we're doing at the same time and see how much of it syncs up.

[Sufi]

Look, we're going to Amsterdam in June.

[Bashi]

In June, our friends are. They're renewing their vows, and when they got married the first time, Andrew and Saskia, these are our friends who started the theater. Boom. Chicago. First time they got married, I was emceeing or maybe just given a toast. And Saskia is to her niece and her nephew kept running on stage and interrupting me. And I was pretty angry about it.

[Sufi]

Yeah. Oh, you could tell from the audience.

[Bashi]

But I'm gonna bring Ash.

[Sufi]

Oh, yeah.

[Bashi]

Who's nine years old. And we're gonna get an Airbnb because I want that dude to not be in my bed.

[Sufi]

Yeah.

[Bashi]

I want him to be in another bed that's sort of right next door to my bedroom.

[Sufi]

Yeah.

[Bashi]

And at an Airbnb, that is an option that fits in quite nicely.

[Sufi]

Yeah.

[Bashi]

For our plans.

[Sufi]

I've always loved getting an Airbnb in Amsterdam because we live there and so we had apartments there. And that's the way that it feels. You're sort of back there and living there.

[Bashi]

With Airbnb, you can reinforce the idea of making memories both as a traveler and as a host. Because, you know, hosting brings in a little extra scratch. Bosh.

[Sufi]

Yeah. If you have a lovely home and you've made it nice for yourself, you could be out of town, you could let someone come stay at your house, you could make a little money and you could let them enjoy life the way that you've set your life up to be.

[Bashi]

Your home could be worth more than you think. Find out how [e-mail] host Here we go. So, and then you went to NYU, correct?

[Melissa Fumero]

Yes.

[Bashi]

So, I mean, I'm sure there's a lot of New Yorkers and New York adjacent people at nyu, but did you feel so much cooler than the kids that were coming from other parts of the country?

[Melissa Fumero]

100%.

[Bashi]

Yeah.

[Melissa Fumero]

100%. The days that I would, like, meet my dad for lunch, I'd be like, excuse me, I'm just gonna go downtown and meet my dad for lunch because, like, he works in the city.

[Bashi]

I live near. I live near nyu. And I feel like I can tell based on. Well, first of all, here's. I have a theory. Anyone wearing an NYU sweatshirt didn't grow up in New York.

[Melissa Fumero]

100%. Absolutely correct.

[Bashi]

That's how I know they're like, that's some Ohio shit.

[Melissa Fumero]

Yeah. If they're wearing the swag, they are from out of state. A hundred. Because us locals would never. I have one NYU T shirt, and it's a pajama shirt, and it has holes in it.

[Bashi]

You only wear it in your.

[Melissa Fumero]

Yeah, yeah. Only in the. In the comfort of my home. Yeah.

[Sufi]

Real quick, you just mentioned off the wall a couple times. Was off the wall a game?

[Melissa Fumero]

Oh, yeah. That was like a tennis ball. I don't even really remember how to play it, but it was like. It was like a tennis ball game that you had to throw it against the wall and then some. You either had to, like, try to hit someone with it, like, dodgeball style, or the other person had to, like, also had to catch it and then throw it. And it's like, whoever dropped it first loses. But I just remember being pelted with tennis balls a lot.

[Bashi]

It is funny. Josh and I grew up in, you know, the suburbs, but we also enjoyed the wall as a game accompaniment that we used to drive to our school.

[Sufi]

Yeah.

[Bashi]

Or bike. We would bike. I guess we were at the age where we would bike down to our middle school because it had a real good wall.

[Melissa Fumero]

Yeah, A good wall. And then you can just, like, make shit up, too. You just make up games if you got a tennis ball on a wall. Endless entertainment.

[Bashi]

Yeah, I'm bad. My wife recently pointed out that it's when sometimes the kids and I will be making up a game, and she will say, you know, I think it's more important to let the kids make up the rules than for you to try to impose your rules on them. Because a lot of times they'll be like, no. And if it bounces twice, I'm like, no, no, no. Just did this way first.

[Sufi]

Yeah, I think you're right.

[Bashi]

Thank you, Seth. Thank you.

[Sufi]

Because they're just gonna make up nonsense.

[Bashi]

Dumb rules. Yeah.

[Sufi]

Yeah. Dumb rules.

[Bashi]

Yeah, we call them dumb rules. So what about how your brother is older or younger?

[Melissa Fumero]

Older.

[Bashi]

Okay. How much older?

[Melissa Fumero]

Four years older.

[Bashi]

Okay, gotcha. Were you guys close when you were growing up?

[Melissa Fumero]

No, we. We got closer when I. I think when I got older, when I got into, like, high school, my mom describes our dynamic as, like, people that genuinely didn't like each other.

[Bashi]

That's pretty clean. Yeah. That's a clean way to describe it.

[Melissa Fumero]

Yeah.

[Bashi]

How would I describe them? Two people who don't like one another?

[Sufi]

Oh, that's my.

[Bashi]

That had less nuance than I was expecting.

[Sufi]

Yes.

[Melissa Fumero]

Yeah. Yeah. We fought all the time. We. He. We beat the. Out of each other. And then I was like, that annoying little sister. Every time he was, like, having a party with his friends in the basement, I would sneak down, like, totally being a little shit, and I would find the group of girls in the party and be like, hi. And, like, be all cute. And then my brother would get so mad that I was down there. And of course the girls would be like, no, let her stay. She's so cute. And I'd look at him like, gotcha.

[Sufi]

So did you ever date one of his friends?

[Melissa Fumero]

Oh, God, no. No. That's smart. I felt like. Yeah, no, that was. That would have been too scary to do. I did have. I feel like my first couple of boyfriends in high school were a bit older than me, and my brother definitely pulled the, like, oh, yeah, I know that guy. You know, and then would definitely do the big brother thing of calling.

[Sufi]

Do you think he ever talked to those guys?

[Melissa Fumero]

100%, yes. Yeah.

[Bashi]

Oh, wow, that's good. I mean, in a way that you reflect back and respect him for, or you still think he was just meddling in your business?

[Melissa Fumero]

No, I think it was sweet. It was like sweet older brother protecting his little sister. Don't hurt. You know, if you hurt her, I'll kill you.

[Bashi]

Yeah.

[Melissa Fumero]

And then when I first started dating my husband, David, who is 10 years older than me, so he's older than my brother. My brother, like, tried to do that with him. And. And also my husband's, like, very fit, so it was just hilarious to see my brother to this, like, older, super, way more fit than him dude.

[Bashi]

I like the idea that David would turn around and be like, and if you ever hurt her, yeah, I'm gonna pound you.

[Melissa Fumero]

I'm going to pound you, bro. I'd like to see you try.

[Bashi]

Did you, when you were young, other than, you know, obviously were you had your weekend trips, but were you a family trips? Family? Were there places you guys went, the four of you?

[Melissa Fumero]

We were. We were so my dad would get his two weeks vacation every year, and most summers we went to Miami, where my grandparents lived and my. And some more like extended family. And we would go for two weeks in Miami. And then there were some years when I was between the ages of. Of like 8 and maybe 11 that we went on these big group trips with like, four or five other families. And so we went on a cruise ship. We went on a Royal Caribbean Cruise ship. And we went to the Dominican Republic and we went to Cancun. There was three different summers that we went on these big group trips, and it was awesome.

[Bashi]

How was your cruise ship experience?

[Melissa Fumero]

Oh, my God. The cruise ship was amazing. I think I was, like, 8 or 9, and I basically didn't see my parents the whole trip. It was amazing because every time we were on the ship, it was just like, bye. They were like, be at dinner. They did not care. And I think they had, like a kids club or something that sometimes we would pop in. But I just remember running around the ship with these other kids and being completely unsupervised and thinking it was the best thing ever. Yeah. Yeah, it was amazing. There was. And then there was one night where there was, like, a storm. And I learned. That's how I learned I get seasick. So there's hilarious pictures, group pictures from that night where everyone's, like, smiling, and me and my dad, because my dad also gets seasick, are just, like, green in the face and, like, staring at the camera. And the other families we were with, they were doctors mostly, so it was like my dad, who worked in a jewelry store, and then, like, all these doctors. It was like a very odd mix, but I think a couple of them were high school friends of theirs. And. And so we got this. They put this, like, patch thing behind our ears for the seasickness.

[Sufi]

Yeah.

[Melissa Fumero]

And that. That worked.

[Bashi]

It did work.

[Melissa Fumero]

Yeah, it worked. I felt great.

[Bashi]

Somebody put a patch on me once, and I did not feel like it was effectively working. It might have just been a random patch and not one.

[Melissa Fumero]

Maybe it was like a placebo and they were like, good luck broke.

[Bashi]

It was an iPad.

[Melissa Fumero]

Yeah.

[Sufi]

Maybe, like, you could have put it on yourself, too.

[Bashi]

Yeah, that's true. I don't know why I let somebody else put it.

[Sufi]

Someone once put a patch on you, but that.

[Bashi]

Is that your only cruise experience? You've never gone back?

[Melissa Fumero]

I've never gone back.

[Bashi]

Yeah.

[Sufi]

I do feel like 8. Like, in that 8 to 11 era is kind of like prime time for loving a cruise.

[Melissa Fumero]

Yeah. Total freedom. And you can just, like, do all the fun stuff. And, like, I literally did not see my parents. I did see my mom drunk for the first time on that trip.

[Bashi]

Oh, what was it like? Cause I. I remember. I. I feel like I remember the first vacation drunk I saw.

[Melissa Fumero]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It was. Well, I. I was going. I talked to my mom last night to, like, go through all these vacation stories and try to, you know, remember more stories and So I said, oh, I remember on the cruise, that was the first time I saw you drunk. She was like, we were drunk lots of nights on that cruise ship. But I. My memory is that I went. I was going to their room or something, and all I saw was them putting my mom in the shower and, like, turning on the water. Like, she. That kind of. She was still in her clothes and they were like putting cold water on her. And I was like, what's going on?

[Bashi]

And then she gasped. And everybody said, she's alive.

[Melissa Fumero]

She's alive. It's good, it's good. We're okay. I was like, you guys good? They were like, get out of here.

[Sufi]

If dinners were all together, were there, like, shows and things? Were you.

[Melissa Fumero]

There was a kids talent show I participated in get out of Town.

[Bashi]

So you had that kind of confidence as a young person.

[Sufi]

She was going into the city and dancing, although that was at 15.

[Melissa Fumero]

So, yeah, I did. They were like, we're gonna have a talent show. I was like, sign me up. I'm gonna do a dance solo to Paula Abdul.

[Bashi]

Do you remember how you were received?

[Melissa Fumero]

I. You know what? I got some good applause. And it's. There is a video of it. My dad does have a video of it. And I remember I didn't even, like. I think I choreographed some of it. So the rest of the time just like making up moves on the stage. And sometimes I'm just like vamping like, like, step side, step side, because I don't know what to do. But I was just like a confident little shit up there. And then we did a group number to Beach Boys, and there were so many kids on the stage, and we're doing some sort of like, hula move. And I fell off the stage because I just got. Was so crowded that I just got pushed off the stage and then just like climbed up.

[Bashi]

Usually that's when people decide they're not gonna be a dancer. So I really appreciate, you know, you fall off the stage once and a lot of kids are like, it's not for me. So I'm very impressed that you redoubled your efforts. Now, how many people. And that must have been the most people you'd ever performed in front of at that point.

[Melissa Fumero]

Yeah, probably. Yeah.

[Bashi]

I would imagine a kids talent show and a cruise ships are quite a lot of people.

[Melissa Fumero]

Yeah, but I think, you know, the audience is probably all full of parents. Everybody was like, yeah, I don't think.

[Sufi]

Everyone on the ship has to be there for that.

[Bashi]

I don't. I don't I don't think you'd want your money back.

[Melissa Fumero]

Yeah, I don't think the kid list guests were like, let's go check out the kids talent show. Like, right.

[Bashi]

Well, that's another way to get on a watch list where you're like, which one's your kid? It's like, I'm just here to check out the talent. Usually I'm at. Usually I'm at Port Authority.

[Sufi]

A little girl just went down off the stage.

[Bashi]

Let me go help her out. And then Miami. So you said grandparents were there.

[Melissa Fumero]

My grandparents were there, yeah. And when I got older, we would stay at my grandmother's place. But before that, we would kind of stay all over. We stayed even on. There were a few years that we stayed on Ocean Drop Drive in one of those, like, art deco hotels before they all became, like, really fancy. They were just kind of, like, affordable. They were also not in great shape. Like, they were so pretty, and they were right on the beach. And I feel like I have a memory of, like, being in the hotel room and my dad being like, oh, my God, they're shooting Miami Vice across the street on the beach. And we were like, I'm a huge deal.

[Sufi]

Yeah.

[Melissa Fumero]

I mean, huge.

[Bashi]

Deeply jealous that you were in the vicinity of the filming of Miami Vice. Yeah, that just like. I just am seeing a lot of, like, faded aqua on stucco, huh?

[Melissa Fumero]

Yeah, aqua. Like a lime green. Like yellow coral.

[Sufi]

Was there some shuffleboard? Was there any shuffleboard going on down there?

[Melissa Fumero]

No. So my parents are like, big beach people, and they still, to this day, will do this. It's like, get on the beach with the umbrella and the coolers and stuff. Find a good spot and fudgeing. Park there all day. Like, you're there for 10 hours.

[Bashi]

Where. What kind of beach would your parents be at now? Do they still go to Florida for their beach time?

[Melissa Fumero]

They do. They've retired to Florida, so they're close to Fort Lauderdale. The beach they live by is gorgeous. The water's warm. It's so clean. And they still, you know, my dad, now that he's retired, his favorite joke is that it's his office. So, like, we just got back from the office. What are you doing to work today? Sorry, we can't talk. We're going to the office.

[Bashi]

Were your parents born in Cuba?

[Melissa Fumero]

They were. They immigrated as teenagers.

[Bashi]

Unbelievable. And so obviously that was not a place you could go back as a kid. Did they still have family there?

[Melissa Fumero]

They do. My mom, they. Yeah, they both do. My mom has more family there. She has an uncle who just turned 106.

[Sufi]

Oh my gosh.

[Melissa Fumero]

In Cuba. And this man looks amazing. I've only ever seen pictures of him, but every year the family in Cuba likes sends the birthday picture. He's usually always at the beach. He was again this year. And I mean the man doesn't look a day over 80. It's incredible.

[Bashi]

He's also known for his hugs, everybody. They're like, be careful with the hugs. And they're like, well, I wouldn't hug 106 year old man. They're like, no, you be careful, he's going to break your ribs.

[Melissa Fumero]

Yeah, he's going to break your ribs, so be careful. But also hug him because you got to respect your elders.

[Sufi]

Yeah.

[Bashi]

Have your parents ever gone back?

[Melissa Fumero]

No, no, they haven't.

[Bashi]

No interest. I've talked to some people who. And there's some people who just have no interest.

[Melissa Fumero]

Yeah, it's no, I think until the country is more of a democracy or free, I think there's fear in going back. There's. It's like complicated emotions.

[Bashi]

Yeah. I can't even imagine.

[Melissa Fumero]

Yeah, it's hard even for me to imagine. Yeah, they, the times I've brought it up, I can see there's like a little bit of a longing to maybe see it, but just like, no, that chapter's closed. And yeah. Yeah, it's a painful thing.

[Bashi]

Your husband is also a Cuban American?

[Melissa Fumero]

Yes, he is. He immigrated when he was 8, in the 80s.

[Bashi]

Oh, wow. So he was born there?

[Melissa Fumero]

Yeah, he was born there. He and his family came over shortly after the famous Mariel boat lift. They came over right after that.

[Bashi]

And was he, did the he come straight? Was he in New York or was he in Florida? Where was his upbringing?

[Melissa Fumero]

They were actually in Jersey at first for a couple years and then they moved to Miami and that's where he had his teenage years. So that's like where he considers he's from and where like his OG best friends are from. But then he moved to New York when He was like 19 or 20 and was in New York the longest of all the cities because he was there on and off for like 20 years.

[Bashi]

Gotcha.

[Melissa Fumero]

Yeah, so he's a New Yorker too.

[Bashi]

Wait, you said you also went to Cancun.

[Melissa Fumero]

Oh, yeah, we also, we went to Cancun and we went to Dominican Republic with this big group and those.

[Sufi]

Are you staying in hotels or renting big houses?

[Melissa Fumero]

We were staying in hotels. Yeah. Yeah, we were staying in hotels and in, in the Dominican Republic. My mom reminded me of this one Time they. The group had rented, like, a. Like, a bus to take us all on, like, a little tour. And I guess there were, like, these two stragglers at the hotel that were, like, looking to join a tour. And the hotel convinced one of the doctors, a part of our group, to let them join. And they were like, no, we don't want to take two strangers. Like, we don't know these guys. Like, we got kids here. Like, we don't. Anyway, they. We ended up taking them and. Exactly. And so the first stop was to these natural pools that were really amazing. I remember there was, like, three of them. There were these three huge circles. They're all rock formed. And we were swimming and jumping, and one of those guys jumped in and, like, sliced his leg and needed stitches. And so then we had to take them to a clinic, which was just a house with, like, two beds. And so the doctors in the group were like, what is this? Like, they can't stitch him up in here. Like, what are we doing? But they did. And, like, someone came out and, like, stitched him up. And then they were like, all right, well, we're gonna figure out and get you back to the hotel because we're gonna keep going on our tour, so bye.

[Sufi]

Oh, gross.

[Bashi]

We went. We were just on vacation, and we got some people suggested this hike to these, like, tide pools. And then we went, and there were all these sea urchins. And, like, right before we got in the water, someone said, hey, just remember those. Like, don't go near those because the sting's really painful. And I immediately was like, well, I'm not going in the water. Then, like, what? There's water everywhere. Why we gotta go in the water with the things? And then my wife was mad. Cause my son immediately said, yeah, I'm not going in either. I'm like, right, of course. And she's like, we hiked all the way here. Why do you have to be such a.

[Narrator]

This was the point of it.

[Bashi]

Now he won't go in.

[Melissa Fumero]

Yeah, I mean, I searched.

[Bashi]

Fault.

[Melissa Fumero]

It's just. It's not your fault. Why are the urchins in there in the tide pools? Why don't they move?

[Sufi]

Yeah, yeah, go. Go out deeper where no one wants to be.

[Melissa Fumero]

Yeah.

[Sufi]

Don't some scuba divers who are covered in those nice thick suits.

[Melissa Fumero]

Yeah, exactly.

[Sufi]

Hey, we're going to take a quick break and hear from some of our sponsors.

[Bashi]

Support comes from quints. Hey, Bashi.

[Sufi]

Yeah, Sufi.

[Bashi]

You know what I dig about Quince?

[Sufi]

What's that?

[Bashi]

Got a big trip Coming up. Not only does quints provide you the clothes you need for the trip, they also provide you the suitcase in which to put those clothes. Sort of like an all in one stop.

[Sufi]

Yeah, one stop. Shop for all your spring travel needs. Really? I've been doing a lot of spring cleaning and getting rid of some things, cleaning out some drawers. And it's nice to get some nice, fresh, new, luxurious items to add to the old wardrobe. And Quince will do just that for you. They've got high quality travel essentials at fair prices.

[Bashi]

Also, Quince only works with factories that use safe, ethical and responsible manufacturing practices and premium fabrics and finishes. I dig that, Pasci.

[Sufi]

Yeah. Also they cut out the middleman and they pass the savings on to us so you can get things that are about 50 to 80% less than similar brands, which, I mean, that works for me.

[Bashi]

I once had a middleman I didn't care for that would cut out the armpits of all my shirts.

[Sufi]

Oh, yeah, he was good. He wasn't good for anyone really. He wasn't good for your reputation and nobody.

[Bashi]

And you know, not to loop back to this luggage thing. Sometimes I have like nice clothes but I got a garbage suitcase and I feel bad putting them in there. Or sometimes I just have a really nice suitcase and I gotta fill it with garbage clothes. This is really nice ball. When it's all quints. Yeah. You know what I mean? Just good all around. Yeah. Hey, for your next trip, treat yourself to the luxe upgrades you deserve from quince. Go to quince.com trips for 365 day returns plus free shipping on your order. That's Q U I N c-e.com trips to get free shipping and 365 day returns. Q-U-I-N-C-E.com trips support comes from Blueland. Hi Pashi.

[Sufi]

Hi Sufi.

[Bashi]

In case you missed it because you're always missing the news.

[Sufi]

Yeah.

[Bashi]

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[Sufi]

It's just so. It's so nice, it's attractive, it smells good, it's clean. I love that it's chemical free.

[Bashi]

It's like you're describing me.

[Sufi]

I don't know about that, but, you know, like, I love their hand soap. You get these little tablets, you drop them in the soap dispenser, pour a little water in there, then it fizzes up, and then you have this beautiful smelling soap. We've got such a wide variety of scents. I had two of these pumps. One. One for our master bathroom and one for the kitchen. And then I had two more places in the house, the downstairs bathroom and the guest room that didn't have them. And I just got two more bottles just because I feel like, why are we toeing the line? Why are we sort of have one foot in Blueland and one foot out? So now we're all the way around.

[Bashi]

Is it safe to say that in regard to Blueland soap in your home, you have pumped up the jams?

[Sufi]

We have definitely pumped up the jams and pumped up the clean hands while we were at it.

[Bashi]

Yeah, Pump up the jams, pump up the clean hands. Blueland products are effective and affordable with refill tablets starting at just $2.25. Celebrate Earth Month and make the switch today. Get 50% off your first order by going to blueland.com trips. You won't want to miss this. Blueland.com trips for 50% off. That's blueland.com trips to get 15% off. So you're. Do you have two, two boys?

[Melissa Fumero]

I have two little boys, yeah.

[Bashi]

Okay. How old are they now?

[Melissa Fumero]

They just turned five and nine.

[Bashi]

Oh, great. So we're varying. My boys are nine and seven.

[Melissa Fumero]

Yes.

[Bashi]

How are they as travelers?

[Melissa Fumero]

They're great. They're great.

[Bashi]

They always been good?

[Melissa Fumero]

No, no, no. I feel like traveling with kids is more like training yourself to deal with it.

[Bashi]

That's a very good experience.

[Melissa Fumero]

And then eventually, like, your kids get better at it. But my older son, we also just. I think because we're actors and then all of our families on the east coast, we've just traveled with them at least a couple times a year since they were babies. And. But my older son would not sleep on planes. He would. And we were those parents with, like, a screaming, crying child very often, like when he would get overtired and refuse to sleep on the plane. And there were a couple times my husband almost got into it with a couple passengers and just like, do you not see us trying to get this baby to stop crying?

[Sufi]

Yeah, yeah.

[Melissa Fumero]

I'm like, I get it if, like, a parent's just, like, sitting there maybe and, like, not doing anything, but we were actively shushing and bouncing and Trying to do all the things and.

[Sufi]

Yeah, what are you supposed to do?

[Bashi]

There is a real. I find one of my favorite things now is, like, if there's a baby in the row, you know, having a hard time near me. And like, sometimes the parents are very apologetic.

[Melissa Fumero]

Yeah.

[Bashi]

It's so nice to be like, dude, been there.

[Melissa Fumero]

Been there.

[Bashi]

The last guy you need to worry about.

[Melissa Fumero]

Yeah. Yeah. Let me try to make some funny faces at your baby and see if it can help. Like, yeah, that is. But now they're brave.

[Sufi]

I've been there. But I also am smart enough to buy a pair of noise canceling headphones, which don't do everything you need them to do, but they do.

[Bashi]

They're pretty helpful.

[Sufi]

Yeah, they're pretty helpful.

[Melissa Fumero]

I mean, that's my beef too. I'm like, it's 20, 25. Everybody's got headphones. You can raise the volume on your little movie that you're watching in your seat. Like, just. Just carry on. Like, this is not the olden days where we didn't have technology on our side. You had to listen to my kids scream like, you have options.

[Sufi]

I'll just put on, like, a rain if I want to sleep. It's like, you know, a white noise thing or just a rainstorm that just runs on a loop. And then I don't. I don't hear anything.

[Melissa Fumero]

Yeah.

[Bashi]

My noise machine is stranger's baby on plane. So for me, I just really. Yeah, I search.

[Sufi]

You search that on Spotify. You're like, strangers baby screaming on planes.

[Bashi]

I remember when we just had our first, and he was maybe one and a half. We were on some plane, and he wanted to look out a window. We'd booked a flight late, and so Alexi and I were both aisle seats in the same row. So we were, you know, we had a gap between us. And the woman next to Alexi was like, you know, because he wanted to look out the window. She goes, you know, I remember when we had a little one. If you want us to hold him. And, like, couldn't even finish the sentence before. Alexi just gave this baby to these strangers and then fell right asleep.

[Melissa Fumero]

Yeah.

[Sufi]

And they loved having it. Yeah.

[Bashi]

I don't know. We were like, see? We'll see a baggage claim.

[Melissa Fumero]

Yeah, yeah. Thank you.

[Bashi]

You got to get them off the plane. If you take them, you got to get them off.

[Melissa Fumero]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm not responsible for that. But what about.

[Bashi]

How did. Did you. Did you and your husband meet, Working on something together?

[Melissa Fumero]

We did. We were. We met on A soap opera. It was my very first job. One life to live up on 66th street at the Armory Building.

[Bashi]

So how old were you? Right out of college?

[Melissa Fumero]

Yeah, right out of college. Like 21. Had just graduated. It was my first job. And then off and on the show. And about a year into my run there, they brought him back for like a three month storyline, and that's when we met and started dating.

[Sufi]

Did your storylines cross?

[Melissa Fumero]

No, we were cousins.

[Bashi]

Okay, gotcha.

[Melissa Fumero]

Yeah, we were part of the Latin family on the show. So, you know, we were. All the Latin actors were related.

[Bashi]

How when you were doing. Pardon my ignorance, but when you do one of those soap operas, how many weeks a year is one of those gigs?

[Melissa Fumero]

It's year round.

[Bashi]

That's what I thought. It's like.

[Melissa Fumero]

Yeah. There's no hiatus. Except for you don't get two weeks.

[Sufi]

Like your dad did.

[Melissa Fumero]

No. Oh, wait, no, we did. We got two weeks vacation and we had to. We just had to put it in and like submit a form and then we get it approved and then you could take your vacation. So we.

[Bashi]

And so you had to submit it long enough ahead for the writing staff to be able to figure out where you would.

[Melissa Fumero]

Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But otherwise. Yeah, otherwise, aside from holidays, it was just. It was year round and it was crazy. And you do a crazy amount of pages every day. We'd shoot six episodes a week. It was insane.

[Bashi]

How many years did you do it?

[Melissa Fumero]

I did it for four and a half years. Wow.

[Sufi]

Wow.

[Melissa Fumero]

Yeah.

[Sufi]

How many takes? It's usually like one take or two takes. Right?

[Melissa Fumero]

One or two. I once watched an actress who couldn't remember her lines do 13 takes. And I remember watching it going, oh, no, she's gonna get fired. And she did. Never. Never saw her again. Like, gone, like the next day gone. Like, they just like rewind.

[Sufi]

You just can't have it, though. Like, the pace of the shooting is like. You can't have it.

[Melissa Fumero]

Yeah, no, it's like jumping on a speeding train and just like trying to hold on until you.

[Bashi]

It must have been such an education.

[Melissa Fumero]

A hundred percent. Yeah.

[Bashi]

Yeah.

[Melissa Fumero]

You. It's. They. It's. It's shot like a multi cam, right? So it's the same setup. So you work with, you know, three to four, sometimes five cameras, but it's all that, you know, very much line blocking and. And it's a big cast, so you learn how to deal with a lot of different personalities. And. And also, like I said. Yeah, because it's just like one or two takes and it's so fast paced. Like, I mean, they don't, they don't really care if the acting's good. You know what I mean? Like, you said the words, story, story, story, story. You said the words, we're moving on. Like. Yeah.

[Bashi]

Were there. Time. Was it. Were you ba. In. Over the course of your four and a half years, how often were you not in an episode? Was it.

[Melissa Fumero]

Oh, pretty often. I, I probably only worked, like, if I. You go through phases where you're in a bigger storyline and maybe you're there five days a week, but I would say the average was like three days a week, more or less.

[Bashi]

So that's not bad.

[Melissa Fumero]

I mean, it wasn't bad. No, it was a cushy schedule. Are you kidding? I was in my early 20s, living in the city, making money. I was having the time of my life.

[Bashi]

That does sound pretty awesome, I will say.

[Melissa Fumero]

Yeah.

[Bashi]

Also, what. And would you shoot in the afternoon?

[Melissa Fumero]

Yeah, I feel, I mean, sometimes our days would go late, but I, I feel like I can't remember it being like a crazy when you were there. It was a long day, but, like, you weren't there every day, so it was fine.

[Sufi]

Was there a lot of camaraderie on the set? Like, would you go out with cast and crew after? If you like, if you wrapped at eight, would it be like, let's go grab a drink over at.

[Melissa Fumero]

Depending on. Depending on who you worked with that day? Sometimes, yeah.

[Sufi]

Big catch, as you said.

[Melissa Fumero]

Yeah, big catch. Yeah. Sometimes it was running for the door. Okay, bye.

[Bashi]

So you, you got your education at a show where you only had one take and you had to memorize multiple pages. Sandberg, the entirety of his time at snl. He's reading a cue card. How much better were you on Brooklyn? 9. 9 @ remembering your lines than Sandberg?

[Melissa Fumero]

Like, I mean, you know the answer, like, so much better, bro. You don't know these yet. Yeah, sure, I'll run lines with you.

[Bashi]

Also, he strikes me as someone who's real particular about each take of his own performance. I bet he was a lot of, you know, guy had a lot of vanity takes from all. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Melissa Fumero]

Can we. Can I get one more? Yeah, yeah.

[Bashi]

Could I. I have a different Doofy face that I haven't.

[Melissa Fumero]

I've got two more faces to make. Just run a quick series real quick.

[Bashi]

Can you get the doofy from this side? And then. That's fantastic. And then have you. Your parents, you mentioned are in Florida now? Do you. Have you taken your kids to visit them? Is that one of your annual trips?

[Melissa Fumero]

Yeah, we go. Yeah, we go every summer, and my husband's family's also in Florida, so we go for like three weeks or a month every summer and kind of split the time between the two families, which is nice because my in laws are in Key Largo in the Keys, so that's very like fishing and boat and sandbars and there's a cute little community pool with, like, a water playground and that my kids love. And then with my parents, it's like beach. Like, we just go to the beach every day and do that kind of stuff and. Yeah, so it's fun. They love it is Key Largo.

[Bashi]

I feel like we went there once. Posh to the Keys.

[Sufi]

Yeah, we. I. I remember we stayed on Duck Key.

[Melissa Fumero]

Oh, yeah. Yeah. That's when I like.

[Bashi]

I just remember the traffic. Like, that was one of the real traffic vacations.

[Melissa Fumero]

Yeah, you. Yeah, you gotta time it right. Yeah. If it's. We try not to drive in or out around a holiday ever. And then. Yeah. Like, we kind of confer with the. The family that lives down there about what times are good, but usually. Yeah, early morning is usually better because.

[Bashi]

It'S sort of like a one way in, one way out situation, right?

[Melissa Fumero]

Well, yeah, it's like the Seven Mile Bridge is just like one lane each way. So if that's traffic, you are screwed.

[Bashi]

Yeah.

[Melissa Fumero]

Yeah. You're gonna be there forever.

[Sufi]

I'm really proud of you, sue, for realizing it was one way in, one way out on the Florida Keys.

[Bashi]

I'm kind of like a map guy.

[Melissa Fumero]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Bashi]

Kind of like an. An amateur geographer.

[Melissa Fumero]

Yeah.

[Sufi]

And are your kids good with, like, a full day on the beach if it's with your parents?

[Melissa Fumero]

Yeah, they are. They. They seem to find things to do it. They. The beach that we go to with my parents has, like, great shells. So that's like a. That'll take up a good hour or so is filling a bucket with shells that then I have to hide and, you know, figure out how I'm getting home. We have so many freaking shells in our house.

[Bashi]

It is so fun. The amount of times I will put my hand into my pocket and I'll. There'll be three acorns that a kid gave to me and said, save these. And then I realized it's been a month and I don't have to save them anymore. But I still. That moment where I throw the acorns in the garbage. I am panicking that tonight's the night my son Axel's Gonna be like, do you have those acorns?

[Melissa Fumero]

Oh, yeah. There's still, like, a box in. In their little playroom that's just full of rocks from when Enzo was, like, 4 and 5 and just was caught. And they're all. They're ugly rocks. They're not even pretty rocks. They're just all, like, gray.

[Bashi]

Hey, eye of the beholder.

[Melissa Fumero]

What? Yeah.

[Sufi]

Yeah. Seth. Seth's son Axel did make for my wife and I after our wedding, these two little, like, sort of cutouts, but they're decorated with, like, some sort of lace and, like, some yarn for hair. And we have the one that is my wife, and we can't find the one that is me. Here's my wife right here.

[Melissa Fumero]

Oh, my goodness.

[Sufi]

Yeah. That's beautiful. But Axel has asked me. He's like, oh, he's asked to see this. And then he's also like, where's yours? I'm like, oh, it's around here somewhere.

[Melissa Fumero]

You brought it to the office? It's at your office?

[Sufi]

Oh, yeah, it's at the office. He knows I don't have an office.

[Melissa Fumero]

I don't think I realized, Seth, that your son's name is also Axel. My younger son's name is Axel.

[Sufi]

You've got an Axel as well.

[Bashi]

That's fantastic. Will Ferrell also has an ax Axel.

[Melissa Fumero]

Oh, really?

[Bashi]

Yeah, there's. And I feel like there's a. There's at least one other. It's a very hot name for celebrities, children.

[Melissa Fumero]

Amazing. I didn't even realize I.

[Bashi]

Did you. I have to ask. Whose idea was Axel, you or your husband?

[Melissa Fumero]

So we were really stuck on the second name when I was pregnant. And so we had a list, and we were, like, looking at all these names, and then my husband said, well, let's look up the meaning of each name. And when we got to Axel, the meaning is father of peace. And my older son is like a literal tornado. And my husband quickly was like, that's it. That's what we need. That's what we need in this house. That's the name.

[Bashi]

I guess we have a different spelling because our Axel is an agent of chaos. Yeah.

[Sufi]

I would not describe him as father of peace.

[Bashi]

He did have. I feel so bad for my oldest. Ash made. So my wife's birthday's April 1st, and so they each made her cards based on the fact that it's April fool's day. And so my son Ash, who's older, it said the front said, you're the worst mom in the world. And then she opened it up and it said, april Fools, you're the best. Honestly, Axel's card is so. It's. He's got the most unique sense of humor. The front just said, when is your birthday? And then she opened it and it said, april Fools. It's like it. Like it does. It both. Doesn't make any sense and perfect sense. And I felt so bad for Ash because she laughed so much harder at that one. Really good, though.

[Melissa Fumero]

It really good. Just needed to work.

[Bashi]

I was not. It was Alexi's idea for Axel, and I was so not sold. And. And yet it's the. I love it so much as a name.

[Melissa Fumero]

Yeah, it's a great name. Although, have you noticed when Axel was, like, a toddler, that it's a hard name for other toddlers to say and what it sounds like when they yell his name across the playground.

[Sufi]

And then your kid's like, that's me.

[Bashi]

That's me.

[Melissa Fumero]

Yes, you called.

[Bashi]

I mean, the other problem is my other son's name is Ash, so it's just. It's just. It's just Ass and Asshole. Oh, look who's at the park. Now it's Ass and his brother. Oh, is his brother better? No, his brother's an asshole.

[Sufi]

Do you. Do you have any memories of the Cancun trip? Any specifics from that guy?

[Melissa Fumero]

The Cancun trip? Let me look at my notes real quick.

[Sufi]

I will say I really appreciate that you. I'm flattered that you called your mother to discuss this. That also warms my heart that you had a conversation with your mother specifically in preparation for this.

[Bashi]

And I just. I'm. Now I. You know. Although it does, like, kind of is a burn on your mom that you were like. And then I told him the first time you were drunk.

[Melissa Fumero]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Bashi]

Thanks for your, like, the phone call. She's like, hey, leave out the shower story.

[Melissa Fumero]

I don't remember. No. Oh. The only thing she said about Cancun was it was the first time I had my own room with two of the other girls. I was, like, about 10 years old, and that was a very big deal. And I feel like I have a memory of my brother getting in trouble for sneaking out with another teenage boy and going to, like, one of those foam parties at a club. And then, like, he totally got caught. And when he got caught, he was just, like, covered in foam and, like, probably drunk. And I remember he got in big trouble. And. Yeah, that was all I remember from the Cancun trip.

[Bashi]

Real good. I mean, get covered in foam. It's really Funny to pretend like you weren't at a party and then just come home covered in foam. You're like, no, I was in a car wash.

[Melissa Fumero]

I was here. I was here. I just went for a walk around the hotel property.

[Bashi]

This is very exciting, by the way, to have you back on NBC and Grosse Pointe Garden Society.

[Melissa Fumero]

Thanks. It's nice. It's nice to, like, get to keep working with the familiar faces.

[Bashi]

I know, right? And, like, again, just a big old cash show, which are the most fun things to be a part of.

[Melissa Fumero]

Yeah, it really is. It's such a good group of people. I've been having so much fun with it and. And I do. I've learned that I really love the ensemble dynamics of just storytelling and shows and getting to bounce off a lot of different people, and it's just. It's so fun. We're having a great time. We wrapped this Friday.

[Bashi]

Oh, nice.

[Melissa Fumero]

Yeah. And it's been a really great run, and it's a fun show. I'm really proud of it.

[Sufi]

And that's Atlanta, isn't it? Aren't you down there?

[Melissa Fumero]

We're in Atlanta, yeah.

[Sufi]

Yeah. How's that? Have you sort of gone out to explore what's around Atlanta, or are you just working?

[Melissa Fumero]

I mean, I'm mostly just working, and then I've been flying home when I can, so I haven't done too much exploring. But I will say I've never been to Atlanta, and I've never worked here. It's a beautiful city. It's really green. There's, like, parks everywhere, and the food is amazing.

[Bashi]

Oh, that's good.

[Melissa Fumero]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. If you guys are ever down here, I'll give you my restaurant list. It's like every meal I've had has been incredible. So that's like, one fun thing we've done is just, like, do a lot of cast dinners and try different restaurants, and it's been really fun. But, yeah, it's a dope place.

[Bashi]

So if you were on One Life to Live and thought that Melissa just never went to cast dinners, she does. It was you. If you never went to dinner with her, it was. Cause you. It was because you couldn't get it done in one take. And she wasn't gonna, I mean, waste your dinner on somebody who couldn't one take it. It's so lovely to see you and talk to you. As always, it has been too long. And before we let you go, Josh is gonna ask you the questions we asked. Ask all of our guests.

[Melissa Fumero]

Okay.

[Sufi]

Okay, here we go. You can only pick one of these. Is your ideal vacation relaxing, adventurous, or educational?

[Melissa Fumero]

Oh, relaxing.

[Sufi]

Great. What is your favorite means of transportation?

[Melissa Fumero]

Oh, I mean, I wish I could teleport everywhere.

[Bashi]

Oh, that's great.

[Melissa Fumero]

Yeah, no, we're gonna let you have that one. Great.

[Sufi]

You know, I think someone else has said teleport. Yeah, I think we've had one other guest who said teleport.

[Bashi]

So I like that. When you say teleporting, you basically are completely disavowing the old adage of, like, it's the journey, not the destination. Like, if you're a teleporter person, you're like, no, it's the destination.

[Melissa Fumero]

No, no, it's the destination. Yeah. Like, yeah, fuck the journey. No, it's the destination.

[Sufi]

If you could take a vacation with any family, alive or dead, real or fictional, other than your own family, what family would you like to take a vacation with?

[Melissa Fumero]

Oh, gosh, that's a fun one. Let's go on vacation with the Starks from Game of Thrones.

[Bashi]

Seems like that's really putting your life in your hands. I know when you're with the stars, you're like. You're not. Like, there's not, like, every other person trying to kill you guys, Right? Right.

[Sufi]

Like, not when you're on vacation.

[Melissa Fumero]

Yeah. We're looking for some thrills, you guys. You know, we're looking for some of those hottest.

[Bashi]

Who do you think is the hottest star?

[Melissa Fumero]

The hottest Stark? I mean. Yeah, it's. It's Jon Snow, right?

[Bashi]

Great, Great. Love it. Is a bastard that handsome. He's a handsome bastard, and I'm using a bastard in that. His.

[Melissa Fumero]

He was. Yeah, he was a bastard. And he was a handsome one at that.

[Sufi]

If you had to be stranded on a desert island with one member of your family, who would it be?

[Melissa Fumero]

Oh, that's an evil question.

[Bashi]

Yeah.

[Melissa Fumero]

Mm. My dog.

[Bashi]

Great.

[Sufi]

Okay.

[Bashi]

That's an evil answer.

[Sufi]

You are from Lyndhurst.

[Melissa Fumero]

Yes.

[Sufi]

New Jersey.

[Melissa Fumero]

Yes.

[Sufi]

Would you recommend Lyndhurst as a vacation destination?

[Melissa Fumero]

Probably not. No, not really. We got a great diner. We do have a great diner. Lyndhurst Diner.

[Bashi]

We've got a lot of places, too.

[Sufi]

What diner is it. Is it the Lyndhurst Diner?

[Melissa Fumero]

The Lyndhurst Diner. Just real straightforward and. Yeah, and it's. That's great.

[Sufi]

Okay.

[Melissa Fumero]

Otherwise.

[Sufi]

And then Seth has our final questions.

[Bashi]

Melissa, have you been to the Grand Canyon?

[Melissa Fumero]

Yes.

[Bashi]

Is it worth it?

[Melissa Fumero]

Yes.

[Bashi]

Who'd you go with?

[Melissa Fumero]

My husband and our dog. It was when we moved from New York to la. We drove, and that was one of our stops.

[Sufi]

Were you a little mad your husband was there and it wasn't just you and your dog like, that desert island?

[Bashi]

I feel like that's a very good, like, early in a relationship trip, a trip to the Grand Canyon. I feel like that, like, I think if you can get through that, I think you're good to go.

[Melissa Fumero]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It was also, like, a quick stop. So we didn't, like super do the Grand Canyon, but it was enough to see it. It's amazing.

[Bashi]

Yeah. This became a. A far softer endorsement of the Grand Canyon the more we talked about it. And you're like, I mean, we didn't stop. We drove back.

[Melissa Fumero]

I mean, we didn't. We didn't, like, hike it or anything.

[Sufi]

Maybe it wasn't the Grand Canyon.

[Melissa Fumero]

Yeah, yeah. I mean, but it was beautiful. We were like, look at this. This is amazing. Our minds are blown. All right, where are we getting dinner?

[Sufi]

Yeah.

[Bashi]

It is always so lovely to see you. Thanks so much for making the time for us today.

[Melissa Fumero]

Oh, likewise. So good to see you guys. Thanks for having me.

[Sufi]

Thank you.

[Bashi]

All right. Bye, Melissa.

[Melissa Fumero]

Bye.

[Sufi]

Bye.

[Narrator]

Stories to Cheryl on Lancy and Arrow trips with the fam of Melissa Fumero. Melissa says she grew up in New Jersey on weekends drove to Queens and her dad had locked the doors when they got into the city and the family would gather kick it at Auntie D she was small but her hugs had big intensity Tiny lady with massive squeezing so tight Cut off all your breathing by the end come out of it wheezing woman would nearly break your Royal Caribbean Took a trip out on the ocean Melissa flexed and crushed it at the talent show and she was all aglow and fell off the stage didn't see where she was going Was the only time she took a cruisin she found the whole damn thing so amusin'but also confusing Was the first time she saw her mother boozing on a cruise Always half the hour probably hitting those whiskey sours so tipsy they put her in the shower hopefully she skipped the clam chowder Grandpa and grandma may.

[Bashi]

Live down in Miami Fun party dad.

[Narrator]

Says the beach is his office.