‘This Is Us’ Star Justin Hartley Shares Hilarious Story of His Daughter Unknowingly Ruining His Romantic Birthday

This Is Us star Justin Hartley recently shared a hilarious story of his teenage daughter unknowingly ruining his romantic birthday. During an appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers Hartley recalled a recent story of his 16-year-old daughter, Isabella, throwing a wrench into his evening with new girlfriend Sofia Pernas. “This was the night before my birthday,” he began, explaining that this unfortunate situation happened a few weeks back. “I kind of look at my girlfriend, it’s late at night, and I’m like, ‘Let’s swim, why not?

Hartley continued, “It’s raining in California. It’s kind of romantic. It’s my birthday tomorrow.’ So we go swimming and we get in the hot tub. We’re having a great time.” However, by the time the couple was ready to head inside, it was around 3 a.m. and Isabella had inadvertently locked the door on them. “So now it’s raining and now I’m getting cold, and I had to walk all the way to the front of the house,” he went on to share. “We had just watched the documentary The Night Stalker but here I am at three in the morning, knocking on my daughter’s bedroom window and I’m like, ‘This is going to scar her for life.’”

“So finally she wakes up, she answers the front door,” Hartley added. “She opens the door, she looks at me, and she goes, ‘Why are you here?’” The actor then joked that he thought maybe Isabella had nefarious motives when she locked the door. “I was replaying the events of the car, locking me out in the rain, and she’s 16, I was like, my daughter, she’s trying to kill me,” he quipped. “I thought, now I’m going to sleep with one eye open.”

Prior to the birthday mishap story, 44-year-old Hartley shared a story that happened while he was trying to teach Isabella how to drive. “There’s nothing more terrifying, actually, than taking your daughter or son, your 16-year-old, who knows nothing about driving and putting them behind the wheel. It’s the worst thing in the world,” Hartley began.

He went on to explain that the teen accidentally put both their lives at risk while he was riding in the passenger seat snacking on some gummy bears. “I look up and we are cruising through a red light, just reckless, she could not have cared less,” he recalled. “And I looked at her and we pulled the car over and then she realized what she did and I said, ‘That could have been my last gummy bear. You have to be more careful.’” This is Us is set to return on Tuesday, Feb. 9 at 9 p.m. ET.