9 Times The Universe Tried To Tear Matt And Colleen Apart On Life In Pieces—But Couldn't

Let's face it: Matt (Thomas Sadoski) and Colleen's (Angelique Cabral) romantic progression on Life in Pieces hasn't exactly been a picnic. But over the course of two seasons, their undying love for each other has proved time and again that, no matter what the indifferent universe throws at them, these two are meant to be together.

So with that in mind, let's take a look back at some of the couple's most harrowing—and uproarious—obstacles, and what they did to beat the odds.



1. The time Chad crashed their first date
Indeed, the universe had it out for Matt and Colleen from the start, as Colleen's ex-fiancé Chad (played by comedy maestro Jordan Peele) wedged himself into the couple's first night out together. And bumping into Matt's parents later that evening didn't exactly help matters.

One of those things alone would have been enough to end most normal relationships, but Matt and Colleen are far from normal. In fact, it was just the start of their cavalcade of mortifying (hilarious?) hurdles as a couple.



2. The time Matt's ex-wife showed up
All things considered, Matt and Colleen handled the return of Matt's ex-wife Bonnie (Brenda Song) pretty well—especially considering the one-time ball-and-chain was dead set on locking Matt down again.

In the end, though, love prevailed, and Matt and Colleen finally declared their true feelings for each other.



3. The time Tyler (Niall Cunningham) and Clementine (Hunter King) beat them to the proposal punch
Proposing to your girlfriend can be stressful on its own, but having your nephew steal your thunder right in front of you and your extended family? That's harsh.

Of course, that turn of events wasn't about to stop Matt from laying himself on the line anyway (albeit with chicken cufflinks) in the bathroom moments later.



4. The time Dougie wrestled Matt to stay in their apartment
Moving in with your betrothed is a pretty common step in an engagement. What's not so common is having to wrestle your fiancé's roommate over getting the place to yourselves.

Alas, this one didn't work out in Matt and Colleen's favor, as we witnessed in "Annulled Roommate Pill Shower"—but that didn't keep Matt and Colleen apart!



5. The time Colleen couldn't make a "big job"
It's a tale as old as time: boy meets girl, boy moves in with girl, and girl suddenly can't go number two anymore. Eventually, though, Matt assured Colleen in "Receptionist Pot Voting Cramp", "I don't love you for what you don't do; I love you for what you do do."

And they lived happily ever after—poop-wise, anyway.



6. The time Matt taught Colleen how to swim
In what may be the cutest thing in the history of ever, Matt helped Colleen learn how to swim in the episode entitled "Swim Survivor Zen Talk."

Well, it was cute until Matt straight up pushed his beau into the pool for a lesson in sink or swim philosophy, which ended up being more awkward than anything.

But it was all smooth sailing—or rather, paddling—after the couple decided to take proper swimming lessons from an instructor. Which just goes to show that sometimes it's better to leave it to the professionals.



7. The time Matt almost didn't stay at his new job
Before Matt and Colleen's first date, there was a moment when the universe almost kept the two from getting together at all.

In the #ThrowbackThursday episode "#TBT: Y2K Sophia Honeymoon Critter," Matt almost quit his job after an unpleasant exchange with his misogynistic co-worker, Will (Ken Marino). But on his way out, Matt happened to run into Colleen, convincing him to stay. And the rest, as they say, was history.



8. The time they babysat Lark
When it comes to babysitting, practice usually makes perfect. But in Matt and Colleen's case, it may have actually made them worse.

After dropping baby Lark on her head and covering it up with a blame-shifting ruse in "Babysit Argument Invention Butterfly," it's safe to say Matt and Colleen aren't quite ready for parenthood. But, hey, one step at a time—make it down the aisle first!



9. The time Tim (Dan Bakkedahl) found a spider in Colleen's ear
By now we all know that Matt has a paralyzing fear of spiders, so the fact that Tim found one burrowed in Colleen's ear in "Ear Scorn Registry Manuscript" didn't exactly bode well for the lady's future with her would-be hubby.

However, despite him saying people with spiders in their ear should "purify themselves with fire," Matt was able to look past the whole creepy-crawly affair and move forward with his one true love... for now.

Stream episodes of Life in Pieces on CBS All Access.