Is Nobody Wants This a true story? The heartwarming real-life romance behind the hit Netflix show

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As thousands tune in to Erin Foster’s culture-clash romcom Nobody wants thatSome viewers may wonder if it is based on a true story.

The plot and characters are inspired by creator and producer Foster’s true love story with her husband, music manager Simon Tikhman.

Warning: spoilers for Nobody wants that are below.

The newly released romcom series follows an unlikely romance between Joanne (Kristen Bell), a series regular who over-shares about her risky love life on the podcast she hosts with her sister, and Noah (Adam Brody), a progressive rabbi , who has just come out of a long-term relationship.

As the series progresses and their bond grows stronger, the two spend months pondering how to balance their intense chemistry and incompatible lifestyles—and fend off the naysayers in their families.

There is a lot of overlap between the love story behind Foster’s own marriage and the series, including her husband’s origins, their journey to convert to Judaism, and how they coped with their different lifestyles.

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Although Foster describes the series as a “love letter” to her marriage, there are also some big differences – her husband is not a rabbi and in reality they faced fewer obstacles than Joanne and Noah in the series.

Find out the biggest similarities and differences below.

Foster does a podcast with her sister in real life

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In the series, Joanne opens up about her love life with her sister on her podcast, while opening up about her failed dates and biggest idiots.

Foster actually hosts a podcast with her sister Sara Foster called The world’s first podcast. There are several Easter eggs from the original podcast that have been added to the series, such as when Joanne and her sister Morgan (played by Justine Lupe) list things a potential romantic partner can do to instantly give them the “ick.” , such as “running with a backpack.”

Both comments come from the Foster sisters’ real lives and were discussed in an episode of their podcast earlier this year.

Noah is based on Foster’s husband

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In her real-life podcast, Foster explained that she based Noah solely on her husband because she wanted to create a character who was “emotionally available, chivalrous, old-fashioned… but also really funny and confident.” She also added that Noah must have “rizz” – a word for “charisma,” which refers to a person’s ability to attract a romantic partner.

Foster also based Noah’s family background on Tikhman’s own upbringing, as he is the son of Jewish-Russian immigrants.

“We don’t have similar backgrounds,” Foster said of her husband on her podcast. “He came from a much more traditional place. I came from a somewhat unconventional place. When we met, we asked ourselves, “How is this going to work?”

However, the real couple did not face any resistance from their families, as is the case with Joanne and Noah in the series.

The real meeting didn’t happen at a party

While viewers see Joanne and Noah meet at a dinner party and get along well, Foster and Tikhman’s meet-and-greet took place at a Los Angeles gym in 2018.

The real-life couple got engaged the following year and married during a New Year’s Eve celebration in 2019. They welcomed their first child together, a daughter, in May.

Foster converted to Judaism before marrying her husband

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At the end of the series, viewers watch as Joanne tells Noah that she is not ready to convert to Judaism, which is non-negotiable for him as someone dedicated to his religion.

This aspect was taken directly from Foster’s own love story. Foster actually wrote the idea down Nobody wants that while they were in the middle of the process of converting to Judaism before their marriage.

In the series finale, we don’t learn whether Joanne ultimately converts to Judaism, but Foster herself converted before her New Year’s Eve wedding in 2019.

During her own conversion process, Foster’s producing partner and manager suggested she write a show about her experiences and she developed the concept for it Nobody wants that.

The Sunflower scene actually happened – without the gym equipment

In the sixth episode, titled “The Ick,” a distraught Noah prepares to meet Joanne’s parents for the first time. He arrives awkwardly in his sports gear, holding an oversized bouquet of sunflowers. In the series, this scenario scares Joanne away from Noah and she seems ready to break off the relationship altogether as she develops “the ick.”

Something similar happened in the early days of Foster and Tikhman. When the two started dating in 2018, Tikhman met Foster’s mother for the first time with a huge bouquet of sunflowers in her hand, which left Foster a little flustered.

In conversation with New York MagazineFoster recalled: “The flowers were so long and kept falling over. As I sat there, I thought, ‘If someone cares that much, it feels like a weakness.'”

However, Tikhman defended himself by saying: “I personally don’t remember the sunflowers being that big.”