The One With Gary Janetti and Brad Goreski

Summary

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For Love and Chocolate

Episode: The One With Gary Janetti and Brad Goreski

Hosts: Tommy & Tara Gallop ("Mr. and Mrs. Truffles")
Guests: Gary Janetti & Brad Goreski
Release Date: August 19, 2025

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Episode Overview

This sweet and intimate episode of For Love and Chocolate centers on enduring relationships and the unique love story of acclaimed writer-producer Gary Janetti and celebrated fashion stylist Brad Goreski. Hosts Tommy and Tara Gallop set the stage with a sentimental tribute to family romance, before welcoming Gary and Brad—partners of 23 years—to recount their serendipitous meeting, the evolution of their love, and how they have shaped and championed one another's dreams.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

Sentimental Opening: Love Stories Through Generations

• Hosts reflect on family legacies of love, setting a tone of nostalgia and reverence for enduring partnerships.
• Mr. Truffles shares a moving letter his mother wrote about her 50-year marriage:

  "What started as a simple date turned into a beautiful quilt of life... When you've had love in your life and you're surrounded by love, that's a happy ending." (Mr. Truffles reading Susu's letter, 03:27 - 05:44)

• Musical interlude: A heartfelt rendition of "It Had to Be You" in honor of Mr. Truffles's parents' love story. (06:52 - 10:32)

Introduction of Gary Janetti & Brad Goreski

• Tommy and Tara express excitement and share brief professional backgrounds for both guests. (10:44 - 12:18)

The First Meeting: Mykonos, 2001

How they met:

• Brad, freshly sober, was living in Athens and visiting Mykonos for the weekend; Gary was there spontaneously with a friend.
• Their first interaction happened at Nikos Taverna, where Gary offered Brad a dessert (with chocolate, fittingly), which Brad declined.

  "I was walking through Nikos Taverna, and Gary was sitting there with his friend Sal... Gary offered me a bite of his dessert. I believe I declined." (Brad, 16:03 - 16:50)

• Fate intervened through mutual friends; their immediate chemistry led to dancing and a first kiss at a local club.
• Gary was instantly drawn to Brad:

  "As soon as I saw him... My eye caught Brad instantly. And I said to my friend, who's that? I want to meet him." (Gary, 17:46 - 18:15)

• The first night together led to Brad moving his suitcase to Gary’s hotel, and an impromptu extended getaway.
• Brad shared:

  "I had a really weird feeling I’m gonna meet the person I’m gonna spend the rest of my life with." (Brad, 21:05)

[Timestamp: 13:23 – 22:40]

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Navigating a Fast-Track Romance

• After Mykonos, Gary returned to LA and Brad to Athens, but within days Brad traveled to LA (his first time in the city) to see Gary.
• Early challenges included distance (Brad lived in Canada), a major age difference (Gary 11 years Brad’s senior), and Brad’s sobriety and career uncertainty.

  "It shouldn't have worked. Everything about it shouldn't have worked." (Gary, 26:32)

• Legal complications (border crossings, visas) made things “real world” challenging and stressful, but the couple persevered.

  "There were a lot of obstacles against us, which he was always very chill about." (Brad, 29:26 - 29:58)

[Timestamp: 22:23 – 31:18]

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The Importance of Independence & Building Separate Lives

• Gary stressed that, for the relationship to last, Brad needed his own independent life and career—not to be just part of Gary’s world.

  "If this is gonna work out, you need to have your own independent life." (Gary, recalling early advice to Brad, 32:06)

• Brad initially found this daunting, seeking a more classic rom-com entwining of selves:

  "Independent life is not what I signed up for. I signed up for you complete me." (Brad, 32:41)

• In hindsight, both see this as a turning point that allowed them both to flourish together and as individuals.

[Timestamp: 31:18 – 34:28]

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Mutual Support and Championing Each Other

• Gary highlights the necessity of supporting your partner’s dreams:

  "I'm also Brad's biggest fan. I mean, I should be the person who wants him to succeed more than anybody else."

• Brad credits Gary for encouraging him to pursue a Vogue internship—his first big break in fashion.

  "He was always by my side, helping me to achieve my dreams." (Brad, 33:59 - 34:28)

• Later, Brad encourages Gary to embrace Instagram, which leads to newfound success and multiple book deals for Gary.

  "Had I not listened to him, I think there's a very conceivable that I would have never written three books in five years." (Gary, 41:46)

• Both emphasize the joy in witnessing the other grow and thrive:

  "I think it's just the way that he loves me is by watching me and— we do for each other— is like watching each other achieve their dreams and being the person there going, like, how can I help you to get there?" (Brad, 39:54)

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Marriage, Family, and Legacy

Engagement & Wedding

• Proposal took place in Mykonos at the hotel where they first met; Gary bought the ring locally and proposed on one knee.

  "If you’re doing the bit, do the bit. You know what I mean? Don’t do it halfway." (Gary, 42:47)

• They have a small wedding on a cruise ship with immediate family, celebrating both their love and the generations that made gay marriage possible:

  "I kind of got married for them, you know, it was a way to honor that and for what people had worked so hard for." (Gary, 43:36)

[Timestamp: 42:09 – 44:27]

Family Centrality

• Both stress the value of family—Sunday calls to Gary’s parents, sharing travel and experiences with each other’s families, and fostering ties even through difficult times.

  "Family is so important to both of us... I think watching Gary, who has not missed a phone call to his parents on a Sunday in the 23 years that I've known him..." (Brad, 45:11)

• Brad describes how Gary’s support helped him maintain a complicated but ultimately rewarding relationship with his own father:

  "My dad and I are doing great right now. It's just a beautiful miracle that the two of us are aware..." (Brad, 46:54)

[Timestamp: 45:11 – 47:05]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On writing the new book:

  "I've never written a love letter to Brad. And until this book." (Gary, 13:36)

• On the moment of knowing:

  "I knew the first night... There was love there the first night." (Gary, 23:19 - 24:05)

• On behind-the-scenes support:

  "It also wasn't just him saying, you need to find yourself. It was him saying, I want to hold your hand while you find yourself." (Mrs. Truffles, 52:26)

• On true partnership:

  "You are each other's wind beneath each other's wings." (Mr. Truffles, 52:44)

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Gifts and Closing

Romantic Weekend in a Bag (48:00):

• Swiss chocolates, scented candles, Judy Garland perfume, Tara’s handmade white chocolate body butter.

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Reflections from the Hosts

On Gary and Brad’s connection:

• "Not only a deep love, but a really deep appreciation, you know?" (Mrs. Truffles, 51:40)
• Their story affirms how love is serendipitous yet flourishes through intentional support, growth, and the celebration of each other’s uniqueness.

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Key Timestamps

• Gallop Family Love Letter: 03:27 – 05:44
• Gary & Brad’s First Meeting: 13:23 – 22:40
• Navigating Distance & Challenges: 22:40 – 31:18
• Building Independent Lives: 31:18 – 34:28
• Supporting Each Other’s Careers: 33:59 – 41:46
• Engagement & Family: 42:09 – 45:11
• Family Relationships: 45:11 – 47:05
• Romantic Weekend in a Bag (Gifts): 47:53 – 49:20
• Host Reflections: 50:44 – 52:44

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Tone and Language

The conversation is open, witty, and heartfelt—balancing humor (and a little irreverence) with vulnerability and warmth. The hosts create a cozy, inviting atmosphere, inviting listeners to savor not just stories, but the emotions and lessons that flow through them.

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Summary for New Listeners

This episode is a heartwarming and insightful exploration of how chance, vulnerability, generosity, and sustained effort nourish lasting love. Gary Janetti and Brad Goreski’s story is both singular—full of glamour, travel, and pop culture—and universal, grounded in mutual respect, encouragement, and family ties. Their reflections on supporting one another’s ambitions and maintaining independence within a deep relationship offer timeless wisdom and inspiration, wrapped in a tone as sweet and authentic as the Swiss chocolate signature to the show.

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Transcript

[Mr. Truffles]

From deep in the heart of Beverly Hills, you found For Love and chocolate with Mr. And Mrs. Truffles.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Oh, it's good to be back in the studio.

[Mr. Truffles]

Love is in the air, Mrs. Truffles.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Oh, indeed. Welcome back to season two of For Love and Chocolate.

[Mr. Truffles]

Yeah, we. We hope everyone had an incredible summer. We had just the most delightful, delicious summer, didn't we?

[Mrs. Truffles]

Oh, we did. And we had adventures in mobile podcasting.

[Mr. Truffles]

We did.

[Mrs. Truffles]

That was kind of hit or miss.

[Mr. Truffles]

I don't know if any. Anyone was able to listen to Postcards from the Road, but the adventures were recorded for your listening enjoyment.

[Mrs. Truffles]

It was fun, and it was fun to do.

[Mr. Truffles]

Yeah, it was.

[Mrs. Truffles]

It was kind of a little experiment, and I think that it's really great to like. I mean, one of my favorite parts about doing the Postcards from the Road was actually taking a moment to reflect every few days of our journey, on our journey in real time.

[Mr. Truffles]

That's right. The good, the bad, and the ugly.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Yeah, it was. It was quite a journey. It was very romantic. And of course, August is a romantic month for us too, because that is the month we got married. We celebrated four years.

[Mr. Truffles]

That's right. Yeah.

[Mrs. Truffles]

And we did get to visit our friend who married us on our trip.

[Mr. Truffles]

Yes. In Santa Cruz, Touched down Jesus.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Our good friend Devin, who got ordained.

[Mr. Truffles]

Yeah.

[Mrs. Truffles]

And it's a very special day for us. August 8th.

[Mr. Truffles]

It is.

[Mrs. Truffles]

And it falls the day before. A very special day in your family.

[Mr. Truffles]

Yeah. That would have been my mom and Dad's anniversary on August 9th. And this past August 9th would have been 65 years.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Wow.

[Mr. Truffles]

Yeah.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Well, I just love the stories about how sweet and romantic they were.

[Mr. Truffles]

Oh, yeah. They loved each other deeply. I mean, from. From the moment they met. I mean, he really. Dad took care of her. They were known as Papa and Susu to their nine grandchildren. And, man, they loved each other. And it really. I think it really just like a river of love coming down to. To their kids. We just felt it, like, every day. You know, he just. He honored her so much, and. And she just adored him, you know, with every sandwich that. That she made, with every hug, with every kiss. You know, they took these. These beautiful trips to Europe together. They had date night. He was bringing her flowers. He was always thinking about her. And, you know, both of their faces and their eyes would just light up when they saw each other, even if they'd just been away from each other for an hour.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Oh, well, Mr. Truffles.

[Mr. Truffles]

Yes.

[Mrs. Truffles]

I think. You know what time it is?

[Mr. Truffles]

Is it time? I think so, okay, here we go.

[Singer]

Cinnamon. Sentimental. Ooh, I'm going on a sentimental journey.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Well, there's a beautiful letter on the Gallup family thread that one of your sisters recently shared.

[Mr. Truffles]

Yeah, she did. This was a letter that my mother wrote about her love affair with my dad, who they were about to celebrate their 50th anniversary. Sadly, she was in hospice, and she wrote this letter about a week and a half before she passed away, and she wrote it to all of her grandchildren. And it's called Susu and Pawpaw's 50th anniversary love story. And it goes something like this. Sometimes love sneaks up on you, and other times it hits you over the head like a ton of bricks. For me and your pawpaw, it was like drinking a big cup of hot chocolate overflowing with whipped cream and marshmallows on a cold winter night. Some things feel wrong. This just felt right. He was tall and handsome. I must say, I wasn't so bad looking myself. What was evident from the start was that we were a perfect fit. From our sense of humor to our views on family education in the world. He had me at hello, kids. Your pawpaw was a hunk. What started as a simple date turned into a beautiful quilt of life with various patterns representing all that life has brought to us, from our wedding on August 9, 1959, to the birth of our children, your parents, to summer vacations and college trips, all the way to their weddings and the births of all of you. Today represents those 50 years and the life that we created together. Each story has created a new chapter, and the ultimate book reads like a fairy tale. When you've had love in your life and you're surrounded by love, that's a happy ending. Each one of you is so special. Papa and I love all of you and hope that you all find the love that we found and shared for all of these years with all our love. Susu and Pawpaw. That was easy.

[Singer]

Oh, wow.

[Mr. Truffles]

I've never read that out loud, but I feel all the feels. You know, their love is just coming through so, so strong, you know, and their. You know, the way they met was kind of a chance meeting on the campus of Washington University in St. Louis. And my mom was wearing just like big, big Hollywood style sunglasses. And my dad looked at his buddy and saw her and said, who's Greta Garbo over there?

[Mrs. Truffles]

We asked your sister Betsy what she knew about their first date, and she said there was a new Frank Sinatra album out and that they danced to it on the first date.

[Mr. Truffles]

Yeah. And so I think in honor of them and their love, I think I'd like to lay down a little Sinatra for them.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Ah, well, this is for you, Papa and Susu.

[Mr. Truffles]

Yeah, guys, this is for you.

[Singer]

Why do I do just as you say? Why must I just give you your way? Why do I sigh? Why don't I try to forget? It must have been that something lovers call fate Kept me saying I have to wait I saw them all Just couldn't fall Till we met it has.

[Mr. Truffles]

It had to be you.

[Singer]

It had to be you I wandered around and finally found the somebody who could make me be true and make me be blue and even be glad Just to be sad Thinking of you Some others I've seen Might never be mean Might never be cross or try to be boss but they wouldn't do for nobody else gave me a thrill with all your your faults I love you still it had to be you Wonderful you It had to be you for nobody else gave me a thrill with all your faults I love you still it had to be you Wonderful you It had to be you.

[Mrs. Truffles]

So sweet, so romantic.

[Mr. Truffles]

Yeah. Sinatra, really, he knows how to sing a song, doesn't he?

[Mrs. Truffles]

Yeah. Your parents fell in love listening to Sinatra. It's so sweet.

[Mr. Truffles]

It really is.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Well, we have an amazing sweet couple coming on today, also. Just very passionate for each other and.

[Mr. Truffles]

Very romantic and very accomplished, these two.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Oh, yeah.

[Mr. Truffles]

Oh, my God. I mean, in their own fields, they have hit the highest highs, you know, and. And without further ado, it's Gary Jannetti and Brad Goreski. And if you don't know them, you will. Gary Jannetti is the bestselling author of do you mind if I cancel? Start without me. And of course, the one that we're going to be talking about, we are experiencing a slight delay. He's a writer and producer, a family guy. Will and Grace, Vicious and the Prince. And Brad Goreski. His husband is a Canadian American celebrity fashion stylist and Tele. In 2015, he joined fashion Police as a co host. And since 2021, he has been one of the regular judges on Canada's Drag Race. And we could not be more excited to sit down with them and hear their love story, which we will do when we come back on for love and chocolate. For over 40 years, Toy Shore has been a staple in the Beverly Hills community. Like so many other families in the community, our family has had a long standing love affair with Toyscher chocolates. Over the years, we form traditions and Memories around these extraordinary Swiss chocolates and the enchanting wonderland of fantasy truffle boxes inside our store. Today, our family is proud to be carrying on the toy shoe tradition in Beverly Hills.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Okay, well, welcome back.

[Mr. Truffles]

Yes. Welcome back.

[Mrs. Truffles]

We are here, here, Gary.

[Mr. Truffles]

We're giddy. We're giddy. We're giddy. I don't know if it's because, you know, we've read Gary's book, and it's so funny. It's so fantastic. But I'm. But I'm kind of fanboying out a little bit. I'm a little bit excited to have these guys on our show, and, you know, by virtue of their smiles, I think they're excited to be here. Welcome to the show.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Welcome.

[Brad Goreski]

Thank you.

[Gary Janetti]

Thanks for having us, guys.

[Mr. Truffles]

And if I may, I mean, Gary and I have actually known each other.

[Gary Janetti]

Yes.

[Mr. Truffles]

For the better part of 25 years.

[Gary Janetti]

Yeah.

[Mr. Truffles]

Although I don't know if we've spoken much until recently.

[Gary Janetti]

No, we haven't since Will and Grace ended 18. Over 18 years ago.

[Mr. Truffles]

Oh, my God. Isn't that crazy?

[Gary Janetti]

Yeah.

[Mr. Truffles]

But welcome to the show, guys. So we're gonna just launch into. Into what is the love that is.

[Gary Janetti]

We've never done a podcast like this before, have we, Brad?

[Brad Goreski]

No.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Well, I'm so glad you're here doing this one with us today. And so let's get right to it. How did you two first meet for the very first time?

[Gary Janetti]

Well, yeah, it's so funny because I literally just wrote a book. We are experiencing a slight delay, and it's just July 9th out, and in it for the very first time, I actually talk about how we met, and I.

[Brad Goreski]

The book comes out on July 9th, and on July 2nd, we celebrate 23 years.

[Gary Janetti]

Yeah, 23 years together. When I started to write the book, which is ostensibly about travel, I didn't know it was. So much of it actually was. To me, the book is about, you know, my relationship with Brad is the spine of it. It is. And I never intended. It wasn't like, this is what I'm gonna write about. I just tried to be thoughtful and honest. I just tried to be honest. You know, I'm like. Or else what's the point in doing something if you're just glib all the time? You know, you don't really. You know, you're keeping a wall up between yourself and people. So. I had no intention of writing a book. My relationship with Brad was going to be so much a part of. It kind of just happened, and I didn't really Even know it until I was done with it. I was like, this book is basically, I've never written. You know, it's funny I'll say it here because I thought it since, but I've never written a love letter to Brad. And until this book. And I was like, that's so good.

[Brad Goreski]

I was away working with a client, and Gary finally gave me. I'm only allowed to read or know anything about the books when they're in, like, basically their final form. Like, he doesn't tell me really anything about it.

[Gary Janetti]

Anybody to read it as I go.

[Brad Goreski]

So I finished the book. I was perfectly poolside at the Hotel du Cob, which is very us, And I finished the book there. I was sitting there thinking how many people get to experience their partner who they love a lot, who is a brilliant writer, to write a love story about them, to tell their story to the world. It really hit me, like, hard. Like, wow. Said to my client who I was with, I was, this is a love story to me that my husband is sharing through his brilliant eyes and through his words about us. And I was like, how crazy is that? That is something that's so. Like, who gets to experience that in their lifetime? And I communicated this to him. I was like, it's so beautiful to experience how you see me through your words. I hope people will read the book and. And love it because it just struck me and in, like, such a deep.

[Gary Janetti]

Place where I was actually, as I was writing it, I was talking to Brad in the other room because I was forgetting certain details of it or because we never really kind of picked it apart, like, what's your memory of this versus my memory of it? And then I kind of wrote it exactly like that when I wrote it. So. So that, you know, I wrote the book about how we met. So why don't you, Brad, your words of how we met.

[Brad Goreski]

Well, we met in Mykonos.

[Mr. Truffles]

So romantic.

[Gary Janetti]

I know.

[Brad Goreski]

In 2001, I was there on a weekend trip. I was living in Athens for a summer, trying to get work as a model guy I had met on the airplane, who was Greek and spoke Greek, who helped me make my way through the Greek airport. He and I stayed in touch and hung out in Athens. And he was like, let's go to Mykonos for the weekend. I was like, okay. And on my last night there, like, literally the last hours before I was supposed to go back to Athens to continue not getting any modeling jobs, I was walking down a street in Mykonos. I was walking through Nikos Taverna, and Gary was sitting there with his friend Sal. The Nikos Taverna is still there, and the seating's still exactly the same, but there are, like, two. I think there are two raised tables that you can sit at.

[Gary Janetti]

Yeah, well, you're kind of above the street just a little bit, and it's so busy in the summer, and it was on a busy passageway, so thousands of people are going by.

[Brad Goreski]

I was walking down that path, and my friend had met Sal on the beach, I guess, a few days before, and they recognized each other and said hello. I didn't know that he knew him. And I was just kind of standing back, and I wasn't scrolling on my phone because there were no phones. So I was just, like, kind of looking around. Gary offered me a bite of his dessert. I believe I declined.

[Gary Janetti]

Yeah.

[Mrs. Truffles]

What was the dessert, do you remember?

[Gary Janetti]

Probably something sticky, because it was grease.

[Mr. Truffles]

Chocolate.

[Gary Janetti]

Oh, with chocolate.

[Brad Goreski]

Okay.

[Gary Janetti]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Brad Goreski]

And then he started telling me about his nieces visiting, and then he started talking about Destiny's Child, because Survivor was a big song that summer. He asked me what I was doing in Greece, and I told him I was there. Modeling, of course, because that would just be, like, the ultimate way to snag a guy. And then the next thing I knew, we were at a dance club, dancing on the dance floor and making out.

[Gary Janetti]

Clocked him before he clocked me. I saw him.

[Mrs. Truffles]

So there was immediate magic.

[Gary Janetti]

Yeah. When I saw. As soon as I saw him, and there was literally, you know, I mean, I've said this before, but it's true. You know, hundreds of people going by, and my eye caught Brad instantly. And I said to my friend, who's that? I want to meet him. And he said, weirdly, I was talking with the guy he's walking with earlier today. So that was happening on my side. Before we knew it, they were walking by the table, and Sal said. Those two said hello to each other, and I was left with Brad. And I was like, oh, my God, this is fantastic. Yeah.

[Mr. Truffles]

Do you want some dessert?

[Gary Janetti]

Yeah. And I was. I guess I offered him dessert. He was a little standoffish at first, but I was like, oh, this guy's trying to be, you know, too cool for school a little bit, because I was being super friendly.

[Brad Goreski]

23.

[Gary Janetti]

Yeah. In about two minutes, he dropped that complete facade, you know, because he's Canadian, so they can only keep that up so long because they're all genuinely nice people. And he became his authentic self, like, so quickly. He was very disarming. Like, it was Almost like you realized quickly you could trust to me I'm going to be myself.

[Mr. Truffles]

Let down his armor immediately.

[Gary Janetti]

Immediately. Almost immediately. Yeah. It's not a big armor, but.

[Mr. Truffles]

So can you paint? Paint Mykonos. This 2001?

[Gary Janetti]

Yes, 2001.

[Mr. Truffles]

Mykonos. Summer 2001 was it like the epicenter of everything fabulous.

[Brad Goreski]

The big note is there were no phones and no iPads, so everybody that was on the island, you're kind of present.

[Gary Janetti]

It's also not. It's not a big druggie island like Ibiza. People aren't like, so like. Yeah, people aren't so up that you can't connect with people. So people kind of, you know, drink a little. But it's not like people are dancing for 48 hours and on drugs. And it almost has a charming kind of old. Don't you think? It's more of a charming kind of an old, you know, an old school kind of way. It was local bars.

[Brad Goreski]

I come out and get into it cuz I'm sober, so I don't really.

[Gary Janetti]

Know what people are doing. Yeah.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Were you sober then as well?

[Brad Goreski]

Yeah, he was freshly sober.

[Gary Janetti]

I didn't know.

[Mr. Truffles]

Mykonos.

[Gary Janetti]

Yeah. And I didn't know he was freshly.

[Brad Goreski]

Sober, like three months.

[Gary Janetti]

Because he didn't tell me.

[Mr. Truffles]

He didn't tell you?

[Gary Janetti]

No. I mean, there was no reason to tell at the time, but I didn't know. He said he didn't drink and I didn't really think. I was like, okay, he wasn't a big deal. It still is a place where it felt kind of small town. There are only a couple of bars after you're there for two days, you recognize all the same faces, people are friendlier. And it has this charming kind of sexy vibe of.

[Brad Goreski]

But it was also like everybody there was. It was almost like a summer camp kind of feeling.

[Gary Janetti]

Like totally gay summer camp.

[Brad Goreski]

It was like a summer camp feeling. But like, I remember being out dancing at Pierros, which no longer exists, but was kind of like the heartbeat of nightlife on the island. I was on the dance floor, like dancing with Alexander McQueen and like Jean Paul Gaultier was there and like, you know, as somebody who loved fashion, I was, oh, my God, I can't believe these people are here in real life.

[Mr. Truffles]

Like the Studio 4 of the new millennium, kind of.

[Brad Goreski]

Yeah. Everything was on. Everybody was on the same schedule of like, what time you woke up, what time you got to the beach, then you watch sunset, then you like unwind, then you go to dinner, then everybody goes to Piero. So it was this movement of people. Constantly the same people through the day.

[Gary Janetti]

Was kind of movement.

[Brad Goreski]

And it was so beautiful there.

[Gary Janetti]

Yeah. And it's perfect. And you're so far from everything, and so it kind of feels idyllic. And very Summer romance. Yeah.

[Brad Goreski]

Never been to Europe before on my own.

[Mrs. Truffles]

That was your first trip in Europe?

[Brad Goreski]

Yeah.

[Gary Janetti]

Wow.

[Mrs. Truffles]

You didn't know that you would fall madly in love?

[Brad Goreski]

Well, the funny thing is, I had this friend, Esther, who was from London. We got lost all the time going to model castings, and we just decided that we would have fun together. I remember leaving for Mykonos, and I was like, I have a really weird feeling I'm gonna meet the person I'm gonna spend the rest of my life with.

[Mr. Truffles]

You told her that? Yeah.

[Brad Goreski]

You knew. You felt that when I ended up meeting him. And then what happened after is we met and we spent the night together. I woke up the next morning and he was like, go get your stuff and just come and stay with me. And I was like, okay. So I, like, rolled my gigantic suitcase over to his hotel and.

[Gary Janetti]

What's all this?

[Brad Goreski]

I literally brought everything I owned.

[Singer]

It's his baggage.

[Gary Janetti]

Yeah.

[Brad Goreski]

Literally my baggage. So we ended up spending three more days in Mykonos together.

[Gary Janetti]

About. No, I think about four. Four days.

[Brad Goreski]

And then we went to Santorini after.

[Gary Janetti]

We got to get to know each other.

[Brad Goreski]

So when I finally went back to the modeling hotel that I was staying at, I remember Esther coming, running out, and she was like, you met him, didn't you? And I was like, I did. She was like, ah. Everybody was so happy for me. I had literally disappeared for a week. Like, the modeling agency couldn't get a hold of me because I didn't. Yeah.

[Gary Janetti]

Because I was like, don't go back. Just stay with me and we'll travel together. And I went back to la and Brad stayed in Greece, and we made plans. We were gonna see each other later in the summer. We emailed each other, and we both kind of missed each other. And I came home, I believe, on a Sunday. You flew out that Thursday.

[Brad Goreski]

We're also talking on the phone, too.

[Gary Janetti]

Yeah. And I was like, do you wanna come to la? So we were parked five days after the trip, and then he flew to la. I thought it was a summer romance. We decided to just take it one day at a time and see where it went.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Were you already living in la, Bradley?

[Gary Janetti]

No, he lived in Canada. He'd never been to LA before. And I had just moved into a house that was going to be My bachelor pad. I'm 11 years older than Brad, so I was at a very different place in my life than he was at the time.

[Brad Goreski]

So you usually say 10. I like that you said 11.

[Gary Janetti]

Thank you. I gave up after 20 something years. I'm giving you that year back, Brad. That's like a gift I'm giving you. I always say 10, but it is 11.

[Mr. Truffles]

Five days. You were together?

[Gary Janetti]

Yeah, we spent a week together, basically.

[Mr. Truffles]

Were you always thinking about each other?

[Gary Janetti]

I was thinking about him more than I'd ever thought about anybody in my life before. It wasn't an obsession.

[Mr. Truffles]

No, but it was real.

[Gary Janetti]

But it was real.

[Mr. Truffles]

That was something that you wanted to explore.

[Gary Janetti]

Correct.

[Mrs. Truffles]

When did you first know that you were in love?

[Brad Goreski]

You remember, it was the night of that party.

[Gary Janetti]

Yeah, yeah, I know after the party. I did. It was the first time I said it. We had a party at our house. Well, it was my house at the time, because you were, you know, you'd only been there a few weeks.

[Brad Goreski]

I had my gigantic suitcase and he.

[Gary Janetti]

Didn'T know anybody in la. And I invited all my. You know, I had a big party and it was kind of like, meet Brad. It was really a super, super fun party. After the party, I told him, I remember, I said, I think I'm falling in love with you. But even though I knew I was in love with him, and then. The truth is, I knew. The trip in Greece, you did know right away. I'm gonna say I'm even gonna go further back. I knew the first night. Wow. I didn't know, but now I know. You know, I wouldn't have articulated that. Cause that's insane. So obviously it becomes deeper and stuff. But let's. But there was love there the first night.

[Mrs. Truffles]

I felt like. We hear a lot in these interviews from people who just strangely, like, these are people married 20, 30 years. How they change.

[Gary Janetti]

Just knew, like, I knew. Can I tell you, though? I knew when I saw him and I never felt that way. I did when I saw him. I was drawn to him out of everybody. It was. I honed right in on him.

[Mrs. Truffles]

You threw the party.

[Gary Janetti]

They had a party. And it was like.

[Brad Goreski]

It was definitely like a mix and mingle for me to kind of see.

[Gary Janetti]

Yeah, right.

[Brad Goreski]

Yes. Which was fine. Like, it was. It was a beautiful. It was a gorgeous party.

[Gary Janetti]

And we had so much fun. Which is weird because I know. So much fun. And I hate throwing parties. Like, we haven't had one in so many years.

[Mrs. Truffles]

So from that point, that was really good. So you said I love you.

[Gary Janetti]

That night I did. I said, I think I'm falling in love with you. I know. That's exactly what I said. Wow.

[Mrs. Truffles]

And how did you respond to that?

[Brad Goreski]

Good.

[Gary Janetti]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Mrs. Truffles]

So you were all in already?

[Gary Janetti]

Yeah, it was.

[Brad Goreski]

But I think youth is also part of it. And just everything being. My whole life changed so quickly once I got on that plane. Just internally about. I remember I was also just thinking about my. I used to work at a Greek restaurant, and I was always fixated on going to Greece. Like, it was a big dream of mine. So, like, to achieve for myself, getting a plane ticket, having, like, a place to go and then maybe having job opportunities. Seeing this place I'd only dreamed of going, it was like everything just felt possible.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Yeah.

[Brad Goreski]

I believe that my purpose for being there that summer was to meet him. I just do. Like, I didn't get one modeling job. I was not the look that they were looking for at all that summer. And it was fine because I was having fun with Esther, and I was bunking with the. This lovely guy, Fernando, from Portugal, who didn't really speak any English, so I was teaching him English. I was newly sober. I had honestly just gotten out of a relationship. It was actually probably like, November of 2000. And then we tried to get back together in April of 2001, and it was a disaster. I was just so ready for newness everywhere. Getting away from my surroundings was so therapeutic for me. I've been sober ever since as well. I celebrated 23 years on May 3rd. I remember getting off of the plane in Athens, having not traveled to Europe before or been anywhere on my own, and being like, I will not take a drink or a drug on this trip ever. I just won't do it. And then when I met him, I feel the same way. I kind of knew on the first night. And we talk about this still. Him being in la, me being in Canada, us meeting together on my last night in Mykonos, literally.

[Gary Janetti]

And it shouldn't have worked. And everything about it shouldn't have worked. I mean, look, we were in completely different places in our life. You were definitely somebody that shouldn't have been going into. One would think, on paper, shouldn't be going into a real relationship again. You should have been taking time, finding myself, the age you're at where you are in your sobriety, having just come out of a relationship. I was 11 years older, working as a writer in LA, living in LA. We'd lived in separate countries, and I didn't want somebody whose whole life Necessarily was gonna be a part of my life. I wanted somebody with an independent career and a life. And so it felt like it completely shouldn't have worked.

[Brad Goreski]

Well, there were so many things stacked against us.

[Gary Janetti]

Yeah. And the fact that I even went to Mykonos also was super rare because usually, as you know, Tommy, in that time of year, in the summer, is usually when you go back to work. Our hiatuses are typically in the spring. So July, I was. I had always been working. I'd never been off in July, but I was working on a pilot where they hadn't made a decision on it yet. So I had a meeting, I think, like July 10th or something like that. And I ended up with, like, two weeks off between it. And I was like, I'm not gonna just sit home waiting for this thing. I'm gonna go to Greece. I'm gonna say it was as late as two days before he left, I called my friend Sal and I was like, sal, do you want to go to Greece with me on Saturday? Gone together after college, and I hadn't been back since. The funny thing was, when I went then when I was like, 22, I thought something, you know, exciting would happen. And nothing did because, you know, so this was so last minute. So people couldn't track you on Instagram or text you, where are you? So you really could disappear.

[Mr. Truffles]

Yeah.

[Gary Janetti]

You tell a few people, right, I'm gone until this date. I'll see you then. And then everybody else, they don't even know you were there. So you also could have an experience. Unlike Instagram, where people are so fixated on letting everybody know where they are, it's kind of the opposite of what it was. Right. You would go to escape and have a whole, whole new life. I can be somebody else. I can have this experience. And that's what's so wonderful about that time was, but I shouldn't have been there. It was completely last minute and random that I would have been there. So there's even more randomness to us meeting, compounded by the fact that we shouldn't have worked together at certainly at that time in our lives. It's almost stranger to me now, looking back on it.

[Mr. Truffles]

Well, certainly you weren't going thinking, I'm gonna find my soulmate. Two weeks, I'm gonna find him. Two week escape.

[Gary Janetti]

Not even two weeks. I was gone for. It was like nine days.

[Brad Goreski]

Yeah, it was fun. I had met these two lovely women on the beach at a beach club with my friend Tony, who was the guy that Gary's Friend Sal knew from the beach. She ended up traveling with us. Her name was Vasula. She was so great and always topless. She was also just like so earthy and just wonderful and so. Just so excited watching this unfold with us. We had such a nice time with her. Like, there was such a nice cast of characters around us.

[Gary Janetti]

Yeah. It was really that we kind of.

[Brad Goreski]

Then coming here and falling in love. I was like, how do we maintain this? How do. How does this continue?

[Mrs. Truffles]

How do we. Right. So how long before you made the decision to immigrate?

[Brad Goreski]

I mean, it was pretty soon after we called my family when I first got to la and my poor mom. My mom had just really been through it with me with my using and my drinking and so calling her from LA and being like, hey, Mom, I'm in la. And she was. Was like, why are you in la? And I was like, I've met someone. She. I heard her physically gasp. Like she was kind of like passing out almost. My sister came down to visit just to make sure everything was okay. There were a lot of obstacles against us, which he was always very chill about.

[Mr. Truffles]

Yeah.

[Gary Janetti]

I was like, it'll work itself out.

[Brad Goreski]

It'll work out. It'll work out. And I'm like, yeah, but like, when I go across the border and they ask me why I'm. You know, I got flagged into the white room and like all kinds of stuff happened. It was like, scary.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Let's go to the white room.

[Brad Goreski]

The white room is where they take you. Yeah. When they. You have to do like secondary screening. And it's very terrifying.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Seem threatening to interpolate.

[Brad Goreski]

Well, I didn't have a return ticket.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Oh.

[Brad Goreski]

And I didn't know that at the time that that was giving a red flag. And this was. This was August of 2001, before 9, 11. He went My every. Everything in my bag. Pulled out cards, like went through my address book. Book looking for stuff. Yeah, it was pretty light. But he let me go in the end.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Did he violate your person, like searching you?

[Brad Goreski]

No.

[Mr. Truffles]

No. I wish.

[Brad Goreski]

He was actually cute. I remember him being cute.

[Gary Janetti]

I love America. Yeah. But we, you know, we took it as it came. We figured it out. Brad went to school, student visa and that.

[Brad Goreski]

Yeah. I mean, we. We took it as it came. But like, I had to build an entire life, which I didn't kind of compute when we met. Cause I just wanted to be with him now. Looking back on it, it was tough. Cause I had nobody aside from him here until I started going to meetings here. And then I had my own community of people.

[Mrs. Truffles]

That's a tough dynamic. It is when someone is the only person you have. It doesn't usually work. It usually is too much pressure on both sides.

[Gary Janetti]

It does. That's a lot of pressure on both people. You're right. And there was one moment, only one. It was that same summer, though, and I was with Sal, the same person I was with when we met, because obviously he knew the whole history. And we were having breakfast together. I thought, I don't know if I should let this continue, because, you know, I was worried about Brad. Because he's young. He has to discover who he is. He has to find his career. He has to have his own life. I don't want him to just be in the shadow of my life. Like, taking it all. Like, it felt like too much pressure. Like you were saying on me, if I am so much to him, if I'm everything and I do break up with him, in a few years, it'll be that much more awful. So maybe I should. I should just rip the band aid off now before we get in too deep.

[Brad Goreski]

But you expressed that to me. You said. And I remember you saying to me, if this is gonna work out, you need to have your own independent life. And at 23 years old, somebody who was, like, raised on, like, 80s comedies and, like, 90s rom coms, it was like. I was like, what do you mean? We're supposed to be intertwined together forever, like, not let each other out of their sight. I'm like, independent life is not what I signed up for. I signed up for you. Complete me. In that moment, I rem. Remember feeling so devastated. My perception of it was that he was pulling away. And I was like, oh, this is. This is not good. This is like, this is bad.

[Mr. Truffles]

And it wasn't a test. He really wanted you to have an independent.

[Brad Goreski]

He was having an adult conversation with somebody who didn't really have the tools at that point to kind of process adult relationship information. But I think now, looking back, it was the most important thing we've done in our relationship. And I think the most like it. Like, thank God he said that early on, because it also really lit a fire under my ass to get out of the house in the Hollywood Hills and start meeting people and build my life and figure out what my future looked like.

[Gary Janetti]

So I think part of what I was doing maybe was kind of opening his eyes earlier than mine had been open. Mine didn't open until they were 28. You know, I was still a Bellman when I was 28. So I'm actually having this conversation with him. Maybe you were 24 at the time. His birthday's in the summer. And Brad really, you know, he took the note, find your passion. You need to be able to figure it out. What. And then how do I turn that into a career? And then how do I turn that into a successful career? With that, you create. Create your own life. That's what he did. He was always interested in fashion, and that was something that I encouraged. And I just was like, hey, I kind of notice you get excited when you talk about this. You're very knowledgeable about this subject. This is clearly something you're passionate about. Follow that. That's always been my feeling. Like, whatever it is you're most interested in, most excited about, go towards that. That's what Brad did.

[Brad Goreski]

I think the difference also is instead of having somebody that was thinking that and saying, figure it out. You know, like, go, yeah, okay, if that's what you want to do. Figure, like, Gary was literally always by my side, helping me to achieve my dreams, always by my side, me thinking that I could never get an internship at Vogue. And he said to me, well, where do you want to intern? And I was like, well, Vogue is number one. He's like, we'll start there. Always start at your number one thing and work your way down. And I was like, okay. And I got an internship at Vogue.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Like, they have classes here.

[Brad Goreski]

I went to New York.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Oh, you did go to New York?

[Brad Goreski]

I went to New York and I had the full Anna Wintour experience. And again, like, it was that thing where he was like, you'll just go for the summer and live your dreams and figure it out. It was crazy.

[Gary Janetti]

He took. It's not like it happened overnight, but he. He.

[Brad Goreski]

But I had to. I also had to go back to school so that I could get a visa to stay here.

[Gary Janetti]

And it ended up working right, which.

[Brad Goreski]

Actually ended up being the perfect thing for me because I had been through college in Canada, but I had also been using all through college and put on academic probation.

[Gary Janetti]

And it was an acting.

[Brad Goreski]

It was an acting college. And so going back to school here and doing it sober and doing it with, you know, so. So principles was that I always sat at the front of the class. I always asked questions when I needed help. I always added to in the class and graduated with honors. There was a one point at one of my internships where actually two places offered me jobs before I finished school. There was one that I wanted to Take. And Gary was like, absolutely not. Like, you have to finish your degree. Like you have to finish. You'll regret it for the rest of your life. And I'm so glad that I finished it because I was already kind of a mature student in airplane quotes. Cuz I was 27 years old and graduating from college and you know, everybody was so much younger than me. But I had my group of girlfriends and it was like, it was. I learned so much at school and I had. I mean, again, it was like the stuff I used to watch in movies all the. And then me like driving to usc, I was like. When I went to. When I was in theater school in Canada, we went to school in flannel pajama pants, a hoodie and a parka. And that was it. And then I'm getting to USC and like the girls all have their hair blown out and their nails done and outfits and designs. I'm like, this is clueless. I've been clueless. Like it's.

[Mrs. Truffles]

So I'm with Elle woods here.

[Brad Goreski]

Yeah. It was so wild.

[Gary Janetti]

And that was your moment in time to actually have that experience. Because as soon as, you know, it ended you.

[Brad Goreski]

Yeah. Right out of college. I started like right into my career.

[Gary Janetti]

And then working and then it was funny and well, you know how it is too. There was so much of like when like Brad had been with me everywhere. Parties like when you're the person that's the more.

[Brad Goreski]

I was the sitcom wife.

[Gary Janetti]

Yeah. But I was the part the person that had the career that the outside world might see as this, that people who care about things like that would pay more attention to. So therefore I'm always in the position of saying, you remember Brad? Even though years have gone by and Brad's everywhere. Cause Brad was just my handsome partner to other people. Meanwhile, years go by and we're together and suddenly Brad gets a job with Rachel Zoe as her assistant. And he becomes on her reality show on Bravo, the Rachel Zoe Project, which became a big pop culture moment. And Brad was the breakout star on the show. And it all happened kind of overnight. So I started going into meetings and show, you know, was airing, this was before streaming. Obviously people would be like, oh my God, Gary, get in here. Your boyfriend is Brad. Oh my God. The people would come in for. And I was like, what's happening? I would come home and I would tell Brad. I'm like, Brad. And it was fun at the beginning. And then I was like, okay, enough. I'm like, what's happening? I would have to get Brad on the phone. I'd be like, can we get. Can we talk to Brad? And I'm like, you've met Brad before, by the way. You didn't care about. Yeah, it was so funny to have this kind of shift. I used to say it was like, a gay star is born. It was like suddenly. It was like, suddenly, Brad.

[Brad Goreski]

I was like, you want me to go after my passion? I'll go after my passion, dear.

[Gary Janetti]

Now you're getting the reservation, you know? But it was so funny, and I was so proud of him. And then the world, you know, the world, you know, people watching Bravo, but was, you know, not an insignificant amount of pop culture. He changed the way, you know, people dressed in bow ties at that period of time because of Brad, you know, he influenced fashion, which was so funny, you know? And we recently rew the show for the very first time since it aired 17 years ago, because it's on Peacock. And it was so sweet to see this and to go through this period of time again. But for me, I don't know if I ever articulated it like this. It was like everybody else was getting to see what I knew, and I was literally how I felt. I was like, you're gonna love him the way I love him. You see, now you're falling in love with him, and it's like, yes, you're seeing him through my eyes. In a way, you're getting to know him. I was right. Like, his light was so big. That night I saw him in Greece for the first time. I literally would describe it as a light. This is even right after we met. So it wasn't like, you know, once he became a celebrity, that's how I saw him. He had this light around him. And when it happened in a way so unexpected and organic and weird how life unfolds. And I was like, they're seeing the light. They're seeing anyway.

[Mr. Truffles]

That's because you are each other's.

[Gary Janetti]

Yeah, that's what I actually thought. I was like, they're seeing the light that I saw. And it made me so happy. And I still feel that way all these years later. It was like watching that show again. I was like, kind of like falling in love with you in a weird other way. Because it was taking me back. I reminded myself, don't take the other person for granted. Don't take this thing for granted, this living thing that has been in your house. Have to nurture it, take care of it, and remember, don't neglect it. And it reminded me of just how much we've been through and we've gone through and how much I love you. And to see that again, it just made me feel like, oh, never take a moment. Moment of this for granted. So, anyway, that's what. That's what is.

[Brad Goreski]

Oh, I love you, too.

[Mr. Truffles]

God, you're getting teary. You're.

[Gary Janetti]

I mean, if I'm not getting teary. Yeah, I am getting teary. But if I. If. You know what? If I. If I can't get teary over talking about Brad, then, you know, I mean.

[Brad Goreski]

You know, there's still moments now where, because of him being such a champion of me and in a way, of us, of course, there are just, like, there's still moments, like recently where I just look around and I'm like, holy crap. Like, how am I here? You know, like, how do I get to be in this thing? I think it's unusual. And I also. I think it's just the way that he loves me is by watching me and we do for each other is like watching each other achieve their dreams and being the person there going, like, how can I help you to get there?

[Gary Janetti]

Yeah, exactly.

[Brad Goreski]

It's really.

[Gary Janetti]

It's helping each other succeed. I'm also Brad's, you know, biggest fan. I mean, I should be the person who wants him to succeed more than anybody else. And. And success can be defined in many different ways. Yeah. We've always been there for each other. When people don't support what somebody else wants to do, I'm like, that's always trouble. It's like, you have. Do you want to be in the plus column or the minus column? So I look like, are you adding or are you subtracting? We need to add to each other's lives. You know, how do I help facilitate that in a way? Even if it's just by emotional support meant just supporting and being there for the other person there. You know, championing them works both ways. Because years ago, Brad was the one who was like, you should go on Instagram. And I didn't want to. He's like, you would do well on Instagram. You would be a hit. You would be great at Instagram, I promise you. And I'm like, ugh, it feels like so much work. I don't want to be bothered. But he was kind of like, just do it. I'm telling you, just do it. Do your thing. Do it on Instagram. And I did. And then I connected on it in a big way. And suddenly I became viral on Instagram and the Prince George memes and through that, I actually got book contract to write books. Like, it opened up all these other doors, doors that would not have opened without it. Brad saw that before I did, you know, and had I not listened to him, I think there's a very conceivable that I would have never written three books in five years.

[Mr. Truffles]

What I'm loving so much about all.

[Gary Janetti]

Of this is that it sounded so like I had three books, and, like.

[Mr. Truffles]

I was, like, really that out of the way, baby. What I'm feeling and hearing and seeing with you two is there is such a deep love and foundation, but you guys are both so much your authentic selves. You can go away and come back and be in love and trust and just have the biggest, best lives together. Right.

[Mrs. Truffles]

And let's talk about. So once marriage became possible for you guys, was that immediately exciting to you?

[Gary Janetti]

As soon as it became legal, it was like, I think, you know, we didn't need it.

[Mrs. Truffles]

So how did the engagement go down?

[Gary Janetti]

Like, I proposed in Mykonos.

[Mrs. Truffles]

You took him to Mykonos?

[Gary Janetti]

We'd gone many times back. We went back to Mykonos, and I got a ring at a local jeweler in Greece, and I. I proposed there.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Did you know when you. When you guys made the trip that you were going to propose there?

[Gary Janetti]

I think I did, yeah.

[Brad Goreski]

He proposed at the hotel that we met at, basically.

[Gary Janetti]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Oh, wow. So were you completely surprised or did you.

[Brad Goreski]

I was. I had no idea.

[Mrs. Truffles]

How did it go down? Tell us the. The details.

[Gary Janetti]

It wasn't that, you know, I mean, it wasn't that precious, to be honest. I got a ring, and then I. I did get down on my knee, because, you know, why not? If you're doing the bit, do the bit. You know what I mean? Don't do it halfway. That was it. And then we didn't get married for. Till years. After engaged for, like, three years, we still. Again, we're married, so it didn't feel like we were in any kind of rush after I proposed, but we knew we were gonna get married, and so we just woke up.

[Brad Goreski]

We ended up married for our families.

[Gary Janetti]

And to have the experience.

[Mr. Truffles]

Was it a big wedding?

[Gary Janetti]

No, no, it was small. We got married on a cruise ship by the captain, and just with my mom and dad, my sister, her husband, my two nieces, Dad's mother, her partner, and his sister.

[Mr. Truffles]

The cruise was all about the wedding? Yes.

[Gary Janetti]

It was over Christmas and New Year's too. So we were gone for two weeks.

[Brad Goreski]

It was not.

[Gary Janetti]

We all went together.

[Brad Goreski]

We did it over Christmas, though, so that the cruise wouldn't. About the wedding.

[Gary Janetti]

Yeah. So we.

[Brad Goreski]

So that it was about, like, us being together for the holidays and there.

[Gary Janetti]

Was a wedding and our two families bringing them together for an extended period of time, which we'd never spent because, you know, I'm from New York, Brad's from Canada, we live in la. Getting married, I think I didn't feel like we needed to, but it also felt like so many people had worked so hard and done so much. The gay people had worked and sacrificed and suffered and who didn't get to get married and who wanted to and got. Didn't get to visit their loved ones in the hospital, who, when their partner died, were denied everything that they owned together in their homes that were disowned by their families and were left alone. I think I kind of got married for them, you know, it was a way to honor that and for what people had worked so hard for. And it's to say, I am going to. You know, I want to honor that by now. Getting married to the person that, you know, is my partner, that I love.

[Brad Goreski]

That's how I felt the night that it was announced. Weren't we at a table. Table with like, five, like, generations?

[Gary Janetti]

Yeah, we were. It was. We were at a gay. It was. It was Gay Pride in New York and. And we were there with Ian McKellen and Derek Jacoby, who were the honorees of the Gay Pride parade in New York. So it was a very celebrating.

[Brad Goreski]

And me and you. And it was all different generations.

[Gary Janetti]

Yeah. 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, right up there. So it was kind of beautiful. Kind of see that all crystallize in a celebratory way.

[Mrs. Truffles]

The arc of justice moving forward. Yeah. That's amazing. So the wedding was on the cruise, so that was kind of the honeymoon too, correct?

[Gary Janetti]

Yeah, it was just fun.

[Brad Goreski]

We took a honeymoon too, though.

[Gary Janetti]

Yeah. We'll take any opportunity for training, like some grand. You know, you always have to have another trip, you know, cooking.

[Brad Goreski]

But the. But the other thing that is important to know is that family is so important to both of us. And I think watching Gary, who has not missed a phone call to his parents on a Sunday in the 23 years that I've known him, no matter where we are in the world, there's either a text to explain why the call won't be happening. It's usually logistical, like a time zone or wherever we are in the world, but he always makes the phone call. Always. There's always a phone call to John And Felicia. And it's happened every single Sunday basically since we've been together. And watching that has made me happy, I think like a better son and a better brother. And he has helped me so much with doing with my family because we've gone on so many trips together now. And I try to create things and experiences for my family that we can all do together. That I think has been my way, especially towards my mom, allowing my mom to kind of get to experience some of the things I get to experience. And it's been getting to share that with our families. Yeah, it's been really nice, you know.

[Gary Janetti]

Even just such a gift.

[Brad Goreski]

We spent. Spent Christmas together at his parents house. It's just nice, you know, to like. I grew up watching a lot of theater and I was doing a lot of theater and my parents would get us tickets and take us to the big shows in Toronto. And now I get to bring my mom to New York and take her to Broadway. And getting to do those memorable things I think has really come from watching Gary and how important family is and had a very complicated, complicated relationship with my. And Gary has always been in the corner helping me try to stay in what's important, which is the connection with my dad.

[Mrs. Truffles]

It's amazing.

[Brad Goreski]

And we're. My dad and I are doing great right now. It's just a beautiful miracle that the two of us are aware, my dad and I, that the right thing was to not walk away from each other.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Right.

[Brad Goreski]

Being able to experience him now, I think I would have been really missing out on something. And Gary's heard me so many times say this is it. Like I'm not doing it anymore. He's always listened and then helped me kind of keep the door open. And I'm so grateful for that.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Well, it is amazing to hear how you have both just helped each other to be your most amazing selves. Like apart you would have both been amazing. But together, like definitely.

[Brad Goreski]

So I would have been a little less amazing.

[Gary Janetti]

Ditto. Me too.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Yes. So much more than I sum total as they say.

[Gary Janetti]

Thank you.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Yeah, that's beautiful.

[Gary Janetti]

Thanks so much.

[Mr. Truffles]

You clearly elevate each other.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Well, thank you so much for sharing your beautiful.

[Gary Janetti]

Thank you for having us. It was a real pleasure. We actually talked about stuff with you guys that we've never talked about before. Truly.

[Mrs. Truffles]

We have one little portion of the program to get to before we let you go.

[Mr. Truffles]

Yes, we do.

[Mrs. Truffles]

And we call this a romantic weekend in a bag. And it's just a big red tor bag full of all kinds of beautiful gifts for you.

[Mr. Truffles]

Very cute.

[Gary Janetti]

We love gifts. That's so nice. Thank you so much.

[Mrs. Truffles]

So in honor of your book, I put in a box of Teut air chocolates, which is little cute old timey airplanes. And there's a little box of chocolate cars too. There's a couple of little characters in there. Or you could just say those are like the toysher Village people. There's a cowboy and a golfer.

[Brad Goreski]

He's always at like, like 9 o'.

[Mr. Truffles]

Clock.

[Brad Goreski]

He gets up and like goes looking.

[Gary Janetti]

For a little bit of chocolate.

[Mr. Truffles]

Truffles made with Dom Perignon.

[Mrs. Truffles]

That's our signature truffles.

[Gary Janetti]

How chic. Thank you.

[Brad Goreski]

That is luxurious.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Yeah, that's the cowboy. He's got chocolates inside.

[Brad Goreski]

He's got a, like a chocolate leg.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Yes, he does.

[Gary Janetti]

He's got chocolate.

[Brad Goreski]

That's so great.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Yes. Scented candles. And then this is the Judy Garland fragrance. And you may not want to wear it. You could just use it as a room spray. But that is to commemorate Judy Garland. It's actually made with the Judy Garland Rose Rose. And it's fantastic.

[Gary Janetti]

No surprise there. Yeah.

[Mrs. Truffles]

And then one more thing.

[Gary Janetti]

Happy to have.

[Mrs. Truffles]

That is my love and chocolate body butter. This I make myself. And it is, it is extraordinary. I mean, it's so pure you could actually eat it. The ingredients are all food grade. It is the most amazing stuff for your skin that you will ever have. It's actually mostly made with white chocolate.

[Gary Janetti]

Oh, fabulous. All right, thank you for not sticky.

[Brad Goreski]

That is so nice. Thank you so much.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Thank you guys so much for joining us.

[Gary Janetti]

Thanks guys. This was an absolute pleasure.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Thank you. Appreciate you.

[Mr. Truffles]

I'm glad you guys did it. Well, we'll be right back with more for Lovin Chocolate. This podcast is being brought to you by Beverly Hills Toyshare Chocolates of Switzerland. Beverly Hills Toyshare at 371 North Camden Drive in Beverly Hills has been serving up truffles, pralines, dipped fruits, marzipans, and our world famous chocolate chocolate bars for over 40 years. So next time you're in Beverly Hills, why don't you come by and visit or shop [e-mail] you know what might.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Be my favorite shop in the whole world? The Cheese Store of Beverly Hills. Since 1967, the Cheese Store of Beverly Hills has been the premier destination for people who love gourmet food, wines, cheeses and epicurean delights from all around the world. And all. All in the charm and simplicity of an old world shop, which continues to this day. In their gorgeous new location at 9705 South Santa Monica Boulevard, where the De Bartolommeo family carries on the tradition in their beautiful new store. Well, wasn't that fun? They were amazing.

[Mr. Truffles]

They were as. As build. Fantastic.

[Mrs. Truffles]

And I love. I love the serendipitousness.

[Mr. Truffles]

The serendipity. The serendipity, yes.

[Mrs. Truffles]

It's like, we hear this a lot, don't we? Yeah, it's just the miraculous. The sliding doors.

[Mr. Truffles]

Yeah. I mean, the chance of them actually seeing each other for the first time on that hot summer day in Mykonos. Right.

[Mrs. Truffles]

And just knowing. They both just knew.

[Mr. Truffles]

Just walking in this crowded, you know, this. This tiny little cobblestone street with all of these shops and restaurants and cafes and the fact that they caught each other's eyes and knew at that moment. I don't know what this is, but it's good.

[Mrs. Truffles]

It was written in the stars. And just what an amazing journey they had of just supporting each other and loving each other in a way that they really. I mean, it's.

[Gary Janetti]

Know what?

[Mrs. Truffles]

I don't really. I don't mean to, like, totally, like, get gooey, ooey gooey over these two guys, but let me just say we haven't had a lot of couples in here that just had so much appreciation for each other. That's the thing that I really got from them is just this. Not only a deep love, but a really deep appreciation, you know?

[Mr. Truffles]

You know the moment where Gary had basically said to Brad, I think you've got to find your own way, and kind of willing to lose him, knowing that, you know, he loved him so much, but if he couldn't. If Brad wasn't going to find his own way, they couldn't really have a whole life together, you know? And it was kind of this risk of, I just need you to find yourself, and Brad just taking on saying, wow, I'm scared.

[Mrs. Truffles]

But it also wasn't just him saying, you need to find yourself. It was him saying, I want to hold your hand while you find yourself, you know, and that. That was the thing that really struck me just how deeply they're connected and how they have used that connection to just become their most brilliant selves.

[Mr. Truffles]

Yeah. They're really the wind beneath each other's wings.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Really something.

[Mr. Truffles]

Yeah. Well, we're so glad that they were able to join us, and we're so glad that you joined us. And guess what? We're gonna do it again next week. But until then, say goodbye, Mrs. Ch. Truffles.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Aw, goodbye, Mrs. Truffles.

[Mr. Truffles]

This show is brought to you by Beverly Hills Toyshore Chocolates of Switzerland, home of the world's first and finest champagne truffles. Join us next week for more adventures in everlasting love.