Melissa Fumero Enjoys First Date Night Since Giving Birth: My Son’s in ‘Good Hands’
It’s been just a little over a month since Brooklyn Nine-Nine actress Melissa Fumero became a first-time mom to son Enzo. And even if she was a little sleep-deprived, she was excited for her much-anticipated “date night” with husband David Fumero.
“This is our first night out,” Melissa told PEOPLE as she and David attended the premiere of comedy duo Key & Peele‘s film Keanu at Hollywood’s iconic Cinerama Dome theater. (Fumero’s costar Chelsea Peretti recently eloped with the film’s star and co-writer Jordan Peele.)
The new mom admits she was ready to step back into the social whirl for a moment. “There’s full-on five days in a row where I don’t leave the house, so yeah, it was like, ‘Ooo, date night’s coming up!’ ” says Melissa.
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Performing her mom duties stretched out her red-carpet prep time. “It was an all-day process: Dry your hair in the morning, try to get your makeup done in pieces. It was very fun,” she admits.
Fumero even jokingly insists she had no pang of hesitation leaving Enzo, who was born March 24, at home under watchful eyes.
“No,” she jokes. “I was like ‘He’s in good hands. He’s good. Bye!’ ”
#keanupremiere sooooooo excited!!!
The 33-year-old actress, who met her husband, 43, while both were appearing on the daytime drama One Life to Live and married in 2007, says the couple were amazed at how thoroughly Enzo’s arrival changed their lives — something they’re still adjusting to.
“We’re still in the weeds,” she says with a laugh. “We’re in newborn territory, so he’s just completely taken over our life. I don’t feel like we’re back to real life yet. But it’s amazing. Your life carries more weight after you have a child. I drive slower and get things done with a little more caution now. It’s like ‘Oh, it’s not just about me.’ ”
Sleep, Fumero confesses, has been “nonexistent,” though she’d gotten some well-timed relief before date night. “He gave us two three-hour stretches last night, which was, like, ‘The heavens parted and I can see the light!’ ”
The biggest change that she never saw coming? “I never thought I would laugh at poop and farts so much,” she says. “And the faces he makes … he really takes a lot of joy in pooping. So I’m like, ‘We should all do that.’ ”
Enzo’s name was one that struck the right note with his parents. “We actually have a good friend who named their son Enzo years ago and the name always stuck with us,” she reveals. “When we found out we were having a boy, we decided really early on that it was going to be Enzo.”
Sweetest face I've ever held. Enzo 3/24
Fumero says David has thrown himself both into fatherhood and provided invaluable support for her as she took on motherhood. “He’s amazing. He’s super hands-on, and he’s been cooking me meals. He’s just an amazing, amazing partner — which I already knew he would be like that — and he’s totally in love with [Enzo]. It’s been great.”
And when she returns to work to shoot Brooklyn Nine-Nine‘s fourth season, Fumero has hatched a sneaky scheme to recruit her star and on-screen love interest Andy Samberg into baby duty.
“I’m just going to leave Enzo in his dressing room right when he wants to eat, just so Andy can walk into his dressing room to a screaming baby. That’s going to be my season-four prank on Andy,” she shares.
— Scott Huver