Guest: Marta Kauffman
Marta Kauffman, creator of the Netflix series Grace and Frankie, joins us to talk about the inspiration behind her characters, how the idea to give them gay husbands came about, and how her characters, as portrayed by Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, survive and thrive after late in life divorce.
This is such a great episode, I’m not even finished with it and I’m so blown away. Thank you for bringing this to us.
Excellent and very well researched
You did a great job of asking the right questions, Kristin. I am glad you remembered Ross on Friends. He is so often overlooked as a forerunner. I never noticed until it happened to me.
I just wanted to say thank God for the SS network!
I’m glad the show could be made into a comedy to bring the subject to light.
My experience would unfortunately make it into a horror movie because it was scarier than most of them but of course that’s coming from my own personal experience.
We all have our unique experiences and I’m so glad to find a group that can relate.
I never had anything against gay people but I had a lot of problems with being lied to. My partner and I were both 40 at the time and I thought that was old enough to know what you really are but after a break up he transitioned. I believe people should be who they are and be honest and go ahead and get married that’s what you want but don’t use people in the process i.e. have a beard. I had to get over PTSD and it has taken me some years to get over although I can’t really laugh at my own story at all, I’m thankful to have survived and to meet such wonderful people in this group.
I admit, I tried to watch Grace & Frankie and couldn’t. It aired 10 years after my husband came out. Right away I resented the show for being a comedy and I resented Grace and Frankie for being so much more alert, aware, and smarter than I had been. Yes, I was channeling my simmering and persistent grief and anger into imaginary characters, beating them up for not being me.
I applaud Marta Kaufman for gathering “imaginative and sensitive writers…” and for crafting what viewers sense is an accurate portrayal of our experience. My knowledge of the show is limited to what was presented on this podcast. I could comment on pretty much everything that was discussed, but I won’t.
Her final comments to straight spouses, “…most people don’t view them as the ones who missed something, most people will look at you and say Oh my god, you’ve been deceived. Most people, in their hearts, they truly understand.”
(sigh) I wish that were true. Most people say “Oh my god, how he must have suffered, hiding his true self!”
Those who truly love me accepted without understanding and without expecting me to be ok with it and move on asap. They can’t understand yet they can love and be supportive.
In the end, I sold some of that jewelry Marta mentioned and went on vacation. It surprised me, the feeling of emancipation that came with un-chaining myself from his manipulative gifting.
Terrific podcast, again! Touched on so many feelings we all experience.