Strange Things About Scarlett Johansson And Colin Jost's Marriage
It's easy to see why the more cynical among pop culture's cognoscenti would question what A-list thespian Scarlett Johansson and former "Saturday Night Live" co-head writer Colin Jost would see in each other. She's been in over 60 movies, many of them box office smashes. He's had supporting roles in only a handful. She's regarded by some media wags as "the most beautiful woman on the planet." He's claimed to have "A Very Punchable Face," a declaration that doubled as the title of his 2020 memoir. She's made a killing as Marvel character Black Widow. He's frequently jokingly shamed on "Weekend Update" for his whiteness.
Weigh all the pros and cons you want, but these two seemingly polar opposites have made it work so far, enjoying three years of marriage that's also produced a son, at the time of this writing. Johansson's marriage to Jost has already lasted longer than previous unions with Ryan Reynolds and French scribe Romain Dauriac, with whom she shares a daughter. "I don't profess to know anything about marriage that anybody else doesn't know, or how to make it right," she once remarked to Glamour, years before Jost was even a tiny blip on her romantic radar.
While Scarlett Johansson and Colin Jost doggedly keep their private lives under wraps, the press and social media users alike still comment on the pairing, not likely realizing that it's the oddities about them providing some of the glue to keep their relationship intact. Dig a little deeper, and you'll find a slew of things about the twosome that come across as unusual.
Colin Jost's first gift to Scarlett Johansson was 'so creepy'
While the ink was still drying on the divorce papers involving second husband Romain Dauriac, Scarlett Johansson first became an item with Colin Jost at an afterparty commemorating the season finale of "Saturday Night Live" that she cameoed on. For both, it was an auspicious way to end the 2016-2017 "SNL" season and the start of a true-blue relationship. But Johansson also began to see a more mischievous version of her new flame during the initial gift-giving phase of their romance.
"He got me a bullfrog — like, a taxidermy bullfrog — playing, I think, the banjo or something like that," Johansson revealed on "Late Night with Seth Meyers" in 2021. "... He left to go to work or whatever. When I came out, it was just sitting on the floor and with a little card that said, 'Hi Scarlett,' or something like that. It was just so creepy." The MCU star admitted she had a difficult time getting rid of it, since the preserved amphibian was the first gift Jost ever got her. That pesky bullfrog had a way of reappearing in places she'd least expect to see it, from a drawer to her closet. "It was awful. Absolutely awful," she added with a laugh.
While one can garner sympathy for receiving an ugly present that just won't go away, Johansson's just as notorious for giving away unusual gift items, such as a reported necklace sporting one of her wisdom teeth dipped in gold to recipient and first husband Ryan Reynolds.
Scarlett Johansson's 'creepy, weird voices' amuse him
One signature trait that's distinguished Scarlett Johansson also seems to be the source of amusement for husband Colin Jost. It's not only the animated way she expresses herself — an ability that's landed her two Oscar and five Golden Globe nominations, as of this writing — it's also how she can portray older and even eccentric characters, from a homicidal alien (with a Scottish accent, no less) in "Under the Skin" to Kaa the serpent in "The Jungle Book." That talented larynx has definitely brought home lots of bacon, although Jost seems to enjoy another side benefit to having such an amenity in the household.
"Oh my God. I'm sure I have all kinds of weird voices that I probably do," Johansson told People in 2021 of how she can make her other half laugh. "He's a sucker for a creepy, weird voice, or a strange, far away stare or smile."
For his part, while Jost makes "Saturday Night Live" viewers laugh during "Weekend Update," it seems he's more likely to bomb back home. Appearing on "The Kelly Clarkson Show" in 2022, Johansson revealed there have been several times when he tests out material, and she's just not that into it. "He'll love a play on words or a pun, and it's just really ... they used to be just kind of duds, and now they're dad jokes," she quipped.
Colin Jost didn't mention his wife in his book
For someone who seems to be head-over-heels with the love of his life, Colin Jost doesn't say much about his wife, Scarlett Johansson, in "A Very Punchable Face" — his aforementioned 2020 memoir that chronicles his unpredictable and sometimes hilarious path to prosperity on "Saturday Night Live." On the surface, who could blame him for that oversight, since the tome is written with a rather self-deprecating voice? It's also chock full of several misadventures of the funnyman defecating in his pants, passing out while intoxicated in a cemetery in Helsinki, and taking a surfboard (not a punch) to the face. And while Jost dedicates a chapter to his mother's heroism as a chief medical officer with New York City's fire department during 9/11, curiously, he writes little about his famous relationship.
Howard Stern questioned Jost about that omission that July. "I wanted to keep it clean and this story up until now," said Jost, whose book concentrates a lot on his time growing up on Staten Island, noting that he was concerned about including "anything that felt non-comedy."
That said, what literary real estate Jost does dedicate to Johansson is quite touching, especially his feelings when he first met her on the set of "SNL." Jost describes his wife as "beautiful, smart, sweet, and intimidatingly sophisticated," noting how she displayed "a grace and a smile that I've still never seen in any other human." He also credits Johansson as his "first reader," thanking her "for always protecting me from my worst instincts."
Scarlett Johansson and Colin Jost named their kid Cosmo
Celebrity couples certainly get away with a lot more than their followers do, especially when it comes to weird monikers for their brood. The Kardashians have offspring who boast monikers like North and Psalm, while the Beyoncé and Jay-Z tandem have brought children named Blue Ivy and Sir into the fold. At least they can afford the security to ensure their kids' safety if a playground altercation triggered by those names breaks out. In the case of Scarlett Johansson and Colin Jost, they chose to name their son Cosmo.
"We just threw a bunch of letters together," quipped Johansson on "The Kelly Clarkson Show" about their boy, who was born in August 2021. She went on to add, "I just thought it was so charming, and then our friends all liked it."
However, not everyone in the surrounding families was on board with the choice. "My mom, I would say, was slightly thrown by it and didn't quite understand it. I don't know if she thought it was kind of like a hippie thing," Jost previously explained on "Late Night with Seth Meyers," adding, "But she would call us and say — like after three or four days — she'd be like 'Cosmo. ... And now, is that final?'" Jost added that his mother would often ring them up to offer variations on the name — but after finding out it wasn't actually such an oddball choice, especially among the Italian-American community, she eventually relented.
Colleagues torture Colin Jost on his marriage
By all accounts, Colin Jost is a pretty lucky guy by getting hitched to Scarlett Johansson, one of Hollywood's most successful actors. However, Jost is still on the receiving end of shots from colleagues suggesting that he might have married far too above his paycheck.
Take one 2020 episode during the "Weekend Update" segment that saw player Chloe Fineman imitating Jost's famous wife in a scene from her Oscar-nominated turn in "A Marriage Story." She then hollowed her cheeks and spoke to Jost in a husky voice, saying, "Do you feel like you're at home, Colin?" During that sequence, Jost squirmed, mumbling, "You don't have to do that, thanks," while jokingly showing some desperation to move things along. Not to be outdone, during an episode a year later, "Weekend Update" co-anchor Michael Che tricked Jost into reading a story about a Frank Sinatra biopic that would see Sammy Davis Jr. played by Johansson. Che similarly trolled Jost and Johansson again during the segment's "Christmas Joke Swap" of 2023.
Fortunately, Jost had already grown a few layers of hide to handle that ribbing, as he first survived a critical drubbing in his "Weekend Update" anchor debut in 2014. "I had such deep, deep, deep anxiety, like drinking before shows," recalled Jost on "The Howard Stern Show" in 2020. "I felt like I was losing my whole identity ... that I had built up for whatever it was, 10 years at the show. I thought I was gonna lose everything, and then just be done."
Scarlett Johansson got slimed on TV by her husband
In 2021, Scarlett Johansson was only 36 — but that was apparently old enough for MTV to honor her mounting body of work with a Generation Award as part of the music network's Movie & TV Awards show. Fortunately, she had a very supportive Colin Jost in her corner, or so she thought.
With MTV broadcasting her acceptance speech from their home due to COVID-19, Johansson started to rattle off a plethora of thanks to colleagues before getting to a preview of her forthcoming "Black Widow" flick. "It's my great pleasure to share with you a sneak peek from a film that is the culmination of 10 years of work and one of the greatest..." she declared, before cutting off her speech as blobs of green goop landed on her face. And just like that, Johansson's acceptance speech turned into a comedy sketch. Appearing shocked, she looked up at Jost holding a bowl that once contained the contentious liquid before yelling at him, "What the f**k!" Innocently responded Jost, "MTV! You got slimed!" Angrily responded his wife, "That's Nickelodeon!" in reference to the kids' channel that never tires of pouring green slime on its personalities.
An apologetic Jost slinked away from the camera to fetch a towel and tried to clean her up, but the star wouldn't let him touch her. She was still curious enough to ask about the mess on her face. "Where did you even get this?" she asked. "Casually replied Jost, "Amazon." Eventually, "Black Widow" won Johansson an MTV best hero trophy ... this time, without slime.
She wasn't totally on board with Colin Jost purchasing a ferry boat
Somewhere along the line, Scarlett Johansson must have been aware that her beau, Colin Jost, had a thing for Staten Island ferries, the vessels he used during his high school commute. That affinity was evident the day they got married in October 2020, when an image popped up on Instagram labeled "Jost Married" and featured a chugging Staten Island ferry doctored with giant tin cans tied to its stern. But Johansson probably didn't realize how deeply Jost was into those harbor workhorses until 2022, when she discovered that he, "Saturday Night Live" cohort Pete Davidson, and a third partner had purchased a decommissioned Staten Island ferry for $280,100.
Appearing on "Live with Kelly and Mark" in June 2023, Johansson recalled the chain of events leading to that acquisition. "Then I get a text message that says, 'We bought a ferry,'" she said, responding with, "'What are we doing with this?'" But her somewhat awkward expressions let viewers know she wasn't totally on board with the deal. Johansson admitted she hadn't even set foot on the boat, originally christened the John F. Kennedy in the 1960s.
For his part, Jost admitted to struggling with some financial issues and paperwork hassles surrounding the boat, which they planned to convert into a floating entertainment center. The fact that Jost decided to rename the vessel Titanic 2 didn't go over well with insurance companies. "This is why idiots should not be allowed to do things," Jost quipped about the project on "Late Night with Seth Meyers."
Scarlett Johansson cajoled him to try her cosmetic line on video
Scarlett Johansson and Colin Jost seem to love working together whether it be for a "Saturday Night Live" episode or a Super Bowl commercial. But when it came to doing an October 2023 video to promote Johansson's The Outset skin care line, Jost humorously came across as a reticent test subject for her products in front of the cameras. When Johansson pitched her Spa in a Box line as a gift item, Jost looked at her quizzically, asking, "So, for the holiday season, you're gifting me the product you make?" Acting caught off-guard, his wife offered additional items with, "Um, I mean, we have travel size."
Throughout the 10-plus-minute video, the comedy bit continued. After Johansson applied her line's clay mask, she asked her man, "So, you think that when you go back into doing late-night comedy stuff, people are going to notice how moisturized and plump and glowing and hydrated your skin is?" Jost didn't miss a beat in his witty response: "Yeah, I think, like, definitely stand-up comedians and stuff, the first words they are going to use to me are, 'I think your skin looks so plump and glowing, Colin.' It's such a supportive community."
As you may have guessed, Jost is actually totally behind The Outset, the company his wife founded with fashion entrepreneur Kate Foster. Johansson noted he particularly likes the eye cream product in their inventory. "He was the first one to use it regularly," Johansson said to Allure in 2022. "He's been using it secretly for a year."
The actor makes way more money than the comedian
Often listed on Forbes' highest-paid actresses lists, Scarlett Johansson is worth at least $165 million these days. Meanwhile, Colin Jost isn't exactly hurting with an estimated personal net worth of $10 million, largely due to his "Saturday Night Live" earnings. But he's hardly the main breadwinner in the household — something that Johansson played up for laughs on at least one occasion. That would have been during a "Saturday Night Live" monologue late in 2019, shortly after the two became engaged. "If the show is bad, what are they going to do? Fire my fiancé?" Johansson joked on the episode, marking her sixth time as a guest host. "Oh no, what will we do without his paycheck?"
It isn't known whether that income disparity is a big enough issue with the couple to kibosh that marriage, or even an issue at all. But according to a University of Chicago Booth School of Business study, if the two had married a decade earlier, it might have. The 2013 study revealed that marriages in which women earn more than their spouses were more likely to end in divorce by as much as 50%. "The idea is basically that men might feel a bit emasculated by a woman that earns more than them," said FiveThirtyEight.com data expert Mona Chalabi on NPR about her take on the research two years later. However, more recently, The Wall Street Journal revealed that, with more wives becoming chief breadwinners these days while sensitivity toward female empowerment is also increasing, those divorce rates are dropping.
Scarlett Johansson and Colin Jost made fun of their marriage in a Super Bowl ad
Should anyone ever decide to remake Paula Abdul's hit "Opposites Attract" to entertain a newer generation, whoever's in charge of casting might be well advised to place Scarlett Johansson and Colin Jost in the video, given the differences in their backgrounds. Instead, viewers got the next best thing in 2022 via a 90-second commercial for Amazon's virtual assistant Alexa that aired during the Super Bowl.
Given the premise that the device could read minds, Alexa prepared to turn from assistant to homewrecker by playing up quirks that apparently drive each party crazy. The tranquility of Johansson waking up next to Jost is disturbed by Alexa declaring that extra strength mouthwash was in order for the actor. When Jost tried to engage in kitchen small talk, Alexa turned on the blender to drown him out. While watching his wife rehearse for a production he discovers is slated for a March 8 opening, Alexa audibly marked a virtual calendar by saying, "Setting reminder to fake your own death on March 8th."
Just how much of that ad was based on their real life remains speculative, although Claudia Cheever, Amazon's vice president for global band and fixed marketing, offered some clues. "Celebrities work well for us when they will poke fun at themselves, and are willing to have fun with themselves rather than just show up and be themselves," she said to Variety, adding that the couple contributed heavily to the ad's funny content.