Dane Cook gushed about the wedded bliss that he’s experienced since tying the knot with longtime partner Kelsi Taylor last September.
During an interview with Fox News Digital, the 52-year-old comedian, who is hosting the upcoming live show “The Collab” with David Meltzer, reflected on his marriage to the 25-year-old Pilates instructor, which is the first for both.
“I feel like I’m foolishly in love,” the “Good Luck Chuck” star admitted.
He continued, “I always felt like I had missed the mark on a certain — a few certain key moments in my life where I probably was so hell-bent and focused on my own agenda that I wasn’t really allowing myself to share that space with somebody.”
“And it took me a little longer,” Cook explained. “I probably finally had my ‘ah-ha’ moment a little later in life about how I didn’t even know the gravity of it — when you’re sharing this path, this life, this endeavor, this challenge with another person that’s equally as enthused, who wakes up in the morning with great happiness, with the ability to overcome some pretty gnarly stuff in life, which Kelsi has.”
“When we finally kind of shared those, you know, the deeper, more kind of like intimate trials of our life, I knew within moments of that first conversation, this is somebody that I want to share every victory lap with,” he recalled.
Cook and Taylor dated for over five years before the comedian proposed last August. The pair wed during an intimate ceremony in O’ahu, Hawaii, attended by 20 guests last September, per People magazine.
The comic told Fox News Digital that fans who come to his comedy shows shouldn’t expect any jokes about his union with Taylor, since he’s still “reveling” in the joy of being married.
“It’s funny because most comics onstage will get up and talk about, ‘Oh, you know, my wife and this ring I wear, it’s a burden.’ And it’s like all these great jokes and funny about the annoyances of being married,” he said.
“Well, believe it or not, if you come see my new show and, by the way, I’m on tour starting in September through the rest of the year. But if you come see me, one of the first things that I say — I look at my wedding ring and I go, ‘Any losers not have one of these yet? Because I love it.’ And I am reveling in everything that we’ve been able to accomplish not only over the past five years, but since we were blessed to get married a year ago.”
However, Cook has previously included jokes in his comedy sets and specials about the 27-year age gap that he has with Taylor.
While he has poked fun at their age difference, Cook told Fox News Digital that it “really was never even a factor” in their relationship.
“You fall in love with a person, and you have to fall in love as well with their family,” he shared. “And once our families met, we all got to know each other. It was pretty obvious. And I think it’s obvious to anybody who spent any time with us how that’s a pithy trivia fact or something, that there was an age difference.”
“Everything else with Kelsi and I is just the true simpatico that you hope to have when you meet another human in this life that just wants the same things in their faith, the same things in their family, the same thing with their belief that we’re all on an individual journey,” he added.
“She’s on her journey. I’m on my journey. But what we share in the things we want together and how we cheerlead each others’ individual journeys. It’s everything, every box you want to check with a person that you hope wants to go the distance with you.”
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Cook then joked about how he could continue to “prattle on” about the love he shares with his wife.
“I guess I’m in the pink cloud phase still,” he admitted. “We’re having a great time.”
On June 19, Cook and Meltzer are hosting the live audience-driven Q&A event “The Collab” at the YouTube Theater in Los Angeles.
“The Collab” will feature in-depth conversations between the two, who will also be joined by special guests, including thought leaders, billionaires, millionaires, entrepreneurs, celebrities, athletes and entertainers, per a press release.
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Meltzer is an author, entrepreneur, motivational speaker and former CEO of Leigh Steinberg Sports & Entertainment agency, the firm that inspired the 1996 movie “Jerry Maguire” starring Tom Cruise and Renée Zellweger.
While speaking with Fox News Digital, Meltzer shared how he was inspired to team up with Cook for “The Collab.”
“I think there’s a huge energy gap between people that know who they are compared to people who want people to think they are something,” Meltzer said. “And I especially see that with my own children, and I make sure that I surround myself — because I do have assorted failure in mistakes of my past that I don’t want my children to have to learn through experience.”
He continued, “I want them to allow me to pay the dummy tax between ‘I am’ and ‘This is what I want people to think I am.’ And that’s been amplified by social media especially. And when I met Dane, I thought, ‘Wow, you know, the three areas to empower other people to build a community of people that really want to help each other and know people to help each other is this guy knows who he is, and he’s a great mentor to others.'”
“He not only illuminates the tragedies and failures, mistakes and successes of his past, but he gives directions on how to get to where you want to be, or better. But he also can teach, which is a rarity. And he does it with great humor, obviously.”
Meltzer said that the “most intelligent human beings that I’ve ever been around” were comedians like Robin Williams and Jamie Foxx, noting that he was inspired by the “intelligence of mentorship and teaching.”
“But there’s also this thing, this magic thing that Dane has, which inspires me is there’s certain people in life…that bring the best out of others,” Meltzer added. “Dane has this innate ability to bring the best out of other people. And because I seek light love in lessons in other people, he is a maestro. He is a complete collaborator with me to coordinate and cooperate with an audience.”
Cook shared his own praise for Meltzer with Fox News Digital, saying that his collaborator is the “secret sauce.”
“There’s no showmanship around this, this is just David,” he said. “This is the David that I now know, and this is the person that you’re going to get. The secret sauce, so to speak, with me is that — what you see is what you get.”
Cook continued, “The oldest and simplest quote. And so, by going and sharing all of our trials, tribulations, ups, down, lefts, rights, insight, good data…”
“Your rock bottom moments and how you can resurface with a better version of yourself,” he added. “All that stuff comes very organically, very naturally. And I cannot wait, I cannot wait. I’m so excited.”
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During his interview with Fox News Digital, Cook also shared his thoughts on cancel culture and how he believes it is losing its grip on comedy.
Over the past few years, a number of stand-up stars, including Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock and Billy Crystal, have spoken out against the social phenomenon’s growing impact on comedy and critics who aim to censor comedians.
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However, Cook believes that cancel culture’s influence is beginning to wane.
“The comedy community is stronger than ever,” he said. “I think the cancel culture wave, particularly in comedy, has eased up.”
Cook continued, “Comedy, it’s always evolved. I’ve seen it change a lot, and I’ve seen a change in the best ways. I’ve seen less of the ignorance and more of somebody coming in — and the person who should be sharing a story highlighting the way they grew up or where they grew up or what they believe or what they look like — Well, that’s a story for you to tell.”
“That’s not something that somebody should be opining and observing and reporting second-hand,” he added. “So it’s kind of nice to see that sort of comedy go by the the wayside.”
Cook explained that he has witnessed the evolution and the solidarity in the comedy world both while on tour and “back at local comedy clubs and stomping grounds.”
“I’m out there every night,” Cook said. “And so I see it year after year. You know, from square one. Believe it or not, what I witnessed within the comedy community — externally — was even more camaraderie, even more entrepreneurism, because everybody knew that you had to help amplify somebody’s truth.”
“Whether it was something that they needed to fall on the sword and admit, ‘Hey, I used to be ignorant in my comedy or I made mistakes,'” he continued. “Get somebody back in front of the mic.”
“Because that is also art. Art is the display of our fear. Art is the display of our misgivings. You want your comedian to be able to get up there and share a story that you can not only laugh at because you’ve experienced it, but maybe you’re laughing because it’s something that happened around you, that you bear witness to.”
Cook said he believes comedians “can’t end up in the penalty box” if they are coming from a place of truth.
“And I don’t for the last 15 years, because I only come from my truth,” he said. “And the truth is alluring, even if it’s wrong. The truth will be heard out. Even if your truth is one that isn’t universally accepted.”
“The truth is sparkly,” the Massachusetts native added. “And the truth is fascinating.”
