Previously on Hang Up…

Timo Oh, my God. Okay, I'm blushing. 

Timo ranked their Callers from top to bottom…

Number one, Billy, Two Salix. Three. Muriah four Cedar. 

Then, Timo’s friend Roxanne picked up the phone.

Roxanne: We hate slut shaming, but we do love Roxanne.

She put on her sociologist hat to gather allll the data about Timo’s Callers.

Roxanne Oh, my God. Everyone. Everyone loves Halloween.

And she’ll tell Timo who should stay on the line… and who should get the hang up.

Roxanne Okay. Well, this is very valuable information.

Welcome to Hang Up, a reality dating show with no rings attached. I’m your host, Zakiya Gibbons. Here’s how the show works.

Every week, our Star Timo goes on a themed date with each of their Callers. All of these dates happen exclusively over the phone. The Star and their Callers never see each other and at first, can’t describe how they look. And they all change their names so they can’t find each other outside of the show.

The Callers only have one date per week to stand out from the crowd and woo the Star. And if they can’t establish a clear connection, they risk getting the hang up, eliminating them from the show.

The Star hangs up on one Caller each week until there’s one final Caller remaining. To stay on the line, they must win over Timo. In the end, the winning caller has a choice to make: an all expenses paid vacation with Timo sponsored by Both& Apparel, or hang up on them, and take the cash prize of one thousand dollars.

This week, four Callers remain: Muriah, Salix, Billy, and Cedar. Roxanne will tell Timo who she thinks should get the hang up.

Roxanne Hands down. I mean, just absolutely. 100%...

Will her opinion sway their decision? Or will they hit “ignore”? 

Timo Oh, shit. That is. Oh, my God. Ooh. 

Roxanne Yeah. 

Timo Oh, I feel bad. 

Find out this week on Hang Up.

Zakiya Timo. Hello!

Timo Oh my gosh, it's been an age. Hi. 

Zakiya I know it's been so long. How are you? 

Timo I'm dying. I have been on the edge of my seat all week and, like, also just been trying to stop myself from texting Roxanne or, you know, messaging Caitlin and being like, so, so when were these dates? What order? What happened, ahh, you know? 

Zakiya Yeah, we told y'all not to be in communication until we were all here together. So this is the moment when you can ask Roxanne all of those questions. 

Timo Buh duh duh duh nuh nuh. 

Zakiya Yes and Roxanne. Hello.

Roxanne I am here. Hello. Hi. 

Zakiya Ooh, so nice to meet you. I'm Zakiya.

Roxanne So nice to meet you. 

Timo This is so exciting. 

Roxanne Oh, yeah. And this was really fucking fun. I had a great time. 

Timo I knew you’d have fun with this. 

Roxanne Oh, yeah. Oh, no, it was super fun. 

Timo I really value your opinion.

Roxanne Thank you.

Timo Yeah, I think that you'll have some really, really valuable insights for this. 

Roxanne I hope so. I also have harsh judgments. 

Timo I know which I also love, because don’t you pull those punches. This is that Capricorn woman vibe that I was talking about in the last episode. 

Zakiya I’m really glad to hear that because honestly, Timo, you seem so nice to the point where I'm like, hmm, I'm trying. I'm like, there has to be judgment somewhere in there. Like I'm wanting to hear the harsh judgments. So I've heard that like that y'all have a history together. Tell me more. 

Timo Look, Roxanne is gorgeous and just like, fierce and brilliant, so, you know, hit hitting all those boxes. And I just. I was smitten. I was like, Oh, my God, Roxanne put on that red light. So I did try. I did try a little bit. I came a courtin a little bit. But, you know, I think it was like, yeah, I think it was just like you're, you're pretty straight. You know what I mean?

Roxanne I am. And I remember you were like, “but you don't have to be.”

Timo Gay for me. I mean, just like, you know, just I felt like it was a really gentle and beautiful exploration of like, we were navigating some some really delicate territory together for us, like, and I think internally, individually. 

Roxanne And it gives me even more just a speckle more of an insight into your romantic world. 

Zakiya Yeah, exactly. Which is why you are the perfect person for this job of friend detective of your Phone a Friend. Timo needs your help because at the end of our time together, they're going to have to choose one of their Callers to hang up on and eliminate from the show. So we need to get all the tea right here, right now. Okay. 

Roxanne I've taken this responsibility very seriously. And also not at all seriously. 

Timo Yes. 

Zakiya Which is perfect. We love a high, low. So I want to know a little bit more about what you were looking for when you talked to each caller, Roxanne. Like, was there a question that you made sure to ask everyone? 

Roxanne Yeah, several, actually. So I was looking for whether or not they are silly. 

Timo Yeah. 

Roxanne Ease of conversation. So a couple of questions I asked everyone was let's see what their friend group was like. 

Zakiya Oh, that's a good one. 

Roxanne Because I want to know if we are inheriting new friends. 

Timo Yes. Oh, brilliant.

Roxanne Also, I asked them all their favorite holiday. And guess what? What do you think it is? 

CLIPS

Salix: Absolutely no questions asked Halloween

Billy: Halloween

Muriah: Halloween

Cedar: That’s easy for me. Halloween.

Roxanne For fuck's sake. It was just…

Timo I know it kind of made me crazy. 

Zakiya That does not surprise me. 

Roxanne You know what I guess I kind of didn't either, but I was really hoping for some variation. But there is variation within that single unit, which I will get into. And then… 

Timo I love that you picked up on that because, like, that's, that was something that I was like a little bit concerned like how into it some people were. 

Zakiya But it also makes sense because like it is such a queer thing to love Halloween. 

Roxanne Totally. 

Zakiya And I'm like, okay, of course, like at least half would be like Halloween. 

Roxanne So here's the deal. I've got two camps within that broader camp. 

Timo Okay? 

Roxanne Either a spooky group like, “I'm just so spooky.” Oh, okay, “you’re so spooky.” Or the, the like, you know, this is a fun holiday for me to express myself. While everybody else also is expressing themselves. 

Timo Mm hmm. 

Roxanne Which is cool. 

Timo We know famously that Roxanne's favorite holiday is Christmas. But here's the thing. Roxanne does Christmas like nobody else.

Roxanne And it's a major event. 

Timo It is. It is. It's also full of a lot of inside jokes. And it's so much around food and friends and outfits. Yes. 

Zakiya Ooh. What kind of outfits? Like, what is the Christmas outfit look like? That's not like ugly sweater Or is it? 

Roxanne Oh, no, no, no. You get like, you get like some just outrageous gown, sparkly, formal. Oh, hot wine. 

Timo Yes. You're kind of like Santa, baby. You know, like you're the embodiment of the Santa baby. 

Zakiya Well, how do you feel about people who hate Christmas? 

CLIP

Muriah: Christmas oh my goodness… it’s, ugh.

Roxanne Well. I don't like it. I don't like it one bit. I think there's one thing that you can do around Christmas and you can have a nuanced understanding of Christmas, right? So, like some people who had shitty Christmases or don't like their families or just never had a good time during that time, I get it. But you got to be open to a soiree. 

Timo To a soiree. 

Roxanne You know, you got to be open to reinterpret the holiday. 

Zakiya I love that you're saying an ideal trait is like open to a soiree. I feel like that's an energy that people should just have in general in life. So are there any other questions that you asked everyone? 

Roxanne Yes. Okay. So one was that I had them imagine they and Timo fell in love and now lived together and that Timo came home with a pet without saying anything. 

Timo Oh, that's very me. 

Roxanne And I wanted to know how that person would react. 

Zakiya Oh, good question. What was what was the right answer? 

Roxanne The right? Okay. There were several right answers, but the wrong answer was launching immediately into, “Well, I would hate if we didn't have that kind of communication where somebody would come home without telling me.” 

CLIP

Salix: I would be a little bit more concerned about just like not having that conversation ahead of time

It's like, Bro. Who cares? This is a fucking dating show. Like, do you want to really present as that serious? 

Timo Hmm. Interesting. 

Zakiya Oh, I like that. 

Roxanne Yeah. 

Timo Also, I have been known to bring home a stray creature now and then. I would want, I would want somebody to be like, Oh, my God, tell me everything. How did this happen? 

CLIP

Billy: I feel like this happens to me regularly

Instead of being like, Oh, no, there's another, you know, creature we have to take care of. And like, Oh, yeah, like, I like getting really heavy in it. At first. It's like, we'll get to that, we'll figure it out. But like right now, let me tell you this wild story because it will be. 

Zakiya So I understand that you've ranked each Caller from your first pick to your last pick. So who is at the very top of your list? Who's the first invite to the soiree? 

Roxanne Okay. Oh. Billy. 

CLIP

Billy: Did you ever watch Moulin Rouge?

Timo Billy. Oh, my. God. I knew. I knew. Yep, she's my top. I mean, they're just. Yeah, Yeah, okay. 

Roxanne They were, I mean, so easy to talk to. Yeah, it was just instant, like, cool vibe. 

Timo Yes.

Roxanne At one point in the conversation, I'm like, uh, do I love Billy? I don't really understand why I like this person so much. First of all, they can hang. 

Timo Yeah.

Roxanne Right. It sounds like they've got a cool friend group. Yeah, Diverse friend. Okay. Sex worker friends. 

Timo Yes. 

Roxanne Mutual aid friends. 

Timo Yes. 

Roxanne Farmer friends. 

Timo Yes!

Roxanne You know, and like, everything in between. They seem like they've been out in the world. 

Timo That was a big thing that stuck out for me as well when we talked, like hearing hearing him talk about like, Oh, I've worked at the border and like migrant, you know, rights and all of this other stuff. I'm like, You are. You are ringing my bell. Hardcore. Okay, so tell me more. What else? 

Roxanne Okay, let me let me organize some of these things. Did you know that her mom is a psychic? 

Timo No. 

Roxanne Yeah. 

Timo Oh, my God. What? Yeah. Record scratch. 

Roxanne Fuck yeah. 

Timo Yeah. 

Roxanne Like, that sounds super cool. So this is a Halloween lover? 

Timo Mm hmm.

Roxanne But not of the spooky variety. 

Timo Yes. Yeah. Yeah. 

Roxanne You know, so totally total pass. They were perfectly delighted by you bringing home. 

Timo An animal? 

Roxanne An animal. 

Timo Oh, my. God. Yes. 

Roxanne I have a lot of hearts that I doodled.

Timo So you're feeling hearts. 

Roxanne Because i liked billy so much. 

Timo Yes. 

Roxanne She laughs a lot. She made me laugh. I think that they would be really fun at the Christmas party. 

Timo The scenario is important. 

Roxanne The other thing that I was looking for. I have down here, “Fine. I guess I'll date Billy.”

Zakiya It seems like you both are crushing on Billy in a way. You both sound excited about Billy coming to the soiree of Timo's life. Do you think Billy would take the money or the vacation? 

Roxanne The vacation.

Timo Yeah, I think Billy would go on vacation. I think Billy is an adventurer. Like, really wants to find out, you know, fuck around and find out. Yeah. 

Roxanne Okay, listen, even if you really needed $1,000, let's say, like, it was kind of a dramatic situ, right? Like, Oh, fuck, yeah. Like, normally everything's chill, but in this case, this month. 

Timo Yeah, truck broke down. 

Roxanne I'm gonna be evicted. Or something like that. I still even then think Billy would pick the trip because they'd probably just be like, Well, fuck it, I'll move. I want to go. I wanna go on this trip. 

Timo I love that. Like, pack it up, put it in storage. I'll be back after this little vacay. 

Roxanne Yeah. 

Timo Little devil may care. I love that. Okay. 

Zakiya Yes. Okay. So, Billy, sounds like tens across the board. So who is second on your list Roxanne? 

Roxanne Okay, so my second person is Salix. 

CLIP

Salix: I love spooky stuff. I have like a little pumpkin collection.

Timo Salix! Oh, my God. Yes. Okay, so we're aligned yet again. 

Roxanne Yes. Okay, great. 

Timo Okay. Salix is also like, you know, the last time I think I said they're both tied for one. But I definitely, you know, if I was like to put it on a graph, like maybe Billy would have a few more points, but like, pretty close together, so. 

Roxanne Right. 

Timo Really curious what you think about Salix and like, what? Okay, so the first thing that I want to ask, though, because I don't know, you probably already know this, the age difference is a little bit of a concern of mine. 

Roxanne Oh, I didn't know there was one. I didn't ask how old any of these people are. 

Timo Okay. Okay. Salix is the youngest person in this group, and they're still like a fully grown human. So like nothing mysterious there, but like just life experience wise in everything. Like my. Our friend who I last dated was one of the like, that was the biggest age gap where I was the older person that I've had in a in a romantic relationship. So yeah, I want to know, did that even come across then, since you didn't ask them their age or did it? No. Right? Because they don't seem it doesn't it. 

Roxanne No. Yeah. Okay. So no I wasn't. Like that. If it came across, it was just something I wasn't engaging with or something. Like it didn't. It didn't. 

Timo You weren't like, Oh, this person seems young.

Roxanne It wasn't salient enough for it to stick out, right? So. Okay, So I do know that that's a concern of yours. That's always been a concern. And I think that that's a valid thing here. Right. There's nothing wrong with this person. Salix is great, you know, like, uh, very fun to talk to. Easy to talk to. It was a delight. I had a totally delightful time. 

Timo They they are playful. They're like that silly playfulness that you're talking about. Like, I definitely get that from Salix. 

Roxanne Yeah. Yeah. So when I asked Salix the question about the the animal, bringing home the animal, they did immediately run into the we should have the lack of communication because I take animals very seriously, you know, and like bringing in a new animal into the world, can be very… whatever. And so kind of spun out there for a little while. And I said, what if it was a beta fish? Yeah. And then they said, Fuck yeah. And then was like totally on board. And we had a good laugh about it and it was very fun. They are a flexible person. 

Timo Yeah, but thoughtful. I kind of feel like that, you know, like that response is a thoughtful response, you know, maybe trying to like, you know, figure out like, oh, yeah, is this a matter of communication? Like, what does it mean in the bigger context of a relationship as opposed to, hey, there's probably a fun story behind this, you know, And let me let me just like embrace the moment, right? 

Roxanne Yeah. I think it's very cute that they have a DND group. 

Timo They do. You know how much I love that.

Roxanne I love that. 

Timo I love it so much. 

Roxanne They would be fun at the at the party. 

Timo Yes, they would. I think so. 

Roxanne They are in the spooky camp. 

Timo Yeah, that's, you know. Yeah, I got that sense too. 

Roxanne Yeah, but. But not as. 

Timo Not as intensely. 

Roxanne Not as… I am not annoyed by Salix at all. Yeah. There's nothing about Salix that's annoying me. 

Timo Totally. Okay. 

Roxanne So that's where I stand on them. I still, you know, have a preference, but I just know you and Billy would like totally hang hard. 

Timo Yeah, totally. 

Roxanne And you wouldn’t have to be the the older guy, you know what I mean? 

Timo It's true. You know, there's a part of me that likes a little bit of that being on top, you know, like emotionally in the bed, whatever. 

Roxanne Daddy's little daddy. 

Timo Daddy's little daddy. I have a T shirt that says that. 

Roxanne I do, too. 

Timo I know. 

Roxanne We should have worn them. 

Timo Oh, my God. We should have been matching. We will. 

Zakiya Y'all have matching Daddy's little daddy tshirts?

Timo Yes we do. 

Zakiya I love y'all so much. 

Timo So ridiculous. So ridiculous. 

Zakiya Roxanne. What would Billy have to do to lose that number one spot? Is there a scenario that would switch the rankings? 

Roxanne Oh, I don't think so. I feel very firmly. With my first… for a second. I'm trying to think I mean, I'd have to come up with some some really crazy hypotheticals, I think. Okay. So, like, if, if, if Billy is like a white person and then finds out that like her great, great, great, great great grandparents were Nazis or something. And then all of a sudden she was like, well, I'm going to distance myself from that. 

Zakiya It's funny that I'm saying this again. I said this on season one and I'm saying it again on season two. We're drawing a hard line at Nazis. 

Timo We're drawing a hard, hard line. 

Zakiya Okay, so moving on. Cedar and Muriah are the last two. Roxanne. Who do you think Timo should hang up on? 

Timo Ooh, shit. 

Roxanne So picking the hang up right now?

Timo Picking the hang up, Who would you say? 

Roxanne Hands down. I mean, just absolutely. 100% Cedar. 

CLIP

Cedar: So welcome to this madness.

Timo Yeah. Okay. Okay. 

Roxanne Jesus. 

Timo Yeah. They're a lot. They're perfectly for who they are. But, I mean, like, maybe they're just a lot. Yeah. For me. 

Roxanne So difficult to talk to. Yeah. Not a conversationalist by any means.

Timo No, this is this. And so what I said last time, or one of the times, I was like, You know what? Like, I can't get a word in edgewise. I don't feel like I'm actually being heard. This doesn't feel like a natural exchange. 

Roxanne Yeah.

Timo You know, like, I'm… every other sentence I'm being cut off. 

Roxanne Also described himself and his friends as like. We're just weird. You know, we're artsy and we're weird. And I'm like, I don't. I don't like that description of yourself kind of a thing. Yeah. He's also a spooky Halloween person. 

Timo Yes. She's the spookiest I think. 

Roxanne She is also deadly serious.

Timo Yeah. I mean, which is so interesting because like on our hotline calls, Cedar was the one constantly trying to cut up and like kind of disruptive, but like in a, in an amusing way.

CLIP

Cedar: I’ve got this in the bag so you might as well just hang up now.

like, oh, I'm going to be competitive. And it was so it was like Cedar and Muriah being like, I'm going to, I'm going to win this and they're going to be mine and like this kind of thing. 

Roxanne I have written down here, I think, all things opposite of this person. 

Timo Oh, shit. That is. Oh, my God. Ooh. 

Roxanne Yeah. 

Timo Oh, I feel bad. 

Roxanne They bugged me. IThey really bugged me. 

Timo I'm so glad that you're giving voice to things that I'm like. I was, my palms are sweating just hearing you say it because it's like the things that I kind of wasn't able to put voice to because I do want to be diplomatic and kind and like not roast... I don't want to roast somebody. But also like, this is true. This is also like…

Roxanne I’m also doing this because I will never meet this person. I tried to be much nicer to people when I know that well and they're going to hear me say this. And that actually does make me feel kind of bad. But because of the situation.... 

Timo Well, you're here for me. 

Roxanne I am. 

Timo And not for them and that’s fine.

Zakiya Yeah. No, honestly, when Roxanne was. Yeah, Roxanne, when you were giving your rundown, I, I honestly... I did ask, like, give me the real like, you know, come correct with exactly how you feel. Exactly. And you did. And a lot of it, you know, for me at least, was like hard to hear because it's like, damn, you know what I mean? So, are, was this hard for you to hear Timo, or was part of you, or was it kind of a relief? 

Timo It's a relief. Yes, it's a huge relief. I do have anxiety around, you know, just like rejecting somebody or coming to a judgment that isn't fair or correct for somebody. And so I often get in a situation where I give a lot more play and a lot more room and a lot more time to people or interactions that don't, you know, necessarily warrant that from me, that level of energy. And so I really appreciate somebody being able to just be like cutting through it like a hot knife. 

Roxanne First of all, first impressions are notoriously unreliable. Okay. So straight up. I do feel strongly about all these things I'm saying, but I'm also like, the provocative asshole in this group, you know, like, that's my role right now. And so something I really enjoy about you is that you do look at all the sides and you do really you benefit of the doubt to the... 

Timo To a fault. 

Roxanne No, I don't think so. I think it's admirable how accepting and and kind of curious you are as to, you know, if somebody is annoying, you're like, “but why?” Personally as your friend, I'm like, the red flags are just so plentiful that it won't even be fun for you. 

Timo It won’t, no. 

Roxanne It's not gonna be fun. 

Timo Also, she's a Disney adult. 

Roxanne No. Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa. 

Timo Yeah, like self-described. 

Roxanne How did this person make it this far? 

Timo I got ghosted. 

Roxanne Oh. 

Timo By somebody. So I probably would have hung up on them like last week if that hadn't happened that this other person, like, pulled out of the show. So. Yeah, that's why. 

Roxanne Okay, well, here's the thing. I mean, I'm being hard on Cedar because I think that they're not the right person. And I do stand by everything I said. That said Cedar, you’re a human being. And you're wonderful and we love you. 

Zakiya Okay. So Muriah is ranked third on your list, Roxanne. So how is your date with Muriah? 

CLIP:

Muriah: I'm like, ooh, I would like to meet your kids. But that comes down the road. 

Roxanne Oh, fine. 

Timo Yeah, kind of meh. 

Roxanne You know, Muriah is fine. 

Timo Yeah, like, she's fine. 

Roxanne She's fine. But she's a spooky. 

Timo She's a spooky. 

Roxanne She's spooky. Loves horror movies. 

Timo I know. You know what? Muriah and Cedar both sent me multiple DVDs, but I don't have a DVD player. And they were all horror movies, which I'm not like, super into. 

Roxanne Yeah. I mean, it's fine. Okay, so here are some other things. Okay. She has a kid, so that's cool. 

Timo Yeah, that one was one we connected on. 

Roxanne But here's the thing. Hates Christmas. Hates it. Went on a tirade. 

Timo About Christmas? 

Roxanne Yeah. That’s not gonna fly. During her Christmas tirade, she was like, “it's not even Jesus’ birthday” It’s like, nobody cares about fucking Jesus. I mean, like, that's not what Christmas is about. 

Timo I want that on a tshirt. Nobody cares about fucking Jesus. Like exactly. 

Roxanne Christmas is about sparkles and soirees. 

Timo It is. It is sparkles, soirees and bubbles. 

Roxanne Mm hmm. And like meat pies. 

Timo Meat pies. A hearty. A hearty meat pie. 

Roxanne Exactly. Yeah. So I just if I would say, like, what would happen if Timo and Muriah were to be in a couple, I would say that that would last about a week, you know? Before you got bored.

Timo She’s too much like my ex spouse.

Roxanne She’s, yes, she’s ex spouse adjacent. 

Zakiya Okay. So, Roxanne dropped a lot of bombs. 

Timo A lot of bombs. 

Zakiya Timo, how do you feel after hearing all of this? 

Timo I feel validated. I feel reassured because I often think like, “Oh, you know, my picker is broken. Like, I'm just not a good judge of character. I don't really know who would be good for me.” You know, I've made a lot of missteps in my romantic life. There wasn't one wasn't one thing you said or or that order that you put anybody in that I would disagree with.

Roxanne You know what you want. You do know what you want. You know, and…

Timo I don't know how to give it to myself sometimes. I don't know how to allow myself. 

Roxanne Or, like, maybe you haven't met the right person. I mean, you're very open to letting whoever fill that gap. If they, if they can step up to the plate. 

Timo Fill my gap. 

Roxanne Hashtag fill my gap.

Roxanne It's good to give, I feel like you are more of a chance giver than I am. And you can, you look at people in a more nuanced way than I do, but, you know, don't sell yourself short. I think that you've, you're pretty, like, firm footed about your needs and desires. 

Timo Yeah. Yeah, I think so. 

Zakiya Wow. Roxanne, you really did your job. It is giving field research.

Timo This is Dr. Roxanne, OK?

Zakiya Dr. Roxanne you had you did the field research, you got the intel, qualitative, quantitative data, all of the data. So thank you so much. 

Roxanne No doubt. I loved doing it. It was super fun. 

Timo Thank you. 

Roxanne Absolutely

Zakiya Roxanne, can you turn to Timo and tell them what you wish for them when it comes to their romantic life? 

Roxanne Absolutely. I wish for you to be at ease in your romantic life, to just be, like, fulfilled. And I want it to be light. Something that is easy, breezy and fun, super fun. I think at this point in your life you need to be fucking just vibing and having fun and like, you know, doing fun shit It's been a slog. So I want you to be happy. And I want it to be securely attached.

Timo Yes. Yes. 

Coming up, one Caller gets the hang up.

Cedar: I'm a little worried tonight, I’m not going to lie.

Stay on the line!

Robot voice: Welcome to the Hang Up Hotline. Our Star Timo and all Callers are already on the line. To enter, please say the password.

Zakiya: Daddy’s Little Daddy

Robot voice: You may enter.

Zakiya Hello, Callers. 

Callers What's up? What’s up?

Zakiya Cedar, Muriah, Salix and Billy. We're all back together on the Hang Up hotline. So how is everyone feeling? 

Cedar We all woke up alive and well, so we are all blessed. That's all we can ask for right now. And hopefully one of us won't have a broken heart tonight. But we'll see.

Muriah Yeah, we'll see. 

Zakiya So Callers, on your last date, you got to meet Timo's best friend, Roxanne. And after your calls, Roxanne went into the studio with Timo and gave them the 411— who she thought should stay on the line and who should get the hang up. And honestly, y'all, I'm not going to lie, Roxanne had some pretty hot takes about y'all. 

Cedar Well, I thought that she was, she was very aggressive, but I felt like my personality, we kind of clashed a little bit, so I'm a little worried tonight, I am not going to lie.

Zakiya Okay, so let's, let's get into it then. Timo, have you made your decision? 

Timo I— yes, I've made my decision. 

Zakiya Which Caller are you choosing to hang up on? 

Timo The Caller I've chosen to hang up on is… Muriah. 

Muriah Oh, goodness. Ouch. Okay. 

Timo Sorry. 

Muriah Don't apologize. It's all good. No worries. 

Timo Okay. 

Zakiya Muriah. You were so close to making it to the final three. What's it like to be so close and get the hang up now? 

Muriah Well, it sucks because I was confident in making it to the final two at least. I wanted to take the vacation with you and whatnot, but it's okay. 

Timo Yeah. I'm sorry. 

Muriah No need to apologize at all. You need to follow your gut and your heart. And I wasn’t it for you, and that's okay. 

Timo It's weird because I take it seriously, because it's, you know, we're all real people, you know? And like there's real feelings involved, even though it's a bit of, like a you know, it's a game show. There's also like a playful element to it. But I also take it seriously, you know, like in earnest, like definitely want to be careful with everybody and and be honest and yeah. So I just really appreciate you being, taking it so well. 

Muriah Why did you eliminate eliminate me? What did your friend say or what was the thing? 

Timo It wasn't like one thing. It was like. Like, I just didn't feel like a spark. And I thought, like we have some really great things in common and interests and everything, but I just didn't feel like that super hooked, engaged, feeling like that you want to feel and you want somebody else to feel about you, right?

Muriah Yeah.

Timo So I just like, yeah, it just wasn't quite that. And I was like, okay, I also don't want to waste Muriah’s time if I'm not like, feeling that, you know? Yeah. Feeling that, that little spark, you know, that flame. 

Muriah Oh, my God. For sure. Yes. Thank you for being so honest, because a lot of people like they'll be like, whatever, whatever, whatever this and that, blah, blah, blah, and they'll ghost you. But I appreciate you for telling me the truth. I love that you can be mature about it and just let me go. And that's great for me. All I can say is good luck. I hope you find what you're looking for. 

Timo Thank you. You too. 

Muriah Oh I will. There's no doubt. 

Zakiya Billy, Cedar and Salix. You've made it through the first three hang ups, so you're more than halfway there. So big congrats for that. 

Cedar Come on top three!

Billy Where the, we're a threesome. A triad, a trifecta.

Cedar How are we a threesome and Timo's still there? So it's a foursome. 

Billy Foursome I'm sorry. Counting is not my strength.

Cedar Timo I need you. I need you to remember that. You're already excluded, see how they are? 

Zakiya Honestly, y'all gave me the perfect segue because now that Timo's friend is off the line. It's time to get down and dirty. 

Cedar Oh, my God. 

Zakiya Yes. The theme of the next date is Star 69. 

Timo Oh, my God.

Cedar We will basically say that this podcast is not going to be on PBS.

Zakiya Oh, yeah. No, this is when we're getting After Dark. So bring the heat, bring the lube, bring the toys. Even though you can't see each other, this is your chance to gauge if you might have a physical connection. So for the very first time, y'all will reveal what you look like. And Timo will, too. But after you reveal what you look like, you'll find out the two of you will mesh in the bedroom. Of course, all over the phone. This next date will test the limits of your imagination and your dirty talk.

Caller Ooh

Zakiya So light some candles, run a bubble bath, turn off the lights and get ready to get turned on. 

Cedar Honey, my phone is not waterproof. I got the Cricket phone. I can't be be getting my phone wet. 

Billy Well, you need like a few Ziplocs.

Cedar Okay, Come on. Ziploc. Yes, yes, yes.

Zakiya OK so congrats, y'all. Until next week. Stay on the line. 

Hello. You’ve reached the Hang Up Voicemail. Leave a message at the <beep>

Billy Hi, Billy aquí. I am one of the three remaining, which feels bizarre and special. Anywho I guess I would not be sad about being able to meet Timo and share some space. It's felt really rad. And flirty and fabulous. 

Salix This is Salix. Now that I've made it to the top three, do I think that I could win? Honestly, I kind of thought I was going to be out in like the first round, so I'm kind of like shocked that I'm still here. I think the next person to get the hang up… I would I would say maybe Cedar. 

Cedar Oh my goodness. I am a top three. This is crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy. Timo, thank you for letting me thrive through because you know you love me. You know what? I honestly thought I would be eliminated this week. Just because your friend was vicious. I felt like your friend did not like me. But I'm in top 3! Timo I'm falling in love with you boo. We're going to go to the balloon fiesta. I'll send you a wedding invitation. 

Hang Up is created and produced by me, Caitlin Pierce.

Our host and story editor is Zakiya Gibbons.

Our sound designer, mix engineer, and story editor is Ben Montoya.

And that’s it— our whole team is just three people. We put so much time and love into Hang Up because we believe in this show— And we get to make it weird and silly and queer and exactly what we want it to be because we are independent.

But to stay independent, we need your support. Here’s a few ways you can help:

• Rate Hang Up with 5 stars on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

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• Subscribe to our newsletter and donate at hangupshow.com— you can read about what goes on behind the scenes, access exclusive content, and even get Hang Up swag. Find out more on our website— hangupshow.com.

We can’t do it alone— thank you for your support.

Our sounding board is Allison Behringer, Karla Corrales, Chioke I’Anson, and Grayum Vickers.

Music by Jeff Carter and Stephen Pathe of Sandy - hear more at sandy-sounds.com

Show Art by Alex Teschel

Season Two Art by Marquez Torres.

Studio recording by Andrew Frankel and Roman Garcia of KUNM.

This episode uses many sounds from Freesound, for the full list check out our website— hangupshow.com.

Special thanks to Bess Friedman, Trevor Birt, Oliver Yaney, Toni of Albuquerque Social Club, Michael Burdick of Sidewinders, Quinn Heraty, Nellie Giles, and the Radio Diaries team. 

Thanks also to the people supporting us at Radiotopia and PRX.

Hang Up is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX, a network of independent, creator-owned, listener-supported podcasts. Discover audio with vision at Radiotopia.fm.