THIS IS US’ CHRISSY METZ: My Bravest Moment
The Emmy nominee opens up to In Touch about the shocking scene that changed her life
On her very first day at work, Chrissy Metz had to strip down and bare almost all. “It was literally like, ‘Oh, do you feel comfortable in underwear? How about taking off your bra?’ I was like, ‘ WHAT?!’” the This Is Us star says of the raw, emotional moment when her character, Kate, weighs herself while wearing only a pair of underwear. As she’s previously noted of filming the scene, “I thought, ‘ Wow! This is gonna take some guts.’” It was the first of many brave moments for the breakout star of the NBC hit. Just as Kate pushed herself out of her comfort zone, Chrissy, 36, a onetime pre-k teacher and commercial talent agent, has been doing the same thing. “[The show’s creator] Dan Fogelman is writing my life! There are a lot of parallels,” she tells In Touch. “If I can’t be who I am, I can’t do this. I can’t pretend to be something I’m not. I think people are accepting and loving of that.” People are more than just accepting: She earned an outstanding supporting actress Emmy nomination for the lifealtering job. “I mean, everything has changed,” says the Florida native, who promoted her show’s Sept. 26 Season 2 premiere at the NBC Summer TCA Tour. “Everything from where I live to how I spend my time and my schedule. It’s kind of incredible in such a wonderful way, and I’m learning so much about myself.”
She’s been taking risks in her personal life as well. In the last year, Chrissy, who as a child was bullied for her plus-size figure but now is proud of being a role model, started a new relationship (with This Is Us cameraman Josh Stancil; see sidebar), moved into her own place (no more roommates!) and became financially stable. “[Josh and I are] not living together, because I need to live alone — I have never lived alone in my life. I now have my own apartment with my own washer and dryer! I know it sounds ridiculous, but to be able to do your laundry at any given moment without searching for quarters is like…i don’t know,” gushes Chrissy, who famously had just 81 cents in her bank account when she was cast as Kate. Now, she says, “I spend a lot of money on my family. ‘A lot’ is relative, but I don’t really need anything. What do I need? I have a car, I have a place to live, I have food. I’m good!”
Still, sudden fame has taken some getting used to. “I actually can’t go to Target anymore,” she says. “I’m a girl that everybody can relate to. People are like, ‘ Oh, Chrissy’s my friend! Come here, girl!’ But I’m no different than everybody else, I just have a different job.” And she knows how to keep herself grounded. “I like to meditate. I have a gratitude list, and I think when we actually accept that we’re deserving of what we want, things will happen,” she says. “Every day I think, ‘This is my life! This is amazing!’”
— Reporting by Lanae Brody