Nobody Wants This has been the latest Netflix release to capture fans’ imaginations and some people might be wondering whether this romantic comedy is based on a true story.
The popularity of shows inspired by true life events shows no sign of waning and so it’s perhaps no surprise that every time we’re drawn into a new must-watch series part of us is likely left wondering what inspired it. In recent weeks ITV’s Joan has got viewers intrigued about the Joan true story and whilst romantic comedy Nobody Wants This couldn’t be more different genre-wise, this too has sparked some curiosity.
The 10-part Netflix show stars Kristen Bell as Joanne and Adam Brody as Noah and it’s the perfect romantic watch to transport you somewhere else on a dark autumn evening. The relationship between dating podcaster Joanne and Rabbi Noah is the core of this drama and we have all the details about if Nobody Wants This is a true story and who the real couple that inspired it is.
*Warning: Spoilers Ahead*
Is Nobody Wants This a true story and who are the real couple?
Netflix’s Nobody Wants This isn’t a direct adaptation of a specific true story, but the storyline was inspired by writer Erin Foster’s real life and her relationship with her husband. In that sense it’s partly a true story - just like many other hit shows like Netflix’s Eric. According to The Independent, Erin shared on her podcast, The World’s First Podcast, that she based Rabbi Noah Roklov, on her real-life husband Simon Tikhman. The two have very different careers (Simon is a record-label owner and talent manager) but their personalities could perhaps be seen as similar.
Erin explained that she was inspired by Simon because she wanted to create a character that was "emotionally available, chivalrous, old-fashioned" but also "really funny and confident". She’s also said to have revealed that her and Simon’s relationship meant finding a way to work with their "traditional" and more "unconventional" backgrounds respectively.
"We didn’t come from similar backgrounds," the Nobody Wants This writer reportedly shared. "He came from a much more traditional place. I came from a more unconventional place. When we got together we were like, ‘How’s this gonna work?"
The real-life couple met at the gym in 2018, whilst Nobody Wants This fictional couple Joanne and Noah meet at a dinner party. After romance blossomed between Erin and Simon they tied the knot on New Year’s Eve in 2019. Ahead of their big day, Erin Foster converted to Judaism - something that arose as a storyline for Joanne towards the end of Nobody Wants This season 1.
So far in the show Joanne isn’t completely sure about converting to Noah’s faith, but in Erin and Simon’s real-life romance, the Nobody Wants This creator and writer is said to have attended eight weeks of Choosing Judaism classes with her now-husband before converting to Judaism before they married. As reported by The Independent, Erin Foster supposedly began writing down the idea for Nobody Wants This whilst she was going through the process of converting to Judaism.
Though not everything is inspired by real-life, a particularly memorable scene in the Netflix show was directly based on something that happened - and it involves sunflowers. In episode 6 Noah arrives to meet Joanne’s parents holding a huge bunch of sunflowers which then causes Joanne to fear the relationship has no future as she found it slightly off-putting. Meanwhile, in real life, as per Vulture, Simon brought a massive sunflower bouquet to a restaurant when he met Erin’s mother for the first time.
Erin explained, "The flowers were so long, and they kept falling over. Sitting there, I was like, ‘Well, if someone cares this much, then that feels like a weakness.’"
In contrast to his wife, Simon Tikhman expressed his belief that the flowers weren’t "that big" but added, "I do remember driving home and thinking, it’s not about the flowers."
After the dinner with the sunflower bouquet, Erin met Simon and it was his response to her uncertainty that apparently led to her realising how "in love with him" she was.
"Simon was like, ‘Get over it. I’m supposed to care what your parents think because I want to marry you.’ I was so in love with him at that moment," she said.
Elsewhere in the interview with Vulture, the Nobody Wants This writer confessed that she has always written something that’s "stemmed from [her] life in some way". That doesn’t, of course, mean that the Netflix rom com is a complete true story and many other details are fictional, but the inspiration behind Joanne and Noah’s romance comes from a special, very real place.
Erin Foster and Simon Tikhman have now been married for almost five years and are proud parents to their daughter Noa, who was born in 2024.
Nobody Wants This is available to watch on Netflix now.
