'Nobody Wants This' engagement scene was inspired by creator Erin Foster's proposal
Turns out, the engagement scene in Nobody Wants This actually happened in real life!
The series' creator Erin Foster has revealed on Instagram how her own engagement to husband Simon Tikhman inspired the proposal of Noah (Adam Brody) to Joanne (Kristen Bell) in the show’s third season.
“So about a month before he proposed, we got this invitation to a wedding vow renewal,” she said over footage of her flipping through the invite. “It had attire and a schedule for the whole weekend. He never really drew attention to it.”
“He said, ‘This is kind of a work thing. You’re welcome to come with me. You don’t have to, no pressure,’ ” she recalled. “But you know, I think it could be kind of romantic and nice; it's in Napa.’”
Foster said Tikhman got her to pick up her niece and get a manicure so that her “nails would be ready.”
They flew to Napa Valley as if it were just a regular trip, and Tikhman wasn’t acting weird at all. She then shared a picture of her sister, explaining that her sister had flown out to Napa bringing her ring along.
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“So, Simon and I get to the hotel in Napa and the front desk literally hands us an envelope with our name on it and tells us what the activities are for the weekend with the wedding, because Simon had flown up there and prepped them all to pretend that this wedding was happening.”
She tried to FaceTime her sister, but couldn't get through—little did she know, her sister was already waiting in Napa.
According to Foster, she and Tikhman pulled up to a vineyard under the impression they were attending a vow renewal ceremony. She was greeted with her favorite wine and felt relieved when told the other guests were already out on a wine tour—an exact moment that inspired a scene in Season 3 of Nobody Wants This.
The clip then transitioned to footage of Foster’s family hiding inside a nearby barn to watch the moment unfold, followed by a clip showing the matching scene from the show, where Joanne gasps as Noah gets down on one knee.
“Oh my God. Noah, Oh my God. We’re at Bryan’s wedding,” she tells him.
“We’re not. There’s no Brian. There’s no wedding. I made it up,” Brody's character said.
Erin then cut back and forth between both proposals, showing herself kneeling beside Tikhman just as Joanne bends down to kiss Noah.
“And that’s how I got engaged to a psychotically romantic genius,” Foster said.
In the comment section, Foster's friends left warm and encouraging words.
"I cried watching this episode and I’m screaming knowing this was REAL," wrote Anna Kloots.
Emily, a content creator, also wrote: "I remember watching this on your stories when it happened!! The episode still surprised me, was totally not expecting it and it was such a good TV moment."
Inspired by Foster's real-life love story, Nobody Wants This draws from her romance with Tikhman, whom she met in 2018. The pair tied the knot on New Year’s Eve in 2019.
She serves as an executive producer of the show, which she views as a love letter to her marriage.
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