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Jimmy Fallon and Wife Nancy Juvonen Tell the Sweet Story of Their First "I Love You"
Jimmy Fallon and his wife Nancy each told their version of the milestone moment — except their memories didn't fully match up.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, even talk show hosts stayed home — and in that unprecedented era, Jimmy Fallon offered intimate peeks at his life with wife Nancy Juvonen and their two daughters on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Viewers got to know Fallon and Juvonen better as a couple through their series of "Ask the Fallons" videos, and the two shared a major milestone in their love story during a March 2021 episode.
In this adorable installment, curious fans wanted to know who said "I love you first, and where and when did it happen?" To see if their stories matched up, Juvonen covered her ears while Fallon recalled their first "I love you" — and while The Tonight Show Host's story was sweet, he didn't exactly understand the assignment.
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Jimmy Fallon and Nancy Juvonen got together while making Fever Pitch
Fallon first met Juvonen on the set of Saturday Night Live in 2004, where Fallon was then a cast member and Juvonen was supporting guest Host Drew Barrymore, her friend and business partner. But Fallon and Juvonen's romance didn't officially spark until the filming of Fallon and Barrymore's 2005 film, Fever Pitch.
"I said 'I love you' in London. We were at a press thing for Fever Pitch. Nancy's a producer. We just would hang out in the hotel all the time and listen to music — Harry Nilsson, Randy Newman. And I put on Taxi, which is my favorite show. And I made her watch this show about their dreams or something, and it was just good," said Fallon.
"And then we kissed. We were in my hotel room, we kissed for the first time, and it was honestly the best kiss I've ever had in my life," Fallon continued. "And I think I said 'I love you' after that."
Next, it was Juvonen's turn to share what she remembered. She confirmed that it was Fallon who said "I love you" first — but as she recalls, that didn't happen the same night as the epic kiss.
"We had been having big crushes on each other during Fever Pitch, and like two awesome nerds, we didn't do anything about it but flirt a lot and listen to a lot of music and say 'Goodnight' at 4:00 in the morning like total nerd balls," Juvonen joked. "So we wrapped the movie, and we were going to London to sell it, and we went out one really fun night..."
"Halloween, wasn't it?" interrupted Fallon.
"No... that was our first kiss," Juvonen said, setting the record straight. "But our first 'I love you' was in London, and I had to leave the next day. I was there for the press junket, and then I had to leave, and I think you all were going somewhere. But that night, he said, 'I love you. I'm in love with you.'"
"And I don't even know if I said it back, because I think you knew that I loved you," Juvonen added.
"Then I flew home the next day, and I will never forget that flight. I had to go back to California, and you know that feeling when you're just smiling ear to ear and it's just the best feeling in the world? When you love someone and they love you and you have a crush and it's reciprocated? That's my memory."
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After Juvonen finished, Fallon acknowledged that he'd told the wrong story. "I thought it was first kiss! I confused the two."
"Oh, no. First kiss, Boston," she corrected him. "When we levitated?"
"That was a good kiss," said Fallon, as Juvonen concurred, "That was the best kiss I've ever had."
