We Are Family w/ Simon Doonan

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How A Dog Made Simon Doonan and Husband Jonathan Adler Feel Like A Family

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About The Episode

Simon Doonan grew up in England. He didn’t have any dogs growing up, which was normal for people there at the time. However, he did have a blind woman with a dog who moved into his home, when he was young, who had a golden lab named Lassie that made an impact on him.

Eventually, he came to the U.S. – first to Los Angeles, and then later New York City. There, he met his husband, Jonathan Adler. He also started working at Barney’s, where he worked for many years as the Creative Ambassador-at-Large.

When his schedule for work later opened up after a while, and they had a housekeeper, it was decided that it was the right time to be able to get a dog.  Since then, he and Jonathan have had two dogs. The first was Liberace, a Norwich Terrier, who made Simon and Jonathan feel like a family. This was before gay marriage is what it is today, so it gave them a sense of affirmation around their togetherness before society could.

They had Liberace for 15 years and it was very tough after he was gone. Simon eventually realized how much the feelings he was having was connected to the absence of having a dog in his life. They waited about 18 months and then got another dog, FoxyLady, from the North Shore Animal League - who they’ve now had for about four years and are loving their experience with her.

About The Guest - Simon Doonan

Simon Doonan is an author and a judge on the NBC show Making It with Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman. He was previously the Creative Ambassador-at-Large for Barneys New York, while working in fashion for over almost four decades. With his husband, Jonathan Adler, they have had two dogs – one named Liberace, and then another named Foxylady. It brought them a sense of being a family while also learning how to look after someone else.

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