Amy Schumer reveals husband Chris Fischer has autism spectrum disorder
Amy Schumer reveals in her new Netflix comedy special that her husband, Chris Fischer, was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder — and she calls him “courageous and beautiful” for going public with it.
In Amy Schumer: Growing, which drops Tuesday, the comedienne gets candid about her pregnancy, which has been rough due to hyperemesis gravidarum, and marriage to the chef. During the hour-long special, she opened up about Fischer, whom she married in 2018 after a whirlwind courtship.
“I knew from the beginning that my husband’s brain was a little different than mine,” she said during the special, which was filmed in Chicago in December 2018. “I have to start this over because I really want to get this right because I love him very much.”
“My husband was diagnosed with what used to be called Asperger’s,” she continued. “He has autism spectrum disorder. He’s on the spectrum. And there were some signs early on.”
Schumer went on to recall an instance where she fell down during a walk and he had an unusual reaction. “Nine out of 10 people would go, ‘Oh my god, are you OK?!’” she said. “Maybe more like 10 out of 10 people… Instead, my husband went — he kind of froze and became a lighthouse, opening and closing his mouth…. I remember lying on the ground looking up at him and I wasn’t mad, I just thought, Huh. Lotta ‘huh’ moments, you know?”
Schumer suggested the diagnosis was fairly recent because they married in February 2018 — one year after they met. “Once he was diagnosed, it dawned on me how funny it was, because all of the characteristics that make it clear that he’s on the spectrum are all of the reasons that I fell madly in love with him,” she said. “That’s the truth. He says whatever is on his mind. He keeps it so real. He doesn’t care about social norms or what you expect him to say or do.”
On Monday, Schumer gave Fischer a lengthy shout-out in a post thanking people related to the special.
“Thank you to my husband, Chris, who has kept me going during this pregnancy,” she wrote. “His willingness and desire to be open with the world about himself and our marriage is courageous and beautiful. He makes me laugh more than anyone and he laughs at me more than anyone. I am more than grateful to have found such an amazing partner and best friend. I’m shocked. I didn’t think this love was out there for me. But it was and it is and I can’t wait to spend my life with you and our growing family.”
A post shared by @ amyschumer on Mar 18, 2019 at 7:26am PDT
Fischer is a chef, farmer and writer. When he met Schumer, he was running his family’s historic farm on Martha’s Vineyard. From there, he authored his acclaimed 2015 cookbook, The Beetlebung Farm Cookbook: A Year of Cooking on Martha’s Vineyard. He had previously been the chef at several Vineyard restaurants — writing about life on the island for one of the local papers — but got his start in the food business working the pasta station of Mario Batali’s Babbo in New York City.
The couple, who lived together for six months before tying the knot, announced in October they are expecting their first child. They haven’t revealed the child’s gender, but they don’t care what it is anyways. “However the baby identifies is fine… as long it doesn’t identify as a DJ cause that’s heartbreaking.”
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