How Jonathan Scott Became Zooey Deschanel’s MVP

Though she may have some other nominations. 

While the rest of us were labeling 2020 a dumpster fire and chucking the whole lot of it in the trash, Zooey, mom to 6-year-old Elsie and 4-year-old Charlie with ex-husband Jacob Pechenik, was prying out the bits worth highlighting, most involving the guy she recently labeled “My 2020 MVP.”

And not just because of the outsized gestures, like when he helped her ring in her 40th birthday with the neon hued- and spandex-filled birthday party of her ’80s kid dreams. While the festivities were decidedly understated for her 41st, “I have a few surprises up my sleeve,” he promised in tribute last year. No wonder Zooey, turning 42 this Jan. 17, has found the joy in every last moment with the guy she credited with making her “feel happy in spite of a weird and uncertain year.” 

As she put it in an August 2020 post acknowledging the anniversary of their first meeting, “I am so grateful for every smile, kiss, hug, snuggle, laugh, scrabble game, escape room, breakfast, lunch and dinner we share together. Even during the weirdest year for humanity I want a million billion more with you.”