John Stewart has been married to spouse Tracey McShane for 20 years, however their first date was a catastrophe.
Stewart, 60, shared the harrowing story of the couple’s first encounter through the Friday, September 22, episode of the “Strike Drive 5” podcast. He recalled taking it personally when McShane, 56, didn’t dig into her meal on the Mexican restaurant the place they went for his or her inaugural outing.
“I apparently nauseated her, she wouldn’t contact her meals, so I threw all of it down,” the previous Day by day Present host mentioned, noting that he completed “two big burritos, hers and mine.”
Regardless of fearing that McShane “not solely didn’t like me, however discovered me repulsive,” Stewart wasn’t fairly prepared to surrender on the date, so he advised they cease in at a close-by bar.
“Two photographs in and he or she relaxes,” he informed podcast hosts Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Myers and John Oliver, noting that he now is aware of his spouse “will get very quiet” when she’s nervous. “As soon as she began speaking and [I realized] how humorous and sensible she was? Oh, my God.”
Colbert, 59 — who has been pals with Stewart since they labored collectively on The Day by day Present within the late ‘90s and early aughts — recalled reaching out to McShane after the date to listen to her model of occasions. In response to Colbert, McShane informed him, “I feel when he acquired a couple of drinks in me, it acquired me to lastly communicate.”
Stewart beforehand revealed that McShane’s roommate, whom he met whereas engaged on the 1997 movie Wishful Considering, set them up on a blind date.
“The way in which she described [Tracey] was in such glowing phrases, I believed, ‘Effectively, I’d be a jackass to not exit with this lady.’ So, I known as her,” the comic mentioned throughout a 2002 look on Larry King Dwell.
When Stewart was able to pop the query, he recruited New York Occasions crossword editor Will Shortz to assist him create a crossword puzzle with clues resulting in the proposal.
“Crossword puzzles [are] an actual bond for us,” Stewart informed the Los Angeles Occasions in 2006 of the romantic engagement. “It’s a fixed reminder that I’m married to a really sensible lady.”
The duo tied the knot in 2000 and welcomed son Nathan and daughter Maggie in 2004 and 2006, respectively. Stewart and McShane additionally cofounded an animal sanctuary in 2015, the Hey Pal Basis in New Jersey.
Stewart’s love of animals stood out to McShane early of their relationship. Throughout a 2015 interview with the New York Occasions, she recalled being impressed that Stewart had inherited two cats from a previous relationship.
“The truth that he acquired custody of the cats mentioned a lot about him,” she mentioned. “This was my dream man.”
