Skip to content
Search

Meet Abbey Romeo, Half of the ‘Love on the Spectrum’ Super Couple

Meet Abbey Romeo, Half of the ‘Love on the Spectrum’ Super Couple

When Abbey Romeo, 25, was little, her favorite Disney princess was Ariel from The Little Mermaid. “She’s a mermaid who wanted to be with the humans, just like how I wanted to be with neurotypical people,” she says. “And when she finally became human, she couldn’t talk. She felt isolated and alone. And that’s how I felt.” She struggled with communication, and had immense difficulty joining conversations. “I wanted to speak but the words wouldn’t come out,” she recalls.

When she was nine, Abbey asked her mother, Christine, if she was autistic. At the time, she was attending a school for neurodivergent children, having transitioned out of a mainstream school when she was in the second grade. Abbey had always known she was different — “My brain wouldn’t do what I was telling it to,” as she puts it — but she never had a word for it until that moment. When her mother told her that she was autistic, and that she had been diagnosed when she was two and a half, Abbey cried, and her mother cried along with her. “I didn’t want to have autism,” she says. “I wanted to be typical.”


Today, Abbey no longer feels like Ariel — if anything, she’s closer to Nala, the lioness in The Lion King, her other favorite Disney movie. Having appeared on two seasons of Netflix’s Love on the Spectrum, the hit dating show for adults with autism, she has found her Simba — David Isaacman, who at the end of Season 2 whisked her away on an African safari adventure, culminating in the two of them duetting “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” in a feel-good moment that went viral on TikTok. And she’s also a major celebrity on the social-media platform, where she regularly documents her romance with David, models her homemade hats (she has her own hat business, Made by Abbey), and performs original songs.

David and Abbey in episode three of Love on the Spectrum.

TikTok is also a place where Abbey has learned to try new things, something people on the spectrum, who tend to rely heavily on routine and schedules, can sometimes be averse to. In her videos, she exhibits her newfound propensity for activities like eating escargot (though her favorite food is lima beans, just like the character in her favorite children’s book, A Bad Case of Stripes), swimming (she learned to swim when she was 17, overcoming her fear of the water to try out waterslides like a “giant toilet bowl water slide where you fall into a big hole”), and swearing (“I’m an adult and I can swear if I want to,” she says in one video with more than 33 million views. “[And] I’m angry about the fucking rain.”)

Abbey’s unmitigated candor and upbeat attitude have won her more than 1.8 million followers on the platform, many of whom find her relationship with David aspirational. “This is honestly one of the healthiest relationships in America I love u guys sm!!,” says one top comment on a video where the two demonstrate how they’ve memorized each other’s stuffed animals’ names.

Abbey has been on social media for the past four years, with her cousin Mary helping her to shoot and edit her videos. (“All the buttons and the small fonts and stuff, that part is really hard for me,” she says.) She has been performing since she was 12 years old as a member of Spectrum Laboratory, a performing arts program for people on the spectrum, where she wrote original songs and made up characters like Captain Sandy Sandstorm, a half-mermaid with a Southern accent “not like Sandy the Squirrel from Spongebob, but a different Sandy,” she says.

In 2021, Love on the Spectrum co-creator and producer Cian O’Clery, who had met Abbey at Spectrum Lab, contacted Abbey and Christine and asked if they wanted to appear on the show. Abbey was interested — “I’ve always wanted a boyfriend,” she says. “I had one [in high school], but he disappointed me” — but Christine was skeptical. “It seemed like it was too much pressure for her to have this camera buzzing around,” she says. She also wondered if Abbey would be as independent as many of the adults on the show. “He said, ‘We want to just tell her story as she is,'” she says. “And when he said that, I felt she would be safe and she could be herself. She could get up and walk away and leave the room, and not have to follow instructions or perform or communicate if she didn’t want to.” (Abbey is, indeed, seemingly adroit at advocating for herself and her own limitations: about an hour into speaking with Rolling Stone, she politely requested we end the interview so she could go and eat some scones.)

From the very beginning of the show, Abbey was optimistic she would find love. But her first date with David, in which they went to a wildlife center — “I had a pink top on and I met other animals. I saw a fennec fox, bobcats, lynxes, and more,” she says — was beyond her expectations. “My love of David has changed me tremendously. He understands my autism and I’ve memorized all the names of his stuffed animals,” she says. “And he helps me cover my ears when I hear a certain noise. He knows I don’t like the sound of a crying baby or a dog barking or a rooster crowing.”

Christine is similarly enamored with David. “He is one of the kindest, sweetest, most heroic men I’ve ever gotten to meet,” she says. “He understands her, he understands her autism. When she has a sensory trigger, he can notice it and help her calm down, and he is the biggest gift I could ever hope for. And I know we all want that for our children, whether they’re on the spectrum or not.”

Abbey’s relationship with David has garnered her a huge fan base on TikTok, where the two serve as something of a template for neurotypical couples who may struggle to navigate communicating their feelings for each other. In another video, a relationship therapist analyzes the moment in which the two duet “Can You Feel the Love Tonight,” using it as a jump-off point to ennumerate healthy relationship tips such as radical honesty and open communication.

David and Abbey in Love on the Spectrum.

Even in the troll-heavy TikTok landscape, Abbey’s comments section is by and large supportive, a bastion of positivity. But that is sometimes not the case for her mother, Christine, with some commenters accusing her of pushing Abbey into the spotlight without her consent. Abbey is well aware of the backlash: “Unfortunately, people can be mean to my mom. We call them ‘the haters,'” she says. “I say they’re like the sea witch, the old hag, and even Mufasa’s brother. My mom has helped me get to where I am today. I just want people to be nice.”

Christine, a former entertainment industry professional who quit her job to raise Abbey and her brother on her own after becoming a single mother when Abbey was six, is wounded by the criticism of her parenting, particularly when it comes from other members of the autistic community. “People say what you’re doing is wrong, that you shouldn’t do that therapy for her, that she should be living on her own and driving a car,” she says. “I try to remember that person’s in pain. I try to have compassion for them. But I will tell you, the amount of of vicious hate is absurd.” She also believes that being on camera and performing has been tremendously helpful for her daughter. “The music and acting and on camera stuff has been crucial to her growth and success just as much as speech and occupational therapy,” she says.

Abbey has used her newfound fame to promote her hat business and a burgeoning music career, writing songs about subjects close to her heart, such as overcoming her fear of waterslides. Her upcoming music video for her song “Categories,” about her tendency to place things in categories as a means of verbally expressing herself, will be released on April 2. “It’s about how I put certain things I like together and certain things I don’t like together,” she says. “[Such as], witches eat hot peppers. And princesses eat cake. That’s what the song is about. How I understand the world better to get my words out.”

These days, Abbey no longer feels like the Little Mermaid, silently navigating an unfamiliar world. She has dreams of a big future, involving “living in a big mansion with David with a kitchen full of sweets and other foods where we train animals in the backyard.” She wants to perform her music live on stage, “just like Miley Cyrus.” And pretty soon, she hopes to get married.

“I’m scared, because I’ve never done it,” she says. “But I could get married sometime next year. Probably in late 2025. I’m a little nervous-cited to get married, which is when you’re nervous and excited at once. I’ve always wanted to, and now I’m so close.” Her ideal wedding is as follows: “Somewhere maybe near the beach in paradise. I’ll probably serve sweets there and all my favorite foods will be there, including lima beans.”

More Stories

Meet the Nigerian Creators Going Global

Meet the Nigerian Creators Going Global

In June, Nigerian comedian Isaac Olayiwola — known as Layi Wasabi on TikTok and Instagram, where he has more than 3 million combined followers — took his first trip to London. There, he had his beloved skit character “the Law” endure U.K. hijinks as if it was his first time as well. In one skit, the Law — a soft spoken but mischievous lawyer who can’t afford an office — bumps into a local, played by British-Congolese creator Benzo The1st. In sitcom fashion, the Law breaks the fourth wall to wave at an invisible but audible studio audience as Benzo watches on, confused and offended. In another, Olayiwola links with longtime internet comedy creator and British-Nigerian actor Tolu Ogunmefun to have the Law intervene in the relationship of a wannabe gangster and his fed up girlfriend. In another, he goes to therapy complaining that he can’t find clients in London (“Everything seems to work here in the U.K.”).

Olayiwola wasn’t in London just to film content — it was a reconnaissance mission, too, sitting for interviews and testing ­­stand-up sets to see how his humor might translate. After breaking out as one of Lagos’ most popular creators, he’s set on becoming a top comic — not just in his region, but in the world.

Keep ReadingShow less
Queens of the Stone Age Cancel Remaining 2024 Shows After Josh Homme Surgery

Queens of the Stone Age Cancel Remaining 2024 Shows After Josh Homme Surgery

Queens of the Stone Age have canceled the remainder of their 2024 tour dates — including a string of North American shows and festival gigs scheduled for the fall — as Josh Homme continues his recovery from an unspecified surgery he underwent in July.

“QOTSA regret to announce the cancellation and/or postponement of all remaining 2024 shows. Josh has been given no choice but to prioritize his health and to receive essential medical care through the remainder of the year,” the band wrote on social media.

Keep ReadingShow less
Sabrina Carpenter Is Viscously Clever and Done With Love Triangles on ‘Short N’ Sweet’: 5 Takeaways

Sabrina Carpenter Is Viscously Clever and Done With Love Triangles on ‘Short N’ Sweet’: 5 Takeaways

After Sabrina Carpenter’s summer takeover with “Espresso” and “Please Please Please,” the anticipation for Short n’ Sweet was at an all-time high. On her sixth album, the pop singer keeps the surprises coming as she delivers a masterclass in clever songwriting and hops between R&B and folk-pop with ease. Carpenter writes about the frustration of modern-day romance, all the while cementing herself as a pop classic. Here’s everything we gathered from the new project.

Please Please Please Don’t Underestimate Her Humor

Carpenter gave us a glimpse of her humor on singles “Espresso” and “Please Please Please” — she’s working late because she’s a singer; ceiling fans are a pretty great invention! But no one could have guessed how downright hilarious she is on Short n’ Sweet, delivering sugary quips like “The Lord forgot my gay awakenin’” (“Slim Pickins”) and “How’s the weather in your mother’s basement?” (“Needless to Say”). She’s also adorably nerdy, fretting about grammar (“This boy doesn’t even know/The difference between ‘there,’ ‘their’ and ‘they are!’”) and getting Shakespearian (“Where art thou? Why not uponeth me?”). On “Juno,” she even takes a subject as serious as pregnancy and twists it into a charming pop culture reference for the ages: “If you love me right, then who knows?/I might let you make me Juno.” It’s official: Do not underestimate Ms. Carpenter’s pen. — A.M.

Keep ReadingShow less
RFK Jr. Suspends Campaign, Endorses Trump

RFK Jr. Suspends Campaign, Endorses Trump

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has suspended his 2024 presidential campaign, and according to a court filing in Pennsylvania on Friday will throw his weight behind former President Donald Trump.

Multiple news outlets reported on Wednesday that independent presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. was planning to drop out of the race and endorse Trump. He clarified at an event in Arizona on Friday that he is not terminating his campaign, only suspending it, and that his name will remain on the ballot in non-battleground states. He said that if enough people still vote for him and Trump and Kamala Harris tie in the Electoral College, he could still wind up in the White House.

Keep ReadingShow less
The Chicks’ ‘Not Ready to Make Nice’ Has Somehow Become a MAGA Anthem on TikTok

The Chicks’ ‘Not Ready to Make Nice’ Has Somehow Become a MAGA Anthem on TikTok

One little funny/bizarre/horrifying thing about the internet is the way it offers up everything and, in doing so, makes it possible to strip anything of its history. But to paraphrase Kamala Harris, you didn’t just fall out of the coconut tree. “You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you” — wise words worth heeding, especially for all the Trump voters and conservatives making TikToks with the Chicks’ “Not Ready to Make Nice.”

Over the past month or so, “Not Ready to Make Nice” has become an unexpected MAGA anthem of sorts, meant to express a certain rage at liberals supposedly telling conservatives what to do all the time (the past few Supreme Court terms notwithstanding, apparently). Young women especially have taken the song as a way to push back against the possibility of Harris becoming the first female president. 

Keep ReadingShow less