Jay Leno Surprises His Ex-Girlfriend Tonight show colleague and intern Ross Matthews on Thursday's new episode The Drew Barrymore ShowNow a celebrated comedian in his own right and co-host of the talk show's “Drew's News,” Matthews first began working with Leno in 2001 and quickly became a fan favorite, covering movie premieres, awards ceremonies, the Olympic Games and other events.
While Matthews was on field duty at Television City Studios to talk to a group of interns about how to get started in the entertainment industry, his former boss caught him sneaking into his golf cart.
“Hello everyone, I'm Jay Leno, I'm going to surprise Ross, I haven't seen him in a long time, so… I guess he's changed,” the 74-year-old joked ahead of the sweet reunion. “Is he still a kid?”
“Ross, how are you?” Leno asked Matthews, who was clearly in shock, and Matthews shouted, “Oh my God, Jay Leno! Can I hug you? I haven't seen you in a long time!”
“Ross was my favorite intern. We had a lot of interns, but he was the most annoying. That was the fun part,” Leno recalled. “Can you believe it, Jay, it's been 23 years since I started on your show? And look at us, we look great!” the 44-year-old intern remarked. Leno winked at Matthews and said, “Well, I look great. No, no, you look good, you look amazing.”
The two then decided to take a quick tour of the studio and chat, during which Matthews somehow revealed that he had never driven with the famous car enthusiast and couldn't believe 23 years had passed. “I still think of you as a kid, but you're a grown man now,” Leno admitted, to which Mathews jokingly added, “I have a mortgage, Jay.”
Jokes aside, Matthews told Leno how important it was for him to get his big break Tonight Show“I never really had a chance to tell you how much of what I learned I referenced,” he said heartily.
“Well, we enjoyed having you. I always liked you because you were kind. I think you started in the mailroom. I don't mean that in a weird way, but you had no discernible talent,” Leno teased. “I mean, you didn't sing, you didn't dance… I mean, you Tonight Show, [they’d say] 'Come on, do your thing, let me see what you do.' Oh yeah, it's funny or not funny. But you had a funny personality, so I thought, 'There's something about this kid.'”
“Show business is the opposite of real life. If you're annoying and drive people crazy, that's a good thing!” Jay Leno's Garage The presenter continued by recalling the time they sent Matthews to a Hollywood premiere Ocean's Eleven“I said, 'What about that new, annoying guy, Ross, the intern?' I thought he could be funny. And you did a great job, and then it just took off from there.”
Of course, there are worse ways to get your big break.