Joey King's dogs will be in her heart on her wedding day. In an exclusive new interview with HELLO!, the Kissing Booth star revealed why her rescues, Fable and Jesse James, won't have roles at her upcoming wedding to Steven Piet.
"Those two are way too anxious to be around that many people,” Joey, who has partnered with Hill's Pet Nutrition for NBCUniversal Local's Clear the Shelters 2023 campaign, said. "I wish so badly, but Jesse James especially, if there's more than like 10 people in the room he's like, 'Alright, I'm putting myself to bed. This is too much.' And Fable- I don't even know if they would know where to look.”
"But in our hearts, they will be at our wedding and part of our wedding,” she added.
Fable and Jesse James' pawrents, who are said to have met on the set of Hulu's The Act, got engaged last year. While the bride to be made a Pinterest board for her big day back when she was young, she did not end up using it for her wedding inspiration.
"It's disgusting,” Joey said of her old Pinterest board. "It's so ugly. It's like the ugliest thing you could ever imagine. I was wondering if it was any good when we got engaged. I was like, 'Let me go take a look at that' and I was like 'Nope.' So I created a new one.”
Thankfully, Joey has Alison Bryan Destinations helping her with the wedding planning. "They're the best. But I have to say, I've kind of enjoyed the stuff that people were like 'That's gonna stress you out,'” the Ramona and Beezus actress admitted. "I mean, at the end of the day, I'm planning what's supposed to be one of the most loving parties of my life, so like what could be that stressful that makes me take myself out of the experience of how loving it is.”
Continue reading to find out what Joey King had to say about herself as a bride, plus her bachelorette party and Taylor Swift…
You adopted your dog Fable earlier this year and now you've teamed up with Hill's Pet Nutrition for the Clear the Shelters 2023 campaign. It seems like a paws-itively perfect partnership. I would love to know, what sparked your passion for animal advocacy?
I genuinely have never not had a dog. I love animals so much and I've always had a pet in my home and that's something that I will continue, I think, for the rest of my life. Animals provide such a beautiful peace. It's like a puzzle piece that's missing until you have one and you don't even know how much they can enrich your life and how rewarding it is —especially to adopt an animal and watch their personality change and become more comfortable and more quirky and happy. It's amazing. So partnering with Hill's Pet just felt so natural because their mission is just beautiful and I just can't believe all the amazing work they've done over the years housing over 13 million cats and dogs through the Clear the Shelters campaign. So I'm very, very honored that they wanted me to partner with them and come volunteer today to help take some photos of these dogs to get them adopted.
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Is Fabel your first rescue or had you rescued other pets before?
Fabel is technically my first rescue, but my fiancé and I have a dog named Jesse James, who was technically Steven's dog, but now he's of course our dog, but he's also a rescue as well.
What breed is Fable?
This is a funny one because I was like "What is she?” She has kind of a Border Collie face, but also like a Siberian Husky body and like all these- she could be a shepherding dog like I don't know. So we bought the DNA kit and we did it and we're like, "Oh my God, we're so excited. Like what is she gonna be? Oh my God, we can't wait to find out!” And then we got the results back and it was so disappointing because it just said 100 percent Eastern European village dog and we were like, "What does that mean? What does that even mean?” So we googled it and it turns out that it's like, it's just all these different breeds like Siberian Husky, Border Collie. It could be anything and I was like, "We paid $200 for this”... We were like, "Okay, great. We could have told you that.”
You've no doubt have changed Fable's life by rescuing her. So I'm curious, how has Fable changed your life?
Oh my God. I mean, I'm such an animal lover. When I first met Fable, I was volunteering at a shelter in Romania. I just missed my dog Jesse at home and I was wanting to play with some dogs and get some dog energy and Fable immediately broke my heart. You could just tell she was really sad. She needed some TLC in her life. And so having her and watching her blossom into this funny dog that's happy … she was so petrified of dogs when we first got her, now she loves dogs. It's so rewarding and so fulfilling. She's changed my life because I feel like she's so much happier and I'm so much happier because of that. Like her successes are my successes. I'm so proud of her and how far she's come and she's got a long way to go in terms of like comfortability and her anxiousness, but like I think she's perfectly imperfect. That's what makes her so great is that she has her own personality. Dogs always provide such a beautiful perspective on life. They're such simple, loving creatures and they're innately so good-hearted. Even if you meet an aggressive dog, chances are they are innately good, they're just scared. You have to just be patient. Animals are innately good.
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Will Fable and Jesse James have roles at your wedding?
Oh my God, I wish. Those two are way too anxious to be around that many people. I wish so badly, but Jesse James especially, if there's more than like 10 people in the room he's like, "Alright, I'm putting myself to bed. This is too much.” And Fable- I don't even know if they would know where to look… But in our hearts, they will be at our wedding and part of our wedding.
How's the wedding planning going? Are you done, halfway there?
It's going very well. I have not found the process to be too stressful, but I also have to credit that to our amazing wedding planners Alison Bryan Destinations. They're the best. But I have to say, I've kind of enjoyed the stuff that people were like "That's gonna stress you out.” At the end of the day, I'm planning what's supposed to be one of the most loving parties of my life.
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Your bridesmaids must love that it's not stressful, because then it is not stressful for them!
Exactly! I only have… only my sisters. That's it. That's all I'm having. So I only have two.
I saw you had your bachelorette party. What was a highlight for you?
Oh man. It's mean, but it's not mean. My sister threw up and it was really funny. She drank too much wine, and then we got in the car and then I took a photo of her on the airplane with her sunglasses on. She now thinks it's funny, so it's okay to laugh at it. But also just getting together with my best pals, and my sisters planned the most detailed, beautiful weekend. They put so much thought into it. I felt so loved. My sisters planned it so well. It was just thing after thing after thing: games, wine tasting, dinner. We had so much going on and it was the most relaxing, loving weekend with some of my favorite people in the whole world.
How would you describe yourself as a bride?
I would describe myself as someone who initially says they don't have a lot of opinions and then when presented with options all of a sudden has tons of opinions. I'm one of those people where I'm like, "Yeah, like I'm pretty easygoing” and then like I realized, I'm like "Maybe I'm not so easygoing, actually.”
Did you have that idea already in your mind or did you go in open-minded?
I did not have lots of ideas. I had a Pinterest board that I made when I was young and it's disgusting. It's the ugliest thing you could ever imagine. I was wondering if it was any good when we got engaged. I was like, "Let me go take a look at that” and I was like "Nope.” So I created a new one. But honestly, I was open because I knew that like, you know, it's a little complicated. It's not so cut and dry, you can get everything you want. There's a lot of things that go into the vendors that you choose and chances are someone's gonna have something beautiful that you mesh with and you vibe with.
What would you say you're most looking forward to on your wedding day?
Marrying Steven! He's the best.
Switching gears…You joined Taylor Swift onstage at her Eras Tour. Can you talk to us about that experience?
It was pretty amazing. I've never experienced anything like that. It was incredible to be there and to experience all that energy on stage. I was saying, the best way to describe it is like it's like when you get into an ice bath. It literally takes your breath away for a moment. It's like such a shock. Like that's how it felt when I walked on stage. It was like such a shock. And so exhilarating just having all those people. It's such a niche thing to experience, but I really soaked in every second. It was incredible.
On Instagram after that night, you wrote that Taylor has been a huge figure in your life since you guys met when you were nine. Had you guys kept in touch ever since you appeared in the "Mean” video?
We have. You know how friends who travel a lot, you have very long stretches where you don't talk all the time at all, but like she's so lovely. She's always made it a priority to check in and it's so lovely. And I just feel very lucky to have been able to be part of the Speak Now (Taylor's Version) era. And having that history when I worked on the music video "Mean” with her. It's incredible to see how I've changed as a person and to see how she's changed. She's a magical person… She's just dominating right now. She's absolutely on top of the world, but the best part about her is that she just genuinely loves what she does and you can see that in everything she does. She's a true master of her craft and she like loves her fans. It's beautiful.
You also reunited with Taylor Lautner for the "I Can See You” music video. How hard was it to keep that a secret?
Oh man. Yeah, that was tough. That was exciting… very, very exciting. I shot that like in between something I was doing and it was just so much fun to be able to go and do that with her. Like you said, it was like you're like bursting at the seams. You can't wait for it to come out. But luckily I didn't have to wait too long. It came out in July, so I was excited. I was excited to be able to see it pretty quickly afterwards given how long things often take.
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Did your sisters know or your fiancé? Did you let them in on the secret or were they equally surprised when it dropped?
No, they knew! They did know. They were like the only people I told though, like genuinely, because I didn't want it to like get out or anything, but my sisters and my man, I was like "Okay guys, gather around and don't tell a soul.” Those people are the only people that really had to know because well Steven was with me, but then the other two, they have my location and they're like where are you?
Will there be Taylor Swift music at the wedding?
I mean, duh, right?... It wouldn't be a party without T.S. music.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.