How Sally Field Tried To Play Matchmaker With Her Son And Adam Rippon
Most of us would cringe at the idea of our mothers trying to set us up on a date — unless your mom is Sally Field, in which case, a little nudge from Hollywood royalty might do the trick. And for the "Fried Green Tomatoes" actor's son, Sam Greisman, that was the case while he was dealing with a crush of, er, "Olympic" proportion.
Greisman is the youngest of Field's three sons, born in 1987 to the Oscar-winning actor and her second husband, Alan Greisman. These days, he's a New York-based writer, producer, and not-so-subtle fan of award-winning American figure skater and "Dancing with the Stars" contestant Adam Rippon.
In fact, Greisman's admiration for Rippon is something that he and his mother have discussed at length — so much so that Field decided to do what moms do best and take matters into her own hands with a special internet shoutout of her own. (And we have to hand it to her, getting your mom to call out your crush seems like a pretty effective way to avoid the dreaded dating burnout.)
Sally Field offered her son advice for dealing with his crush
Neither Sally Field nor Sam Greisman has been particularly shy about their feelings for Adam Rippon. During the 2018 Winter Olympics, Field commended Rippon for his excellence and grace on Twitter, calling him "inspiring." A few days later, Greisman tweeted about the figure skater, calling him sassy, beautiful, and "the sweetheart of the Olympic games."
Then, Greisman shared a screenshot of a text conversation with his mom about his Olympic-sized crush. "Sam...he's insanely pretty. Find a way," Field texted to her son. Greisman sarcastically called his mom's advice helpful in the photo's caption, but as it turns out, Field was ready to help after all. Not one to mince words, Field retweeted her son's post with a simple caption: Rippon's screen name. Greisman's all-too-relatable response? "Yikes."
Field told Buzzfeed that her son was more than a little embarrassed by her retweet — after all, who wouldn't be a little red-faced if their A-list mother publicly called out their celebrity crush? But embarrassed or not, it proved to be an effective way of (eventually) getting Rippon's attention.
Adam Rippon's response to Sally Field and Sam Greisman's shoutouts
Adam Rippon didn't respond to Sally Field or Sam Greisman's tweets right away, likely conjuring up the gut-wrenching feelings we've all had after sharing our feelings with little or no response (or, even worse, having to decode confusing text messages from your crush). However, Buzzfeed Studios filled Rippon in on the online happenings, and his initial reaction was priceless. Letting out an excited scream, Rippon smiled, saying, "She bold."
Rippon turned his attention to the camera to share a heartwarming message to Greisman himself, saying, "Sam, your mom — I admire her. And I'm sure one day we're going to meet! So thanks, Mom." And less than one month later, that became a reality when Greisman and Rippon finally met at a Human Rights Campaign gala dinner in Los Angeles in 2018, per Time Magazine.
Greisman shared a photo of him and Rippon on Twitter with the succinct caption, "Thanks, mom." He later revealed more details about the meeting on the Scott McGlynn Show Podcast (via Gay Times), disclosing that Rippon doesn't have time to date amid his busy athletic career. Now retired from competitive skating, Rippon married Jussi-Pekka Kajaala in 2021. Still, even though a lasting connection wasn't in the cards, it seems as though Rippon's would-be future-mother-in-law — at the very least — helped her son meet his crush. Go, Mom!