With a star that rose from unforgettable child acting roles, such as A. C. Slater in Saved by the Bell , to the forefront of today’s entertainment media, Mario Lopez is nothing short of a pop culture sensation. Now, as he turns forty, Mario looks back on his life with a newfound perspective and a humorous sensibility of how things have changed with age, divulging for the first time the endearing, surprising, and sometimes difficult experiences that shaped him into the loving father and husband he is today. In Just Between Us , Mario shares a behind-the-scenes look into his successes and disappointments in the entertainment business and how his tight-knit family and long-standing values helped keep him grounded, no matter what. With wit and candor, Mario reveals his most intimate never-before-told stories, including the details of his often tumultuous and largely public love life—giving readers a look at the ups and downs of his romantic past leading up to his happily-ever-after with his beautiful wife and their two children. This is Mario Lopez unfiltered, for the first time ever. Mario Lopez is an actor, producer, Emmy Award-winning television host, and the New York Times bestselling author of Extra Lean . He is currently the host of the entertainment news show Extra and the nationally syndicated radio show On with Mario Lopez . He lives in Los Angeles with his family. PROLOGUE Every now and then, the universe has an uncanny way of reaching out, tapping me on the shoulder, and bringing me back down to earth. Sometimes the message is delivered to remind me of something that I’ve forgotten or maybe just to grab my attention in the midst of my usual action-packed schedule. Other times I feel the tap more as a big jolt that leads to an important discovery or decision—like the realization that hits me early one morning as I’m getting ready to hike one of my favorite trails at Griffith Park. I love this park for the sheer amount of urban wilderness it contains, a refreshing break from the sprawl of Los Angeles. It’s also practically in my backyard, so it’s perfect for an early-morning hike and a good workout. By the time I arrive at the park and start to stretch, it’s just past six a.m. Not long after dawn, the sun has only just begun to come up. Bleary eyed, I definitely could have used that extra half hour of sleep. It’s true: as committed as I am to a daily fitness regimen, I am no fan of the five thirty a.m. alarm. Then again, this happens to be the only time to get in a little workout before the demands of the day kick in. And there’s something I love about the solitude of these early hours. The quiet is such that my inner thoughts seem like another person standing right beside me, talking and offering wise counsel. Well, at least that’s how it feels in these moments as I finish stretching and head over to a large park map in order to look for directions to the trail I plan to run. Standing there, I scan the map until my eyes land on the mark that shows where I am, pointing out the spot with bold red arrows and the words “You Are Here.” Those three words, intended to state the obvious, do have a kind of congratulatory vibe. Wouldn’t it be helpful, I think, if we could start every day with a map and a marker to tell us: “You Are Here”? That’s when I feel the proverbial tap on my shoulder. My first reaction is to ask myself if, as the map tells me, I am here, where exactly is that? More to the point: how did I get here? In truth, these aren’t easy questions to answer. But seeing as I’m about to hit the milestone birthday of forty—a big one—I realize that’s cause for reflection. Cliché as that may sound, it’s one of those rites of passages that suddenly bring me face-to-face with the past and a life lived, for the most part, at full throttle. It’s hard to ignore the message of “You Are Here”—it’s time to slow down, look back, and take stock of my life so far. All of it: the choices, the triumphs and defeats, the smart moves and the mistakes, and everything in between. Daunting as that can be, as I start up the trail that leads to a summit, I accept that only by recalling where I came from will I be able to see more clearly than ever where I am, who I am, and where I’m headed. A couple of miles later, as I reach the top, the sun has broken through the marine layer and I can’t help but smile as I look out at the sprawl of LA spread out below me. And that’s when the idea for sharing my story, no holds barred, is first conceived. When I glance over my shoulder at the long stretch of road I’ve taken—curving and winding from my childhood in the Latino community of Chula Vista, just outside of San Diego, all the way to the “You Are Here” map in the same park not far from the Hollywood sign—I smile, I laugh out loud, and sometimes I want to cry. I’ve been in show business since I was ten years old. I’ve worked in almost every arena of the entertainment industry: as a kid in numerous commercials and TV ser