Part of growing up is accepting that life isn’t perfect, but The Bear just might be. Throughout season 1, we knew Richie, AKA “Cousin” (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) had an ex-wife named Tiff, and we got to know her during the intense (understatement of the century) holiday dinner episode in season 2.
The Bear has such a great cast it’s no wonder the guest stars are also amazing talents. Gillian Jacobs, beloved for playing Mickey Dobbs on Love, the severely underrated Netflix comedy, as well as Britta Jacobs on Community, plays Tiff Jerimovich. Before checking out all 10 episodes of season 3 of The Bear, we need a refresher on Tiff’s plotline.
What was Richie’s wife Tiff’s The Bear season 2 storyline?
Richie’s ex-wife Tiff has a heartbreaking storyline in The Bear season 2 and appears in season 2, episode 6, “Fishes” (AKA the most emotionally devastating episode of the Hulu show yet). In this fascinating, terrifying, and dark flashback episode to a past Christmas, Tiff is pregnant with her and Richie’s daughter Eva, and quickly realizing her husband isn’t who she thought he was.
We adore Richie and know he’s made some big changes in his life, including staging at a fancy, fine-dining restaurant so he can prove to Carmy Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White) that he’s got what it takes to help run the new restaurant. But back in the day, Richie lied about being unemployed, and Tiff doesn’t trust her husband anymore. Of course, she’s right to feel this way. While Richie might be a sweet dad who has a newfound love of Taylor Swift (we knew we liked him), it’s taken him years to get here.
It’s clear that sometime after this point in their marriage, Tiff decides to leave Richie, and they figure out how to be kind co-parents while they are both still disturbed by their divorce. While we definitely need more details of their divorce (and we’ll hold out hope that those are still coming), this was a satisfying episode… even if we couldn’t hold back our tears. Tiff is too stressed out about Richie’s inability to maintain a steady job to stay with him, and Richie has felt bad about this ever since.
Tiff gets a happy ending in The Bear season 2, or at least what appears to be one. In season 2, episode 7, “Forks,” she lets Richie know that she and Frank are getting married. While she seems at peace with this decision, we can tell she wishes things had been different with Richie.
While this might be a throwaway, minor plotline on another show, Tiff’s engagement in season 2 of The Bear is a big deal. It proves that she wants a stable home life for her daughter, which of course makes sense, and that no matter how much she cares about Richie, she can’t be with such a risky person again. Of course, after watching Richie’s evolution in season 2 and how much he has grown up, we can’t stop ourselves from shouting at our TV screens and hoping Tiff could give him another chance.
Will Richie’s wife Tiff, played by Gillian Jacobs, be in The Bear season 3?
While we can’t eat at the restaurants in The Bear since they’re not real, we can at least hope to see Gillian Jacobs again in season 3 of the Hulu series.
While it seems likely that Tiff will appear in at least one episode since she’s such a big part of Richie’s world, Gillian Jacobs hasn’t said she will star in season 3.
If Gillian Jacobs does return to The Bear season 3, maybe Richie will attend her wedding, which would be painful for him… but would provide the perfect amount of drama for us. Okay, bring on season 3.