Love On The Spectrum's Abbey Reveals She Wanted A Boyfriend To Feel “Normal”

25:45So it all worked out beautifully and it was like, you know, a trip of a lifetime. Abby, you like to travel, don't you? I do. But now we just glossed over David, right? Abby, you'd say, oh, that's my boyfriend. Can we go back a little bit? Yes, we can. So on the show, the show is essentially for it was set up for you to meet other people, for you to meet a possible boyfriend. Were you nervous about that at all? Meeting a boyfriend? At the beginning I was, but once I started seeing him more often, I got used to knowing him. Yes. Now with David, what do you like about David? He says things that make me feel good.

26:30He covers my ears when there's a certain noise I don't like. Okay. For sensory. For sensory. We don't like everything because... But you like a lot of things. What are your common interests? Lion King, Little Mermaid, all those things. Also, we're common interests. We're both carby people. That's the other reason. Carby people. You're both carby people, so you like cars? Yeah. What's your favorite food? Burgers, fries, cheese, pizza, spaghetti, meatballs, and sweets. Yeah. I try new foods like duck and octopus and their animals. What have you recently publicly said you want to try? Don't quote me on this.

27:11I know it's going to be embarrassing, but they're called bull testicles. Bull testicles. Yes. Okay. Okay, okay. And I did, I do want to try frog legs. You won't eat salad, you won't eat carrots. Okay, but bull testicles, bring them on. Yeah, you said frog legs? Frog legs and rabbit this year. Oh, I've had frog legs. Have you tried rabbit? I have had rabbit too. I want to try rabbit. Yes, rabbit is good, rabbit is good. I can't wait, I'm dying to eat rabbit. Okay, have lunch, because I'm not. David truly comes across on Love on the Spectrum as incredible. What was the moment, Christine, that you realized he was incredible?

27:54First of all, David has an incredible family, I think. And the family and the sisters, it's just a love fest. They're just generous, kind, nice people. And David has all of those qualities. And, you know, these are two people with autism. So whatever their relationship looks like is going to be what they decide. They're neurologically different. So anything that I might think I want is not transferable to anyone else, really. That's insightful. Right? To anyone else. So people sometimes judge or have an expectation of what a couple should be doing. And in autism, I just don't think you can do that.

28:29I think it's really an individual experience, however that couple wants to have their time or whatever. One time, I always remember this one couple I knew where the girlfriend was nonverbal and she had some behavior issues. And then whenever she'd scream, it hurt my ears. Oh, no. But then the boyfriend had some language, but there was some connection between them that fascinated me so much. Now, a couple like that may not work on TV because you can't show that, but I would watch them together and just feel some, you know, for them, some spiritual connection. Yes. And it was really interesting.

29:08So I feel like I learned a long time ago not to judge what it looks like from my eyes. That's interesting. Let it be whatever they decide. That's a great way to describe love. I think so. Because it is about the individual. A hundred percent. Everyone has their own story, their own background, their own history. Yes. And I think you just can't judge it. Yes. You know? So, Abby, do you love David? I do, but he's not ready to get married. Yeah. I see. I see. There's a difference. Do you want to be married? Yes, I do want to be married, but I just don't know when. Okay. All right. I don't need to rush it.

29:50I just want to take my time. Yes. You know, so when I was doing the research here, I saw that it was roughly a third of people with autism are in relationships. relationships uh roughly nine percent are married nine nine percent right uh so you i look at those numbers and i think okay because we it's a that dimming switch autism is a spectrum there's a certain uh group on the spectrum that probably a marriage would be highly difficult uh but ultimately it's about what you desire yeah correct yeah and it looks different for whatever part of the spectrum you're talking about. When we talk about autism, we'll say, autistic people blank.

30:34And my first question is, what kind of autistic people? The spectrum is a vague word. We don't have mental illness spectrum. We have names under an umbrella. And we don't compare a schizophrenic person to a compulsive hoarder. Both have something under that umbrella of mental illness, we would say schizophrenic people blank or bipolar people blank. We wouldn't say all mentally ill people blank. So when are we going to have appropriate names, categories? And it's not to call people into categories, but we're not comparing the same population. And yet, I mean, even in the non-speaking population, which you might call high support needs, there's a valedictorian who used an AAC device who was non-speaking.

31:25I believe her name was Elizabeth Bonkers, and she was someone who you can Google and see her valedictorian speech. Okay. And so that person who went to school and graduated, there's incredible intelligence in that, and there's others that have other issues. So then where are we in that population? And I guess I've seen it because I've been somewhat involved to look at the different types and how they're affected and how it manifests differently. We need to look at that and actually create, instead of getting mad at the system, maybe rally for adaptive life skills or daily living support or some kind of mentorship program.

32:04I would mentor some low support needs. In fact, I have two people that I'm mentoring right now that have none of these challenges. But I can see their challenges. I see it. And there's nothing there for them. I see it. So you're advocating for more specificity. Correct. In the labels opposed to this one general category. Well, if you can't call it something, how do you help them? If we can't see, how do we identify what it is? Look what I think. Yes. That is it. But how do you, it's not finished though, is it? My mom has to finish it. Oh. Little unknown fact that most people don't know. Every single hat you see, I have to tie it off because the dexterity of that is a little tricky for her.

32:46I see. So you do almost all of the hat and then your mother finishes it off. Yep. All right. That is beautiful. And how many hats do you make a week? I make a lot. We can wait now. Let's take a break. What do you say? I'm just going to start the first one. And then we'll take a break from it so you can focus on questions. How many hats a week do you think you make? I make quite a few, like two or three. Not a week, a day. A day. You make two or three a day. Still, you make two or three every day. Yeah. I'd say she makes, what, 15 to 20 a week? Yeah. Okay, and these hats have been very popular.

33:20Everyone loves them. Yes, yes. So, and people buy the hats from all over the world. They have. Where have you sent it in the world? Do you know? I sent it to, like, the other side of the world. Okay, like where? What countries? I think you sent one to New Zealand. One went to New Zealand. I'd like to go to New Zealand. Yes. And Australia. Yeah. Have you ever noticed how many of your friends are sitting on great business ideas? It's usually nothing to do with thinking their idea isn't good enough and everything to do with the execution side feeling a bit too technical. But with our show sponsor, Shopify, so much of the technical side is taken care of for you.

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34:48Okay, so now can I show you something else? Sure. All right, you ready for this?

34:57Me and David, that's us. That is, so now where was this one? Do you remember? At the Cheesecake Factory at The Grove. Oh. Oh, is that the Grove? Okay. The Grove. Is this when you were boyfriend, girlfriend, or just friends? Boyfriend and girlfriend. Okay. I think that, yeah, this was, I think your second Christmas time, holiday time maybe, second year? No, it was recently. Oh, was it recent, more recent? I don't remember. I think it was like - Oh, it actually was, because you're wearing that new Swarty you got. Yeah, and Navi ran away with it. Ben's little mini Australian set-work. Oh, that's such a cool - She always runs away.

35:36She even runs away with my mom's underwear and my bra. She even took my favorite bra the one I'm wearing and she ran away with it. We do have a little kleptomaniac. I ran away with a lip balm from one of my friends I went to school with that she made. Really? Name it, if it's on the floor of this dog, just tape it to get you to engage. She was supposed to, but she still did anyway. Yeah, yeah, that's fair. Okay, okay. So this is you and David, this is recent, okay. And this is your boyfriend. This is him as your boyfriend. Yes. Do you remember when you became boyfriend-girlfriend? Do you remember that?

36:12July 12th, 2021. That was your first date. When did he ask you to be his girlfriend? I don't remember. You don't? No. It was right at Christmas time. Christmas time. You gave him the red hat, remember? Yes. You're sitting on the bench. It's actually in the show. Yes. That was all real. Yes, that was all. Look at that. Look at that. It was all accurate. I literally have a video. They were outside, and I was in my little office, and there's a slider door, and I could see him talking to her. And I was kind of like, obviously, because this was all so new to us. And he said, will you be my girlfriend?

36:45I was like, because it was so, like. Yeah, it's one of those where it's probably a moment that you wanted, didn't know would come. Wasn't sure. Yes. Really wasn't sure because she had had some relationship prior in high school that didn't end so well. And that was really hard. And, you know, what I've wondered through watching Love on the Spectrum in particular, but then really looking at your story is. How much time do you give to yourself, Christine? um not only have i i've been avi's mom a single mom and since they were five and six i was working a full-time job and i could do a funny movie to survive on the cast of characters that lived in my house whilst i went to work who i did not pay because i didn't have enough money to pay them i bartered so i had three or four different people living in the house in my guest room while I went to work.

37:48And you just got to live with me for free, cover her after school until I got home from work. Really? Yeah. Cast of characters. I mean, my pink haired guitar playing person to the Mrs. Doubtfire that I had. And just having them around is such a gift. Yes. Friendships, that kind of thing. But I was working full time the entire time until recently. So I was doing both worlds. And it's really time management. And then you're just on a trajectory of getting stuff done so you can stay afloat. Yes, but you're in constant survival mode. You do feel like that. And it's just you. Yeah, I can say for me back in the day, you know, 9, 10, 11, 12 years old for her, those are my dark years.

38:33They were your dark years. I felt very resentful and sad, not towards you, but towards the situation that I was. I was like, this is not the life I ordered. And where is the return policy? because I want a do-over. And you don't get that. Right. And I had to make a concrete decision in her teen years that I had to accept this fully or I would be miserable for the rest of my life and resentful. And I didn't want to be that person. Who did you have at that time to support you? No one. My family's from Boston. I'm living in L.A. My family, God bless them, there. My parents were obligatorily present, but not emotionally present for that kind of stuff.

39:20My siblings also there, but not emotionally present. I had a couple of friends, but not really anyone. And I think that's what was hard. My little elementary school group, because she started in that same elementary school. And I'm grateful to those ladies. Yes. are you about to cry I always cry that's something I think they you know they're still my friends and they always included her yeah because that's the hard part because you're like living in two worlds you have like the autism world and the typical world I want to be part of the typical world you are yeah as an adult I'm more typical but as a child I was more autistic I think that's how you like to describe it but you did the work Yeah, that's why when I was a kid I would say, I want to be an adult and I want to have brown eyes.

40:16Because why? Brown eyes are the most common eye color. Oh, I see. Because brown eyes are the most common. Yeah. So you would feel more accepted. Yes. Do you think my eyes are blue hazel? They look blue hazel. Behind these hazel eyes is Kelly Clarkson's song. Kelly Clarkson. And I see. And I see. You know what, Abby, you continue to put a smile on everyone's face. Continue to do it, you know? When was the first light that kind of cracked through that darkness where you thought, okay, you know what? We are going to make it. It was, when did we go to Hawaii with Alan? 2019. 2019. Not that long ago.

41:01Not that long ago. It'll be seven years. A friend of ours through a business thing said, go use our condo in Hawaii. And I hadn't really ever done that with her. All we'd ever done is gone back to Boston to see family. And of course, I didn't have any money for the flights to get to Hawaii at that time. And he kept saying, when are you going to go? When are you going to go? And they were quite secure financially. He said, honey, I'm telling you because we want to treat you. And they paid for the flights. I mean, the buckets came out because that had never happened ever. So that moment was like, I felt like, you know, I won the lottery.

41:38I will never forget what Alan and Mark did for us. Because I was so happy. Positive. And that was not that long. 2019. And we went. Now, when I got that opportunity to go, you know, we had such a good time together. It was just the two of us. And I'd never had a trip with her. let alone a good time. And us driving up to the volcano together, like looking at it and sharing the moments. And she was able to express to me, like, we're above the clouds. And I'm like, we are above the clouds. Yes. And it was like, we are spiritually above the clouds right now. Yes. Yeah. I could see how that was an inflection point.

42:23And that bit of light gives you hope. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And two years later was the interview for the show. Look at this. Two years later in 2021 was the interview. Look how quickly life can change. What I'm wondering too is thinking about how much you've done is, Abby, what do you love most about your mother? That she's helped me the most growing up and she's the one that fought me to get speech and put me in a vocational program for high school to be able to, so I could be able to knit just like that. Because without vocational stuff, I wouldn't be doing this today. Yes, yes. And these hats are beautiful.

43:02I mean, look, I'm going to wear this. Can I say, Abby, I'm going to wear this all the time now. You are? Yes. Thank you so much for this. When did you start the hats? I started at my vocational school called Miller on Roscoe Boulevard. And my mom asked the principal the next year because the teacher was retiring. And she asked the principal if I could take advance weaving. She asked the principal. But he said, no, we don't allow that here. Okay. And how old were you, Abby, then? 19, maybe. 19, okay. 19 or 20 because, yeah, it was your first year at Miller. It's a vocational school with several different programs.

43:41They're really good. A car wash, a restaurant, a bakery, weaving. Farming. Farming. Farming. And they once accidentally put me in woodworking furniture repair. You didn't like woodworking? I didn't know that. They just put her in woodworking with, like, hammer and nails. And my vision was this one with like a chainsaw and cuttings. And I was like, this would not be good. It smelled like the cabin in Lake Arrowhead. Yeah, a lot of wood. Yeah, because when I was really little, I had a cabin up in Lake Arrowhead when I was super young. And do you remember? She was the fastest weaver that the school had seen.

44:17The teacher said she's exceptional. The focus. And I couldn't believe what I was seeing because dexterity and bilateral coordination were very difficult for her. So I'm seeing this thing and I'm so blown away. But what did you use in the program, remember? What did you use for knitting? You didn't use... I used a rigid head loom and a floor loom. What is that? It's where you sit on a loom, you floor it, and then you make a pie shape to sew it. Okay. And you have petals and this. Oh, so you're using your legs, your arms, your feet. Okay. So I walk in one day to visit the school and do some parent thing, and I see her using this machine, and I am literally shocked.

44:54I took... I still have video of it. I'll send it to you. But it's like... It'll be great. I do. And I couldn't believe what I was seeing. It was the most beautiful thing, and I felt hope in that moment. Doesn't it look red and sparkly? Very red and sparkly. Perfect. And matter of fact, I finished one. Look at that. I mean, you are just... I love it so much. Yes. It's two to three... And Navi sometimes, she takes the yarn and she runs away with it. Yeah. And my mom one time saw young Navi running around the house with the yarn, and then she went, ah, ah! I thought I yelled. Yes. Yeah, you know, my Chihuahua, he runs around too.

45:28And he steals everything. He steals underwear too. Really? And Navi once stole a makeup thing. Makeup, you name it. Glasses, any sunglasses. Yes. She even, what if she runs away with a black one-piece bathing suit of mine? She could do that too. Oh my gosh. I hope not. I hope she doesn't do that, but if she does, I'll let you know. Yes. Better stop her. Which would be good. Now, on the business, too, is did you sell 100 hats in 60 days? 100 of these. Yeah, she did. It's just absolutely incredible. Well, it's interesting because Madison on season three of Love on the Spectrum, she talks about her jewelry making to keep her hands busy.

46:14Yes. And this is a similar thing with the, I think there's an OT thing, a processing thing that helps the movement, helps with accessing language. So it's very therapeutic and a positive thing for Abby to do it. Plus, it's turned into a business that she fills the orders now. She does the cards. She just, you know, she's involved in all aspects now. Yes. Which is great. What is one thing that you like most about your hat business, Abby? It's very therapeutic to me. It's very and I'm being productive when I do it. That's one way to be productive like doing my vocal warm-ups is part of also being productive Yes, well I was going to get into music Because I understand that you could sing before you could talk Yeah, and I had music therapy at three years old a lady with a guitar would come in and She played the notes and I can remember everything I can name any for every single one of the notes Yes, this is what I find very interesting.

47:12You could know all the notes You know, all the words for the songs, the lyrics, you remember them all. Yeah. Yours? And I started hearing myself that I had a great gorgeous voice because from her mom, from grandma. Or is it because of grandma? I don't know. I think maybe it was from grandma. Oh wow. So when you heard grandma say that you have a great gorgeous voice. I heard grandma say she sounded pretty good. Oh, so grandma had a great gorgeous voice. Yeah. Okay, does your mom have a good voice?

47:45Yeah, I know Grandma did. First of all, she won't let me sing in the house. I'm not allowed. I can see. So you said you were in music therapy. Yes. What was that like? It was amazing because singing was like a sensory need. It's just how I, it was better for me to talk because. Okay, because of me. So you would sing to talk. Yes. You would memorize lyrics and that was a way of speaking. Yep. The lyrics also, because when you sang, what's the name of the song that you sang for David about being a boyfriend? Boyfriend forever. Boyfriend forever. So I showed you, my wife cried. I showed you a video.

48:27She cried when she saw you sing it because she thought it was so beautiful. She thought it was a great, great song. And then you sang that song with Kelly Clarkson? Okay. You sang it on her show, remember? Yeah. Okay. So you sang that in front of millions upon millions. Well, actually, millions were watching on Love on the Spectrum as well. I have another surprise for you, Abby. I think this is the biggest one. What is it? Are you ready for it? I am. Okay. So now, first let me ask you, television or show-wise, your favorite shows, we talked about Little Mermaid. Hannah Montana. Hannah Montana.

49:03What other shows do you love? This Is Us. Oh, my gosh. Because when you watch it, you will see flashbacks from when they were babies to toddlers to children to teenagers. Yes. I see. This is a theme. You Like shows that there is a – I'm trying to think about how to say it. It's like there's a duality. There's the perspective of a person, of a younger person, and that younger person is seeing the world. and you like these shows. Yeah. Because I think you see yourself. But I don't like horror movies. No. But what did you say about This Is Us? You said it. It's like, well, that's how my mind works.

49:53Yeah. Okay. Flashbacks. Like flashbacks. So you see flashbacks. Yeah. There was a scene in, or a moment, should I say, in Love on the Spectrum where you were describing David's autism. And I thought that was fascinating because you said that he sees numbers. As colors. As colors. So do you know the numbers that go with the colors? Yes, I do. Number one is gold. Okay. Zero is black. Number one is gold. Number two is red. Number three is yellow. Number four is blue. Number five is green. Number six is purple. Number seven is white. Number eight is brown. Number nine is pink. Number 10 is gray. Number 11 is orange.

50:41Number 12 is crimson. Crimson. Oh, my goodness. That is amazing. So you now know all of the numbers for the colors for him. I do. And then she memorized the names of his 24 stuffed animal collection and just memorized the names of each one of those stuffed animals, like in the first week that she was, I mean, it was crazy. Yeah, it's just absolutely amazing. Yeah. And it shows you a level. You know, that's why I say love is an action. Yeah. And by you memorizing those tells me how much, Abby, you love David. Yeah. You know the names of all those animals, right? Yes. Yes. And then David, I would imagine he makes you feel like a princess.

51:26Yeah, sometimes. That sounds like a girlfriend answer. He's done it before. That sounds like a real relationship right there. Four years into it. Four years. There's good and bad. Okay, so now, if you think about your favorite movie from childhood, Abby, what is it? Your favorite movie? The Little Mermaid. What other movies that you always talk about? Shark Boy? Shark Boy and Lava Girl. Shark Boy and Lava Boy? Shark Boy and Lava Girl. Shark Boy and Lava Girl. Tell me about this. It's about a boy with blonde hair. His name is Max. He has a dream journal. And his dreams come to Sharkboy and Lava Girl, break through the walls, and go into the classroom.

52:13I got to meet Taylor Lautner in person. He was Sharkboy. He was Sharkboy. I was on his podcast. Oh, my goodness. What about Lava Girl? Her name is Taylor Dooley, and I think she lives in Tennessee. She lives in a different state. Okay. Have you ever met her? Not yet, but I would like to meet her this year. Okay. Do you think she wants to meet you?

52:35I guess. I guess. I'm not sure. But I would assume so. Well, you know what? I have an answer. I also got to meet Alexa Vega from Spy Kids. Oh, my gosh. Spy Kids! Oh, my gosh. That's big. That's big. And her husband, Carlos Pina Vega from Big Time Rush. Oh, my goodness. Oh, my goodness. So now, but you said Taylor, though. Taylor Dooley. You think that she may want to meet you. You don't know. Of course. I follow her on Instagram. Okay. Does she follow you back? I'm pretty sure she does. Yes, yes. Now, you ready for the surprise? Yes. Do you know who this is? Taylor Dooley! That's her! Now, you ready for this?

53:17Yes. Hey, Abby. This is Taylor Dooley, a.k.a. Lava Girl. I heard that Shark Boy and Lava Girl is one of your favorite movies, and that makes you pretty dang awesome in my book. so I just wanted to say hi and tell you to just keep dreaming and keep shining your light because oh my god now the love of girl actress reached out so you rock and maybe one day it would be awesome I would love to meet you in person that would be so much fun oh my gosh so I hope you have a great day bye oh my god she sent me a message you attract everybody oh my god Crazy. Did she just, did she reach out? Yes. She just reached out to me this year.

54:03That's amazing. Oh my God. Next it's gonna be Miley Cyrus. Miley Cyrus from Hannah Montana. Oh my God. Come back. We want you back. We want you back. Oh my gosh. That is inc... Did she send me a message? She did. She did. Surprise. Oh, I knew it. I knew she was going to reach out to me. Oh, my God. And it happened in 2026. It did. It did. You knew you were going to maybe meet her, huh? Yes. Oh, my gosh. You guys, thank you for that. Thank you for that. This is going to last for the next, what, five years, probably? Yeah, and she was born in 93. Right. Oh, my God. 93 was her year. 93 was her year.

54:52How cruel is that? Yes. Oh my gosh. And Kayla Longer was 92. Correct. Both the 90s. Yeah, both 90s. But early 90s. Yeah. Oh my gosh. What are you going to say? Because she is going to watch. She's like Papa Girl. Yes, and she's going to watch this. So what do you want to tell her right now? I can't wait to meet you in person. I look forward to meeting you in person sooner than later. Same with you, Miley Cyrus. Because I love watching you on Hannah Montana because I really related to your two characters you play. Do you want to say thank you to Taylor for doing that? Oh, yes. Thank you, Taylor, for doing this to me.

55:33I love watching you playing the role as Lava Girl when you were at the age of 12. Look at that. And I was seven. Wow. Look at that. And there are 12 numbers on the clock. Yes. And there are 12 months in a year. Connecting the dots, aren't you? And six is half of 12. Correct. Six times two equals 12. That's right. You are so over the moon, aren't you? Yes, I am over the moon. I can see it. It really is. And I look forward to meeting you too, Miley Cyrus, because I really loved watching you on Hannah Montana. Yes. Yes. And like seeing your best friends, Lily and Oliver. Right. These shows have major impact on kids that have neurological differences.

56:16And oftentimes, they bring them out. Oh, Lily. And there's this issue with connectivity. Your brother. And the kind of autism Abby has. Yes. connectivity, which is coming out of that neurological world and into an engagement of just a moment. And we didn't have that for a long time. You know what? Also, I can see how happy you are about this. Oh, I can't believe it. But also, were you just happy? Were you just singing a little bit? Were you just singing, I think? Yeah, before. Because when you're happy, do you sing? Yeah, but I should start singing originals. Oh. Like I'm working on a new song right now.

56:53It's called Right Here, Right Now. Yeah. Okay. Okay. Is this your song? Yes. It's an original. Can you give us a little bit? Right here, right now, find the joy like inside out. It's just that chorus. All right. It's the song. It's about learning how to change the memory. Because, yeah, I have a hard time. I have a hard time staying in the moment. So it's like a flashback. So whenever I see someone falling asleep, flashback of me on the school bus of another girl falling asleep. To what year was that? Sixth or seventh grade. Right. That's a flashback. It's just like This Is Us. Yes. And that's why you like This Is Us?

57:35Yes, because Mandy Moore is in it and she plays Rapunzel. She plays a Disney princess. So here's the thing about This Is Us. You know, everyone, I didn't watch it. So I binge watched it like a couple of years ago. And it is the only time that I'm sitting down and watching TV where she was in the other room listening to it because sitting down and watching is too much. But she was auditorily intending the show. And then all of a sudden she started to come into the room and stand and watch and stand and watch. And by the by the mid of first season, when she saw the structure of the show with the flashbacks and the beautiful casting in that show.

58:13Yes. Best casting I've ever seen with the kids because you could tell which kid was, you know, it was very clear who was who. I felt. She sat and watched the entire show with me, was absolutely fascinated. And she said to me halfway through, she said, this is how my mind works. And I went, aha moment. Because if I could understand that she can't help when stuff pops in her head and takes over, I always describe it as, you know, when you're in a movie, like let's say it's a Tom Cruise movie, high affect, running, you know, your heart's raising with Tom Cruise because you're so epically involved in those stories cinematically.

58:48Yes. That's what it's like for her. That's why she can't answer my question. That's why she's going off topic. And I have to adjust how I react to it. Yes. You're not wrong. I'm not wrong. But I have to understand the why in order to get into that. Yes. You know, when you think about this, there's so much confusion around autism. And I'm just learning really really learning myself uh about it abby what what do you wish more people knew about what do i wish more people knew about autism that there are many different kinds of autism the kind of autism i have is a language and brain disorder means i have a speech delay and other people with autism can talk easily and there are other people with autism who have no language and can't talk at all so they use a device for language i i tell you abby can i ask three more questions Yes.

59:40Okay. All right. Now, you ready? Yeah. Okay. This is question one. This is going to be about David. Okay. So what do you like to do together with David? David and I like to go places like the L.A. Zoo, Disneyland, Universal Studios, the Griffith Observatory, because the Griffith Observatory Planetarium show makes me think of this Disney Channel movie called Xenon, Girl of the 21st Century, with Raven-Symoné. Raven-Symoné. And Space Mountain is where Xenon lives with her friend Nebula. And that Raven-Symoné's on it. Yes, yes. All right. So now I have a love on the spectrum question. All right. Is there more love on the spectrum to come?

1:00:23Yes, there is. There is. Have we already started filming it? Not yet. Not yet. But we're going to film it this year? They have a season four coming out for sure. Season four, okay. I mean, I think they're going to keep going with it because it's pretty easy for them to shoot it. And it's become such a wonderful portal for understanding, you know? Yes. Yeah. All right. So then last question. This is a good question, okay? This question is, if you think about all of the conversations you've had in your life with all of the different people, which one stands out the most? Which one did you learn the most from?

1:01:07What conversation changed your life? Is there one? There must be many. Wow. That's a lot. Conversations like talking. Could be a talk that you've had that you always remember. It could be with your mom or maybe your grandmother or could be with a friend. Something that you always remember. I always remember the conversations I've had with my mom and my dad. I remember the conversations I had with my family. I had a family reunion in 2025. Oh, that's right. And I talked to all my cousins, my aunts and uncles. Okay, okay. Do you remember anything from when you were younger? I couldn't really say it.

1:01:50I don't want that much. Oh, that's true. Yeah, yeah. That's good. So the family reunion, everyone must have said, oh my gosh, it's Abby! It's Abby! It was the best thing ever. So it's my siblings and their children who are all adults. And my youngest brother went ahead and made T-shirts. And he gave Abby a T-shirt that said Abby on the back. It said Romeo Family Reunion. And we thought, oh, he gave everyone T-shirts with our names on them. So Abby got the first one. And then he came to me, goes, Christine, you're next. And it's a shirt that says, I know Abby. We all got shirts that said, I know Abby.

1:02:27Look at that. Which was really funny. It was really great. I tell you, I want to thank you for coming in. Abby, thank you so much for being here. So good. Can I say, I thank you for this hat. This hat I am going to keep for a long time. Christine, thank you so much. I think you both, you know, in a movie, you know there's heroes. Yeah. There's good people and bad people. Yeah, just like how there's good people and bad people in real life. Exactly. Exactly. And you know what, Abby, you're one of the good people. Yeah. So thank you. And your mom also is one of the good ones. And your mom also is a hero.

1:03:09And your mom should be applauded. So, Christine, well done. Thank you. Thank you. That was awesome. And thank you for sharing, as always, because this is a miracle, just so you know, just having her sit here and talk to you and answer this. This was something for all those parents out there that are wondering that this was not possible even five or six years ago. Because we've been working on it so much. We practice conversational language skills, staying on topic, managing when memories pop in, strategies to maybe block it out so we can go back to the rephrasing of the question. Yes. So even just this within this kind of autism is no short of a miracle.

1:03:48Yeah. This is a – we had a full multi-hour, we've been here for hours conversation. And I've been very impressed with Abby with your focus and your concentration. I'm really focused. And look, most of the session, I was, I killed two birds with one stone. I was killing two birds with one stone. You were, you have been the most productive out of all of us in this conversation. Abby and Christine, I always assumed it was one category, that autism was one category. I never really grasped the spectrum of it and the range of it. And having this conversation with Abby and her mother was enlightening.

1:04:32And it truly did help me. I have done reality dating shows forever, for over 10 years. I learned so much watching Love on the Spectrum. I loved it. I loved it. And Jill, you know, my wife, she loved it as well. She was crying through most of it. But what I took away mostly was the importance of honest dialogue. You know, the conversations that the contributors on the show were having were all pure. All pure. You know, moments where someone needed to break up with someone or they didn't want to go on another date and how they were able to say it opposed to ghosting them or lying and covering it up, but saying, no, I feel fearful saying this or I feel anxiety coming or I feel nervous, but I'm going to say it anyway.

1:05:25That level of truthfulness was so refreshing. That was beautiful, and I think we can all take away the importance of authenticity in our relationships. Abby Romeo, hands down, a hero. Those days were difficult because it's already scary. He's already got cancer. When you hear your father is considering assisted dying, what do you think? Dude.

1:05:51Chote the handle, perfect match, dancing with the stars, and then let's marry Harry. You walked away with 2.4 million followers. Four and a half. Oh, shut the up. Never get that wrong again, brother. Here's where I want to go with it. Yeah. OnlyFans. You became one of the highest grossing male creators. How much have you made? $0.00. Pretty good, huh? I'm going to leave with my heart, and I'm going to keep him strapped away. I just broke 13 months of being sober. I was going through the worst breakup I ever went through. There was a really bad version of myself. What about with any of the ladies?

1:06:25Would you have done anything differently? You know what? Even after my last breakup, which was a big one that really messed me around, the purpose of me doing these shows was to make my friends laugh. My friends aren't laughing. They're actually not here anymore. I had three people in total that had lost to suicide. Now, your father recently passed away. I remember he looked at the doctor and said, Wow. Grief, it never goes away, and I never want it to go away. I want to always feel when I think of my dad. What a gift, life. I've seen you open up here like never before. There's one more topic that I want to get into.

1:07:01I saw you say you are open to now being married. I am.