Drew Barrymore breaks down why she planned unscripted public reunion with ex Tom Green

It’s been a long time since we’ve had our beloved talk shows film in studio – it’s all green screen & Zoom calls from home. It’s also been a long time since Drew Barrymore and her ex-husband, Canadian comedian and host Tom Green spent some time together. Both of these things recently ended their streak, with Jimmy Fallon returning to The Tonight Show (weeknights at 11:30pET on CTV) studio and inviting Drew to talk down her epic reunion with her ex on a recent episode of The Drew Barrymore Show.

“There were no questions prepared for that,” Drew admits when Jimmy asked how the exes decided how that reunion was going to play out. “I had an offline conversation with him because we didn’t want it to be some bougie Hollywood moment like ‘let’s reconnect in front of the cameras!’”

She continued, “But that said… the thing that I love about Tom was he is one of the first people to have put a camera on his life, when it was a giant fat camcorder and there were no easy phones available.”

“His stuff was on VHS!” she went on. “I remember watching his VHS tapes. So it’s what gave me the idea… I just said,‘Gosh, would you want to kind of reconnect? I feel like it’s been a long time, and I would just love to honour what you did. You broke down all these doors, you were a pioneer, and I would love to talk about it and have it be an excuse for us to say hello.’ That’s the tone.”

Drew then revealed that their offline chat before the in-studio reunion involved them sending short hellos via video, but Tom’s, naturally, had an edge.

“I sent him a video, and then he sent me one back,” she said, “and immediately he made me laugh, and that’s like my kryptonite. Laughter.”

If you haven’t seen the reunion, and you really should. Back in September, Tom joined his ex-wife on her new talk show, and they did nothing but sing each other’s praises, heap mounds of love and best wishes upon each other, and reminisce about the times they shared. There was no animosity and acrimonious finger-pointing (as we all know can be case with divorced couples). 

 “I was so happy when you invited me on the show,” Tom said during the reunion with his dog on his lap. “It’s been too long, it’s nice to reconnect. We really did not talk for about 15 years I guess, and this is really the first time we’ve looked at each other face to face in 15 years.” Barrymore and Green were together for a total of almost three years and married for less than a year in 2001, finalizing their divorce in 2002.

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Tom, who even after becoming an American citizen in 2019, still has The.Thickest.Canadian.Accent.Ever, added that being able to co-star with Drew in Charlie’s Angels was such an honour because it was what launched their relationship. He added a fun anecdote from their first date where they engaged in a little animal rights activism.

 “That was so exciting getting to do that movie with you,” he said. “And you know, we kind of sort of hit it off right away pretty much. We had a lot of laughs together. I think one of our first dates I think we went and bought lobsters because we both love animals and we both got lobsters and we released them into the ocean. That was what we decided to do.”

The Drew Barrymore Show has also embraced being in studio, even if their guests can’t be there, and Drew pioneered a green-screen interview with her Charlie’s Angel’s co-stars Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu that was so seamless, even the talk show matriarch had to throw down some props.

“Do you know who gave you props?” Jimmy asked. “Oprah. Oprah Winfrey.”

“I can’t believe it!” Drew gushed with excitement over the Oprah-bump, but also added that with the global pandemic, this may be the new reality. “I’m glad because now we can all embrace this.”

Embracing Tom Green and green screens: Drew Barrymore’s nailed it.

Watch The Tonight Show weeknights at 11:30pET on CTV.

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