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Molly Shares Her Tips On How To Surprise Your Loved One

By Hilary Sheinbaum

In the era of viral surprise videos on social media, tons of people share their crazy and creative ways to surprise one another. But, before this popular trend took hold of our phones, battery life, and our undivided attention: years ago, Molly delivered a heartwarming, original way to surprise Stuber and tell him she was pregnant with baby #1, Brooks.

After getting married in Napa on September 24, 2011, Molly got pregnant during the couple’s honeymoon in Hawaii.

“I was very shocked!” she says.

“Never in a million years did I think it would be that easy. I was older, so I thought I should freeze my eggs. We ended up freezing embryos.” Without IVF, the couple naturally conceived, and Molly enlisted the help of her acting coach to formulate a plan to share the news with Stuber.

After two days of surprise-planning: Molly and Stuber ordered takeout Chinese food for dinner, and Molly slipped her own personal message into a fortune cookie for Stuber to discover. It read, “You have Chinese food in your belly, Molly has your baby in hers.” 

 

Molly was so excited and very nervous to break the news. “He looked at me and was like, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me. Are you serious?’” She responded, “Welcome to married life!” 

Needless to say, the plan went off without a hitch. 

Whether you’re revealing a pregnancy or another huge life event, Molly has 3 tips for successfully surprising a loved one:

Don’t make it super complicated

— or dangerous! In other words, leave the explosives and fireworks at home. Simple acts are best. “It could be getting a letter out of the mailbox, that you know they’re going to open,” she says.

Keep it intimate and personal

While there’s something to be said about public celebrations, sharing celebratory milestones privately (at first) is the way to go. This way, you can focus on each other and the monumental announcement without distraction.

Timing is important

Avoid surprises first thing in the morning and at the beginning of the week. “Never do anything on a Monday! Mondays are just so hard and you never know what the week is going to bring,” says Molly. If you can: schedule to break your big news when there isn’t another conflict or celebration happening (that will take away from this epic moment itself).

*Bonus tip

Hire an incognito photographer or videographer to capture the surprise as it unfolds, or set a camera to roll automatically in the corner of the room.

“I would die to have his reaction [recorded],” says Molly. That said, it’s often best to not be the personal photog responsible for capturing all parts of the surprise because it’s important to be present during these very important occasions. You can’t repeat it,” says Molly. “You will always remember it. If you do one thing in your life, make those memories.”