Jerry O’Connell Had ‘1 Shot’ to Sell Himself to Rebecca Romijn MGG

How it started! Jerry O’Connell opened up about the early days of his romance with wife Rebecca Romijn — and joked that he had a very narrow window to make his move.

“The only reason I am with Rebecca Romijn is because when I met Rebecca when I was 30, literally, I was like Eminem in 8 Mile,” the Talk cohost, 48, exclusively told Us Weekly on Wednesday, October 19, while promoting his new show, The Real Love Boat. “I had one shot,” he said, referencing Eminem’s hit song “Lose Yourself,” adding, “That was it.”

The Scream 2 star noted that his wife, 49, says that he “sold” himself to her. “I’m still processing that one,” he quipped. “I did a song and dance. I had a routine.”

The Eastwick alum then chimed in to contradict her husband’s story. “No, Jerry was utterly charming, as you can imagine,” she recalled to Us. “And hilarious, and of course I fell for that immediately.”

O’Connell and the former model tied the knot in 2007, two years after getting engaged. In February 2019, Romijn revealed that the duo met at a Maxim Hot 100 party in Las Vegas. “Just to give a little more details, Rebecca was in the VIP section of the party, and I was not,” the Kangaroo Jack actor added. “I saw you in the VIP section and you were newly single, and I was like, ‘I got to get some of that, right there.’ It was a pool party, so I took my shirt off. I did some pushups right there and got some oil. I was super flexing.”

Romijn was previously married to John Stamos, whom she wed in 1998. The duo called it quits in 2004 and finalized their divorce one year later.

Though Romijn and O’Connell’s meet-cute was slightly unconventional, the Stand by Me actor still thinks it was preferable to the modern world of dating apps, where potential lovers can only connect digitally before meeting in person.

“I think a lot of these kids today are not able to present themselves face-to-face,” the Jerry Maguire star told Us. “Everything is over the apps and texting, and it’s a different language. [On] The Real Love Boat, we really break down those barriers, and people have to show who they really are. It’s really interesting.”

The Billions alum and the X-Men actress are cohosts of the CBS reality series, which follows a group of young singles as they search for love on the high seas while aboard a cruise ship. “Helping singles find their perfect matches was like a dream job,” Romijn told Us before joking that working with O’Connell was somewhat less dreamy. “Having to spend every waking moment next to your spouse is not always the easiest. I keep saying it was like, 97 percent amazing.”

The duo went on to say that filming the show taught them something new about themselves as well: they love cruising. “We also learned that on a cruise, people can find love,” the First Daughter actor added. “Because time sort of stands still. Like, after doing The Real Love Boat, I totally get Jack and Rose [from Titanic].”

The Real Love Boat airs on CBS Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET.

With reporting by Christina Garibaldi