Nate Bargatze And His Wife Laura Had A Humble Start To Their Relationship

Comedian Nate Bargatze got the chance to host "Saturday Night Live" for the first time in October 2023. Unlike past "SNL" hosts who had Twitter seeing red, Nate was well-received on the program. One of the people cheering the comedian on during this super special milestone was his beloved wife, Laura Bargatze.

Relationships can start in a myriad of ways. Some people find love via a dating app, a blind date with someone a friend has picked out, or even a chance encounter. Nate and Laura are an example of a couple that met in a non-glamorous, quite normal setting long before his career took off: As Applebee's co-workers.

On an episode of "The Nateland Podcast," in which Laura also appeared, Nate explained that he was 21 when they met. They were both living in Tennessee then, and they pursued a long-distance relationship when Nate left the job and started his comedy career. They were only friends at first, and a Disney album is part of what made Laura interested in Nate.

When they were out with their restaurant colleagues, Nate Bargatze put on "The Little Mermaid" soundtrack and shushed everyone so he could really appreciate it. As Laura Bargatze remarked on his podcast, "I thought that was, like, totally confident and, like, you're your own person. [...] I thought that was cool. I mean, not 'cool.' But like cute-cool." Nate reasoned, "It was so uncool that it was cool." The couple confirmed the song in question was "Part of Your World." 

Laura also mentioned how Nate's familiarity with the song likely meant he cared about things that his younger sister liked, which impressed her. Naturally, the comedian has referenced the job that changed his life in his stand-up a few times. His special, "The Greatest Average American," included a story about how, when he and Laura worked at Applebee's together, she was less than supportive of Nate's desire to make the leap from host to server. 

Simply put, she thought he wasn't cut out for the task. Nate joked about Laura telling him to dream big, claiming that she advised him, "I think if you try hard, you can get that menu memorized," (via X, formerly known as Twitter). Despite those doubts about an Applebee's promotion, Laura supported Nate's stand-up career when he started out and still does to this day. 

Elsewhere in "The Greatest Average American," Nate Bargatze discussed being a patron of the restaurant where he and Laura Bargatze used to work, noting, "I go to Applebee's. I go to the nicest one. I'm very average American in my taste," (via Vanity Fair). He also quipped that any survey polling "the average American [...] should just call me, and I'll tell them what we're feeling."

The Bargatzes are now coworkers once more, despite their days at Applebee's being long in the past. Laura is an executive producer on "The Nateland Podcast," which is now produced by Nate's company, The Nateland Company. Announced in October 2023, it's set to bring a wider variety of clean content to the world in the format of stand-up comedy, movies, TV, podcasts, and lots more.

Since Laura's LinkedIn page also lists her as a talent manager for Bargatze Enterprises and an executive producer of Nateland Productions, she will likely continue to work with Nate and any new comedians or talent he collaborates with in this latest venture. She will likely also be the subject of many more of Nate's jokes too, although he promised on "TODAY" to talk less about their daughter in his stand-up as she's getting older.