Getty Zooey Deschanel and Jonathan Scott attend the Baby2Baby Gala on November 12, 2022
When HGTV‘s Jonathan Scott and his longtime love, actress Zooey Deschanel, head out for date night, they don’t go for the typical dinner and a movie. The couple prefers to dabble in magic and mystery — and they take their favorite pastime so seriously that there’s no drinking allowed.
Zooey Deschanel Says She & Jonathan Scott Are ‘Kinda Pros’ at Escape Rooms
GettyJonathan Scott and Zooey Deschanel kiss at the Venice Film Festival in September 2022
In an interview with Extra on November 14, 2022, about their plans for hosting Thanksgiving at their newly renovated Los Angeles home, the conversation included what they planned to drink, which led to a discussion about their favorite date night activity. Scott didn’t sound interested in cocktails or hot toddies, as the reporter suggested, and said he’s “a hot chocolatey kind of guy” while Deschanel said she prefers wine.
The “Elf” and “New Girl” actress added, “I basically can’t drink hard alcohol because it’s like, it’s too fast, you know?”
That prompted Scott to reveal that any kind of alcohol is problematic whenever they head out for one of their favorite pastimes: escape rooms.
“We also realized that she can’t drink anything hard before we do an escape room because it affects the ability to compute,” Scott said.
Deschanel agreed with her beau, saying, “I can’t drink anything before an escape room! I can’t have, like, a glass of wine. I can’t have…no, nothing.”
According to the New York Times, the concept of escape rooms started in Japan and has since become a popular social activity across the U.S. Teams of relatives, friends or colleagues are locked in a room and must work together to find clues and solve puzzles to “escape” a specific danger — from an airplane crashing to a building crumbling before time runs out. In 2014, there were 22 escape room facilities in the U.S. and today, there are over 2,300.
But Scott and Deschanel revealed they don’t often go to escape rooms with other people. They prefer to solve them as a twosome.
“We’re very good. We’re obsessed,” Scott said. “We will go and just do them by ourselves, even when they’re like ‘you need at least 4 people,’ we’re like…don’t think so.”
“Yeah, we’re like, we got this,” Deschanel laughed, adding, “We’re kinda pros.”
Jonathan Scott & Zooey Deschanel Also Love Hollywood’s Magic Castle
In addition to frequenting escape rooms to solve mysteries, the couple also loves to visit the Magic Castle, a members-only Hollywood dinner club devoted to the magical arts, with shows, classes, and a dress code that reflects “a certain level of luxury.” Scott has been a longtime member of the club; it’s not known if Deschanel joins him as a guest or is also a member herself.
On August 5, the couple celebrated their third anniversary at the Magic Castle, with Scott gushing over his girlfriend in an Instagram post.
In the caption, he wrote, “Hard to believe…scratch that…Easy to believe it’s already been 3 years with this beautiful soul in my life. @zooeydeschanel you make everything better…and what a fitting way to celebrate at the @magiccastlehollywood.”
Before Scott was one half of the “Property Brothers,” he studied magic and performed magic shows at various Las Vegas venues as a teen. In his and brother Jonathan’s 2017 memoir It Takes Two: Our Story, he wrote about winning an award for his magic skills.
“At 16, I won 3rd Best Stage Performer in the Pacific Coast Association of Magicians magic competition,” he wrote. “That’s right: I was officially an Olympian of magic. Well, in my head, at least.”
Scott even uses his magic skills in his role as a stepdad to Deschanel’s kids, seven-year-old Elsie and five-year-old Charlie, whom she shares with ex-husband Jacob Pechenik.
At a charity event on November 12, she told reporters he’s an “amazing stepdad.”
Scott said he has lots of skills to lean on for the job, saying, “I’m a magician, or I’m a clown, I could build stuff!”
“He’s really very highly qualified for the job,” Deschanel agreed.