Sebastian Maniscalco Reveals How Touring Adds a 'Newness' to His 11-Year Marriage with Wife Lana (Exclusive)

Sebastian Maniscalco revealed to fans the secret behind his marriage to his wife Lana Gomez.

Ahead of the premiere of the second season of his series BookmakerManiscalco, 51, sat down with PEOPLE on Dec. 8 at the Rams/Bills game, where he talked about his 11-year marriage.

“I’m on the road a lot, so every time I come back it’s definitely new,” he explains, noting that when he returns home from his “It Ain’t Right” comedy tour, they’re “really happy to see each other.”

“Listen, 44 hours a day, seven days a week. I’m not going to put it out there,” he continues, before joking, “But after a while you look at the other person and say, ‘Are you going to leave the house soon?’ ”

Sebastian Maniscalco knew he wanted to be a stand up comedian in the second grade

On a more serious note, Maniscalco says one relatable factor is responsible for the success: “I also attribute it to laughing a lot—in any relationship, whether it’s marriage, best friends, your mother, your father, your sister.”

“I think humor is definitely something that gets us through life a lot easier. It’s something I’ve used as a coping mechanism all my life,” he explains. “So as long as we’re laughing, it’s all right. Either you laugh or cry in my area, but I’d rather laugh.”

Sebastian Maniscalco and Lana Gomez. George Pimentel/WireImage Sebastian Maniscalco talks about the sneaky way he met wife Lana Gomez at the gym (Exclusive)

The comedian met Gomez (41) in 2009 at the gym. As Maniscalco previously told PEOPLE, he approached his coach and asked if he knew any single women, and his coach immediately suggested Gomez.

Since then, Maniscalco has started coming to the gym dressed up in an attempt to woo his wife-to-be – with his hair styled, in “full cologne” and covered in baby oil. “When my trainer trained me on the mat, the mat was filled with oil from my body,” Maniscalco joked to PEOPLE in June.

And although there were initial awkwardness on their first date, the two eventually developed a strong bond and married in 2013. They have since had two children: daughter Seraphina in 2017 and son Caruso in 2019.

Sebastian Maniscalco and Lana Gomez in November 2011. Amy Graves/WireImage Who is Sebastian Maniscalco’s wife? All about Lana Gomez

These days, Maniscalco is busy balancing parenthood with work. He is currently starring in the 2nd season of the series Bookmakerwhich premiered on Max on December 12, as well as wrapping up the 2024 leg of his comedy tour before kicking off 2025.

When it comes to his comedy tour, Maniscalco tells PEOPLE that he tries to include his kids in his schedule whenever possible — even if it means dealing with some pretty low-key moments.

“Every day I get up [is humbling],” he jokes. “Being on the road trying to be a FaceTime parent was a challenge for me. But they are great kids. They understand what dad is doing. They really enjoy coming to my shows. Although my son fell asleep at the last show he attended. So that was pretty humbling. It’s always nice when you look at the audience, your son has been knocked out.”

Sebastian Maniscalco on stage as part of a comedy show in January 2020.

Sebastian Maniscalco in ‘Kladioničar’. Sebastian Maniscalco on stage as part of a comedy show in January 2020. PHOTO:

Kevin Mazur/Getty

Sebastian Maniscalco in ‘Kladioničar’. PHOTO:

Adam Rose/Max

Two and a half men Creator Chuck Lorre praises Charlie Sheen’s “courage” in poking fun at past adversity Bookmaker (Exclusive)

As regards BookmakerManiscalco takes the lead role as Danny, a veteran bookie from Los Angeles who deals with the potential legalization of sports gambling in California, threatening to destroy his business forever.

“For me, I had a lot more fun in Season 2 just because we established who the characters were,” he says. “I’ve never done a soup-to-nuts TV show before, so the first season I was finding my way around, trying to figure out how this all worked.”

“I felt like coming into season two, I felt more comfortable with who I was as a character and what to expect doing an eight-episode TV show,” he continues. “The more comfortable I am doing something, the freer I feel as a performer, and when they pick us up from season 3, 4 and 5, it’s going to be an amazing ride.”

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Bookmaker season 2 premieres Thursday, December 12 on Max, with new episodes released every week.

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Source: HIS Education