Daytime-talk-show icon and rom-com trailblazer Drew Barrymore sure knows how to make an audience feel all warm and gushy inside. The Santa Clarita Diet star invited ex Justin Long on the latest episode of her talk show to discuss his new film Barbarian, though their seven-and-a-half-minute interview mainly consisted of sweetly saying “I’ll always love you†back and forth and walks down memory lane. Barrymore’s rom-com and talk-show worlds collided during their short exchange when the host grew tearful after embracing Long and describing their wholesome friendship — FaceTime calls and all.
“I love that we’ve maintained our love, because I know, from my end, it will never go away,†Long said. “I’ll love you always, you know.â€
Barrymore reciprocated Long’s sentiments, telling him, “I will always love you so much,†and adding that Long has been “so important†to her and that they had “been through so much together.†Apparently, during their on-again, off-again 2007–10 relationship (“We would get together, we would break up,†Barrymore remembered. “It was chaos. It was hella fun.â€), they engaged in a lot of self-described hedonism (Do tell!) but have since grown into kind adults who value those in their past. “When we used to talk and FaceTime, I was always like, ‘You know, I’ve really grown up, Justin,’†Barrymore recounted. “All I want in life is your success and your happiness.†The Drewth is that this segment’s sweetness may make your stomach hurt a little.