I’M MARRIED: Storytime and Your Sign Not To Settle (Courtney Reum & Maggie Sellers Reum)

0:03In case you missed it, you're allowed to be hot, smart, and rich. so let's get into it.

0:14Courtney James Ream, are you ready to get Hot Smut Rich? So ready. So let's get into it. Wait, I wanted to say it. Do it again. We can do it again. You start again. Courtney James Ream, are you ready to get Hot Smut Rich? Totally. So let's get into it. Is that your favorite thing that I say? Yeah, that's, as you know, I say that most mornings when we wake up after our mandatory five minute cuddle. So let's get into it. So I'm probably more nervous for this episode than our actual wedding day. My heart is beating so fast. And I think I figured out why. Because I have my shoes off. You don't want my toes to get caught on camera.

0:48But yes, because our entire relationship, you have put me into my feminine and like you do lead our family. And this morning you just said, lead me. And it's such a weird position to be in because I feel like for the first time in my life so safe and so happy. And because I know no matter what risk I'm taking, you're there to catch me. And so with this episode, it's like I'm leading and that's a very different dynamic for our relationship. But let's just start here. How does it feel to be married? It feels very good. Do you like wearing a ring? I do. I've gotten used to it very quickly and it feels great.

1:26I mean, it feels amazing. I guess you all, you never know what it feels like till you're in it. But for me, it's felt so blissful, so great, but also like just so easy and comfortable and not like, oh my gosh, now we're married. It's like, we've just like stepped into and kept going. Yeah. It's like truly the best feeling in the world. I don't know if it feels like that for you, but for me, it does feel different. And I hear a lot of the time people are like, it doesn't, it didn't really change anything. We already lived together. We already acted like we were married, but I think for me, just the actual process of getting married made it so real.

2:01And so for me, it does feel different. Does it feel different for you? Yeah. I mean, you know, your dad said it like when I, when we kind of talked to him to get his permission, he was like, it'll change you. And I think like anything, I'm not sure if I even know exactly how it's changed me, but the, the act, the ritual, making the vows in front of all of our close family, closest family, like, yeah, I think you have to feel differently. So the last time you feel differently day to day. Yes and no. Like on a day to day basis, it does feel different for me, but I think it's because it's been so recent.

2:36Maybe that will wear off, but at least right now it feels different day to day. The most different thing for me is people will be, I'll be like my girlfriend. I mean, sorry, fiance. I'm like wife. And they're like, wait, which is it? There's a big difference. I was like, sorry, it's new. But yes, we hadn't really told people she was my fiance. So we've just jumped to wife. But other than that, I think that feels the most different. I think that's the way where we differ because I just love saying my husband. I never once I'm like, even though I've caught you since we've been married, calling me your boyfriend and fiance, but you're better at it than I do it only occasionally, but I'm still like my wife.

3:08And then we feel like we do the Borat impersonation. And then even remember, I tried to say it normally like my wife. And then when they did it, someone else like did the Borat impersonation. Do I just sound like Borat saying my wife? My wife, Maggie Sellers-Reen. Do you like my new name? I love it. It flows. It flows really nice. It's nice to have a two syllable. Your parents were smart in that when you go by Maggie, I always liked two syllables, first name with a one syllable last name. Oh, I like that. Okay. So we need to take people back to the beginning because all people saw was you were on my podcast last as my boyfriend at the beginning of this year.

3:43That feels like so long ago. So long ago. Is that like our third, your third episode? Well, so this is your third episode that you're coming on. This is my third episode, but didn't I come on your third episode? We try and do everything in threes. Yeah, I think so. Everything in threes. So I think people were a little confused. We just put out a vlog of the 30 days leading up to the wedding, but we had been planning the wedding for a long time before that. I don't know if I'd say a long time, but for a time. In normal wedding standards, Definitely not a long time. According to the wedding industry, as you tried to find a dress and all the other details, despite the fact that it was on a Thursday.

4:17Yeah. It wasn't a long time for them, but okay. It's been our minds for a while. Our mind for a while, but we need to take people way back. So was there a moment that you realized before we, we got engaged before we decided to actually get married? Was there a moment for you where you were like, Maggie is not just my girlfriend. I want to make her my fiance to be my wife. specifically fiance well going all the way back to when you became my girlfriend what did I tell you I said hold on I need a second to make you my girlfriend because I have a sneaking suspicion if you're my girlfriend you'll be my fiance and if you're my fiance you'll be my wife because I've never had a fiance so I think going back to then whichever whatever that was mid-August 2024 is probably about the time that I that I had a strong intuition so let's talk about August 2024 for.

5:06We're at my parents' cottage in Muskoka. It's my parents' wedding anniversary, August 28th. And we were actually there for the, Oh yeah, we were. Yeah. Cause we were flying back and you just dropped on me. Like my parents' wedding anniversary is August 28th as well. If we are still dating next year, we should just get married. Were you serious about that? Or that was just like an offhanded comment. As you know, since you know, they're family members of mine, like some of us, like my brother, like just prone to say the darndest things. I swear I must have kind of blacked out, but I also recollect that.

5:39And it wasn't a throwaway, but I don't like, as we've talked about you, I took it as like, not, not meaning it, but I was like, who knows? Like that felt like such a long ways away. And you took it as. I was like, I hope that we didn't just get engaged, but I don't know. Right. You're like, did I just get proposed to? And yeah, no, I, you can go to like a Tony Robbins seminar, which I've been to a couple, he can tell you the exact same thing, but a year later it lands totally differently. And I, I didn't say it and not mean it, but like everything with you has landed differently over, over time.

6:14I feel like for me, I knew that you weren't completely serious because we hadn't yet lived together. You had just become my boyfriend. That was a big thing. I was like, you're not coming to meet my family unless you're my boyfriend. And the way you, although you were very sweet because you were willing to bend it, not break it, but we made it official. We made it official. You actually got down on one knee to ask me to be your girlfriend weeks before we went to Muskoka, a week before we went to Muskoka. Solid week. So yeah, there's a woman in Traverse City, Michigan, where my mom's side of the family is from that has a picture of me getting on one knee.

6:47August 2024. On August 2024 and ran over like, oh my God, you guys just got engaged. I love engagement. I was like, one, if we were really getting engaged, could you give us like five to 10 seconds to enjoy it privately since we don't know each other and then two um it was just kind of my joking way of saying like let's make it like official official okay for all the reasons i said i kind of knew you were special you knew i was special from august 2024 how much have you talked about being a seal of camp on this podcast not really yeah we'll talk about that later okay as long as you come back to it so august 2024 happens you drop this comment i'm like we don't even live together yet but i was really you know sure i knew and then let's talk about when we actually started to plan the wedding versus the proposal because very untraditionally like we've done a lot of things they were different and I think that's a huge shock to a lot of people we actually decided to get married August 2025 in January when we were at Yellowstone Club in Montana yes we did not officially get engaged with a ring on

7:57changed for us to start at least like, although I didn't start wedding planning, like wedding planning. We were in LA for the fires, which were crazy and tragic. And, you know, we were affected by it in some ways, not nearly as badly as a lot of people. So my, my heart goes out to those people who, you know, had kids and had to figure out where to go to school on two days later and everything else. But, um, it's still, it's still kind of hit hard, right? In the sense that like, we ended up leaving LA once we thought everyone was okay. There were a couple of harrowing moments. I think, you know, I actually remember we were like kind of having a passionate disagreement about like timing and when we should evacuate and what we should do.

8:33And even though it was like a disagreement, it also kind of made me, to me, it brought us closer. And I think then you start just, you know, your life flashes before your eyes, even though it wasn't like we were ever in like total peril, but it just makes you go, okay, who do you want to go through these moments with? What happens if the fire gets closer and we can get away, but we can't get my mom in a car and she can't get away fast enough like all those things so I think that along with other things just kind of made me go tomorrow is not guaranteed and who do I want to spend tomorrow with and soon as we got out of LA and kind of had some time to process I think it started to be there wasn't one moment but like over those couple weeks of being together it started to be like a feeling for me of very clearly like you're the one I want to debate when we should evacuate with should we have to do that again well I also feel like it was the first time that because we had basically slept together every single night at your place, but we didn't technically live together.

9:27Like not all my stuff. Just to clarify for people, we don't have sex every night. Like we endeavor to, but we do not sleep together every night. We're busy working people, but like it's on the table. Like she's great in that she's always open to the idea. Do we have to edit that? No, we don't. I like it. I like this version of you. We always are like, we we've made the vow that we have to do five minutes of cuddling in the morning and five minutes in the evening. And you know, you do enough five minutes of cuddling and you kind of do that thing where you kind of back up rub up and then it's like yeah that could work let's get into it let's get into it i still don't feel like my opening let's get into it was as good so i might throw in one or two more without overdoing it okay so we're living together for the first time we're at yellowstone club in montana at your house we're there for almost a month it's like full living together vibes and up until that point i had packed a bag every single night to go to your house gone back to work for my apartment that morning, the next morning after I'd slept with you, but it still wasn't like my place.

10:23And I had a rule that I was like, I don't want to officially move into your house. That's your space. That's where you've built a life without me. And I don't want to feel like I'm adding into it. So this was the first time that like I hadn't been there before as it being like yours, it kind of felt like we could rewrite the rules a little bit. And so I think it was the first taste of us like really living together full time, working, skiing, eating, drinking, sleeping, everything together. Just having a rhythm, a rhythm, which you're so funny because like you live 10 minutes away from my old house.

10:55Okay. 30 minutes in traffic, but yeah, I would love to see your navigation 10. And one time it took me like 15, but you would think we were like dating cross country. So I have to schlep my bag. I'm going cross country. I was like, it doesn't seem that taxing, but okay. Tell that to a girl that's packing up like every single thing for the night, the day after. It's a lot. Anyways.

11:44so we are in yellowstone club and it just felt so right like i felt that i think you felt that so you decided to have a call with our psychic i it was it was my regularly quarterly call on the cadence which fell at a good time right as it always does as it always does you go upstairs and have this private conversation and i always get a little nervous when you talk to our psychic because the first time you talked to her she was like maggie's not for you so my heart was beating She said you were too into work. That's the main reason. And now we found out we can do stuff like this where you pull me into your work.

12:14But okay, so it works. So you walk downstairs and you have this big smile on your face and you're like, can you sit down? We need to talk. And you look at me and you're like, Carissa just told me that we should get married on August 28th of all the days. How does that make you feel? and I remember being just like how would she ever know August 28th like there's no recollection of our parents getting married online like unless you told her which I know you wouldn't because that's our whole thing is like seeing what she knows the fact that she chose that day was such a sign to me that it was like oh my god I I hope that I want that like I'm so happy just to clarify I didn't say should we get married on August 28th it was like should we get married and we're kind of progressing and I'm like okay I'll just indulge this woman and say if we were to get married?

13:03What day should we get married? And she said, well, there's only one date that makes sense. Okay, let's hear it. She said, August 28th, of course. What did you feel in that moment? Like some of the details are fuzzy because I almost had like an out of body experience, which I don't have because I think sometimes with signs, it can be like, you know, as humans, we're programmed. Sometimes you see signs and sometimes you look for signs and backself. This is one of those ones where like, there's no way you could not believe you could not believe period, full stop, because she said something that was so improbable, both in terms of knowing and the odds that both of our parents had August 28th as her wedding anniversary, which according to my vows by straight math is like one in 130 ,000.

13:44Yeah. So I remember just feeling like so excited. We were kissing. We were like, okay, I think we're going to do this, but we obviously hadn't made it official yet, but my parents were coming that weekend. So you decided to basically use that as an opportunity to really bring this up with my parents. Yeah, I think obviously we had like talked about it, but, and this is new to me, this is the first time, but I, but I felt like I really wanted to respect your parents, Edward and Linda, Mr. and Mrs. Sellers. So I don't know, it was somewhere between, I wasn't, I don't think I was trying to tell him and I don't think I was trying to ask him somewhere in between.

14:20Well, I think the best part was that I ended up taking a gondola ride again. And I hadn't been alone with them in the whole first day. We ended up taking a gondola ride together with just the three of us. So I got to talk to both of your parents together, which was really special because, let's see, they've been married 43 years now, so maybe 42 years at the time. And so it was amazing to talk to them both together because it just felt like a conversation. And they were so warm and so excited and so supportive. So it was amazing. Did you cry? I think we all kind of welled up a little for sure.

14:52You know, your dad, I remember, kept saying that he was so happy that your mom was here for the part of the conversation. That was really important to him. I could see your mom tearing up a little. And I was just like, yeah, we're sure. Feels so right. I think that's where things just get so untraditional. Because right after that, you came home. You tell me. You're like, I just asked slash told your parents that we're getting married. And that night, we were going out for the last dinner before they were leaving the next day. And so it was my sister her husband their child both my parents you and I and we kind of had this like little mini celebration Which I don't feel like people do after they typically ask for permission or get a blessing or whatever you want to call it So I feel like from that moment on we were kind of like all on the same page We had all kind of celebrated and then that week we went home and told your family which just furthered this excitement around it and so So I would say that's when I really knew.

15:48And I feel like for the first time, I didn't need a ring. I didn't need the things that I felt like you here in society, you need things to be. And I think maybe that's partly because, yes, I had obviously gone through a proposal before. But because it was about you and I and it was about marriage, not a wedding, it wasn't about the ring. It wasn't about what people thought. It was just about you and I. So like, obviously, there's some people we told who are close to us who were. of course I'd like to think nobody wasn't happy for us but some people just felt a little confused because some people's first question is but wait you're not engaged and I was like and yeah just be happy for us like yeah we'll figure that part out and they were like but I'm like don't get caught up in the logistics get caught up in the feelings like yeah we want to do this and as we said to so many people like we didn't choose the date the date chose us so that happens to almost no one that I know of.

16:39So we had the date and then we just had to back solve for a few, a few of the, uh, you know, kind of, uh, details along the way. And I think for me to be totally honest, especially as a woman, you want things done a certain way at a certain time in your life and a certain ring and a certain that, and it's really about the show. And I think that answers a question that we're going to do in a totally different episode, but like I had felt before with previous relationships, it was more about ticking a box and doing things the way that you're told you should do it. And with you and I, I really just didn't care how it happened.

17:11I didn't care the process or I'm surprised you used to feel that way because if there's anyone I would have thought who wouldn't have it be totally traditional or exactly following the path, it would be you, my little CLO camp. I know, but I think, can we mention the seal? It's out of order. But I think it's like when you just stop and think about all these things, it's like, who says, who cares or who says, who, who set that? Yeah, who are you doing that for if I hadn't put in the work previous to meeting you for that six month period where I called off my engagement really sat with myself like went back into deep childhood trauma and was like, why am I like this with men?

17:44Why is this happening? Like, what did I do wrong? I don't think that we would have been together like that is the work that I had to do to get to the point where you're like I can't even picture that version of yourself because the previous version of myself was very focused on like Perception and check marks and timelines and doing things the right way and like those things don't matter to me now But they did and I would be lying if I said that they didn't two years ago Yeah, that's for me Like just one of the ways I just knew I was ready and then I knew you were my person is that I just didn't, I wanted to just do what worked for us and not worry about anyone else.

18:19And I think, I think too many people like lose sight of that because you're trying to appease everyone. Then you appease no one, including yourself. And I'm sure we're going to get into talking about the wedding day itself, but I think we were so good about just doing what worked for us. And, and, you know, when people see that you're happy, you're doing it your way, ultimately will make them happy. And more people should do that because I think it is a little bit of the, you know, idea that like, you can't help other people if you don't help yourself first. So if they see you're happy you're rating from the ins radiating from the inside out well which you do this is going to be something i was going to say for later but i got a lot of questions and like what's the wedding prep that you did because you hear these brides they go into bridal boot camp they're like fixing their skin fixing their hair going and like working out like crazy and i will say i thought i looked like the most beautiful version of myself on my wedding day and i did none of that like i didn't do skincare routines i didn't go on a diet i was traveling europe eating whatever.

19:11I actually had a fitting where I didn't fit into my dress. And like my mentality throughout the whole thing was so even keeled about that aspect of it. But I look at those pictures and I'm like, I am the most beautiful version of myself on this day because it was about you and it was about me. And I know I'm skipping ahead, but it's important to say being a very naturally anxious person. All I felt that day was presence, joy and calmness. And it's because we did it our way. So we didn't have a traditional engagement. I actually didn't even think that we were going to have an engagement, but that's January.

19:46We kind of like move forward with planning some stuff very loosely. I knew exactly the wedding planner that I wanted to use. I had a call with her in April. I think the other big thing that happened before we get into late spring and maybe the proposal is that we got this amazing new house together. Yeah. I don't think we have to go into details on it. But to me, it was a really important step, both for me, because I had been in my previous house about eight years, which is, you know, a good amount of time. But also the new house to me was, we weren't really looking, sure, weren't looking, but to me, it was important.

20:17It was the third house that we saw. Third house that we saw. It was so important to me that you knew I was committed to like finding a place that could be our home and where we raise kids and our place, not just like my place that you moved into. That was really important to me. We don't have to dwell on it, but yes. So that's January, February. We see the house. I have a call with our psychic that basically tells us that this is where we're going to get married. Described it to a T. She has no idea yet again. Another thing where you just can't make it up. Yes. You went into the call wanting to talk about like babies, I think, and this was post fire.

20:51And the first thing she said to you, as I recall, but you can fill in the blanks was she said, I think that you just saw your new house. And we're like, well, we're not really looking. And then she said, I think I saw the house where you're going to get married. It's a little north of your current house, which this house is north of our current house. Under the olive trees. And the most prominent feature of our new house is these beautiful olive trees that our friend Will craned in. Thank you, Will. So you're about to make a trade based on a friend's text. But which you do you listen to? Is it, we could buy a house in Tulum.

21:30Get optioning those options. We could lose everything. Or let's do a little research. Get your head in the trade and make the investment decision that's right for you. Learn more at FINRA.org slash trade smart. So that's February. We close on the house in March. I, to this point, was like, there's no proposal. And I'm so cool with that. Like I didn't need that. And if anything, because I wanted to keep this part of my life private until it was permanent, I actually didn't really want to deal with like having to wear a ring and being in content. And so I had zero idea that you were planning an actual proposal, which happened in June.

22:12So did you didn't think you didn't think I was going to propose at all? No, I thought we had a conversation to him passing. Okay. At some point I should give you a ring just so that you have one and it's official. but I thought it was literally going to be like super low key or, but I thought you knew I was going to do it at some point. So that makes it even more surprising. Yeah. So I knew that we were getting a ring obviously, but I thought it was something we were going to get on the wedding day. Like I had no idea that you wanted to do a traditional proposal. So that's why I wouldn't call traditional, but I was like, I was like, we know we're getting married August 28th.

22:43I know that I want to propose. And the best part is I was like all that I have left because we did actually do the ring together. I wanted to make sure you're getting what you wanted because it wasn't a surprise we were getting married We wanted to make sure we got the ring with some great friends of ours But I was like the only thing I kind of have left that is a little bit of surprise is how I can propose so Might as well Get creative and get crafty So how did you propose? So I was like, okay, she knows we picked out a ring Maybe you thought I was going to give it to you right before the wedding and I was like, okay I was thinking that you knew that I was going to propose when we're in Europe at some point but I was like, she's going to think I'm going to propose in the most romantic place or just the two of us or whatever else.

23:25So I have to, I have to do a little misdirection. I have to do it in a more public place with a group. So we went, my worst nightmare. Well, Paris is a very special place to us because we went there last year, right, um, around your birthday and spent time there. And it was kind of one of the places I think we started to fall for each other. And we had a great time at Roland Garros and in Paris. So I was like, okay, Paris would make sense. And then I was like, I wonder if she's thinking Paris. So that feels too obvious. Okay. You weren't, but I thought you might be. So I was like, what will really fool her is we had some friends, good friends of mine, Dan and Gina from Australia who came to hang out with us for a few days.

24:04So I was like, that's when she won't expect it. Cause we're with a group. Now I wasn't going to just do it like at a restaurant with dinner with Dan and Gina, who you hadn't met before, but are amazing people. Shout out to Jaden, my godson, their son. And so I was like, okay, I have to do something unique here. So I said, we loved going to French Open. We love going to Roland Garros. I'm going to figure out how to do it there. So that was my thought. Then I was like, how am I going to actually execute this? So I started calling some people I know in tennis, a couple of former players, the people that did the broadcast last year, a couple of agents to current players.

24:41And I keep getting the same thing where they were like, yeah, I want to help. I'm asking people, but as you can imagine, the French Federation isn't being too helpful for an American person who they don't know. So it was looking a little bleak. And we were really lucky because the broadcast changed this year to TNT and happened to have a connection to the family who owns TNT, which owns Warner Media, the Zaslofs. And they were so generous, put us in touch with their team. we're trying to figure out up until the end what to do but to cut to the chase um the year before when we went we got a backstage tour uh from tennis channel and so i was like she won't think it's too weird if we get a backstage tour again so we were going to the french open final and um i was like we have to go early because we're gonna get this backstage tour made total sense dan and gina were coming with us and you didn't say like make sure your nails are really nice or you're wearing white.

25:35So I wore the ugliest. So no white, but yes, I couldn't throw you off the fail at this point. I'd put too much into it. I could never post this engagement video because I hate my outfit so much. I'm wearing like tight, skinny jeans, a suede jacket, like a scarf around my neck. I had zero idea that I was getting. I mean, it was a French open final. It's not like you couldn't have done it up a little bit, but I thought you looked amazing. Still, you always, with that smile, you always just radiate from the inside. So anyways, we went in there, got there on time, which was a challenge. And basically, the final was at three o 'clock, but then we found out that the women's double final was 11 a.m.