Spoilers for Dying for Sex are ahead! You can watch the show in full with a Hulu subscription.
Allow me to paint a picture: in Episode 5 of Dying for Sex, Michelle Williams’ terminally ill Molly tries to break up with Rob Delaney’s Neighbor Guy. After spending many nights together and him learning about her cancer, she said they couldn’t be a normal couple who walks through the park because one day she'd be dead. In response, he sweetly thwarted her with the line: “No leaves in your hair, just keep kicking me in the dick.” While an absolutely wild thing to say, it was also incredibly romantic.
So, with that scene in mind, I asked the cast and creatives behind the FX show that just premiered on the 2025 TV schedule what the wild things they’ve said for love are.
Jay Duplass And Rob Delaney Told Me About Games And Tricks They Share With Their Wives
When I asked this question, Jay Duplass, who plays Molly’s ex-husband Steve, was quick to note that while he’s “sure” he’s said “crazy stuff” while having sex, he can’t remember it:
I'm sure some crazy stuff has been said during orgasms that I cannot track, and I'm no longer aware of or never was and don't ever want to be.
Listen, you get caught up in the heat of the moment, I wouldn’t expect anyone to remember something like that. However, both he and Rob Delaney (AKA Neighbor Guy) have ongoing “games” and “tricks” they share with their wives that they explained to me.
Delaney, who mentioned that he’s been with his spouse for decades, told me his answer first, explaining:
I mean, my wife and I have very silly games that we play together that are not – typically, they're not connected to, like, actual coitus, if I can use that word, intercourse. But they're just as important to us, where we have weird little games that over the decades we've been together have like, proper scripts. I mean, we have some weird, really weird, stuff where definitely it would be less embarrassing for people to watch us have sex than to play our strange little playlets.
Honestly, that’s so sweet. Inside jokes and games are honestly the best. Jay Duplass reaffirmed that, too.
He told me one tidbit about his relationship with his wife that isn’t “the craziest thing.” However, it is unique. Explaining the role multiplication tables play in their marriage, he said:
When she gets really deep in a hole and can't quite see out, I start asking her times tables. And there's a one times table in particular that does it every time. But I will not reveal what that particular times table is, because that would be a breach of privacy.
In the show Dying for Sex, Molly’s sex quest, if you will, is unexpected, loving, wild, nonjudgemental and wholly accepting. I got the same energy from these guys’ answers to my question, which I love!
Nikki Boyer Revealed The ‘Aggressive’ Thing She’ll Say When She Really Loves Someone
Nikki Boyer, an EP on the series that just started streaming on Hulu and the real-life Nikki who Jenny Slate’s character is based on, also weighed in on this question. Unlike the guys, her answer was about something she’d say when she’s very in love, and it’s hilariously aggressive:
Sometimes I tell people like, ‘Hey, you need to get out of my face, or this is going to be a bad situation for both of us. I love you too much to injure you. Could you step away?’ Like, right? And I wouldn't really ever hurt somebody, but sometimes I'm like, ‘I might stab you in the eyeball if you stay within – I love you so much, I would like for you to remain a person that has vision.’ Which sounds really aggressive, but I feel like you need to tell people when they need to back off.
Sometimes, you’re so in love your emotions feel violent, and I totally see where Boyer is coming from.
She also told me that this kind of reaction felt “very Jenny Slate in the show,” too, which is accurate (and makes sense since Slate’s character is inspired by Boyer).
Overall, like Dying for Sex, all these answers were unapologitic, deeply romantic and caring. Like Molly and Neighbor Guy, it sounds like all three of these people have fun and unique ways of expressing their love, and in the end, I think affection like that is all something we should strive for.
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