Miz and Maryse Talk 'Miz & Mrs' and How The Villain Became The Hero

The WWE isn't new to reality shows, but it's newest series Miz and Mrs starring Mike "The Miz" Mizanin, his wife Maryse and their family of interesting in-laws, has become a huge hit for the company and the USA network.

Since its debut last August, the series has chronicled the lives of Mike and Maryse as they juggle being first-time parents with traveling and performing as WWE superstars. With the help of their families - especially Maryse's mom, Marjo - the "It" family seems to have figured things out. Or at least they think they do.

Newsweek spoke with Mike and Maryse about the first season and how their lives have changed both on and off camera.

Note: This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Is it easier to shoot the show now that Mike is travelling so much for the WWE?

Miz: All the traveling we do doesn't make it necessarily easier, but we have so much going on we always have something to shoot. There's just one thing after another. Maryse is pregnant for a second time and we're like "oh my god."

Maryse: When we were filming the last two episodes of the first part of the season, we decided to move back to L.A. out of the blue. That's really something that happened. And then we find out that I was pregnant, so there's a lot.

Miz: We also make things more difficult than they need to be. We didn't need to move, we just wanted to move. And moving is the worst possible thing to do, especially when Maryse is pregnant.

Maryse: We didn't know yet. We found out about three weeks after we said we were moving [laughs] And I said we weren't going to do this again because last year Monroe was 17 days-old when we packed up our home and moved to Austin, Texas on a tour bus with all our animals and my mom. I said "I'm never doing this again." And now I'm repeating what happened a year later, but this time around I'm doing things different. I am not getting on a tour bus and I don't care [laughs].

After having Monroe, do you feel your second pregnancy has been easier so far?

Maryse: Now that I know what to expect I'm less anxious about things. Like I had a big migraine this week and said "well, it's the hormones. It's fine." There's little things that you just say are normal. The first time around I was like "oh my god?" Like my nose was running and I felt this was horrible. There's little physical things your body goes through. It's definitely different. Everyone says that every pregnancy is different. I feel this time it is. I don't know if it's a boy or girl but there's something different about it.

One thing that's funny is when my husband says "well, you've been very happy this time around." And I'm like "oh my goodness. How could you say that?"

Miz: There are DAYS that you are happy. And it's true, there are days that she is happy and there are others where she's not so happy. But this time around I noticed.

Maryse: It's funny when he said that in front of of OB in LA and she looked at him with a straight face and said "I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

There's a point in the season where you run into R-Truth and talk about Monroe and fatherhood. Do you search out others in the WWE for parenting advice?

Miz: Oh yeah. I go to all the guys who have kids and they give me advice. R-Truth has five kids so he's been through all this, so he's kind of my go-to guy. Titus [O'Neill], I go to him a lot. I'm now in the fraternity of the guys who have kids, you can say. It's nice to be in it. It's something that you don't think would be different but it totally changes everything.

Maryse: When you get pregnant the girls really ask questions. There's more men than women in the WWE with kids. There's only one or two girls backstage who have kids so it's very interesting. The questions are like "what are you craving?" "How are you feeling?" "Are you going to have one more?" "What do you do after the baby? Do you work out?"

Questions after questions after questions [laughs] Yeah, I feel like a mom now.

Your families are a huge part of the show. How much does it mean to you for them to be a part of the series?

Miz: It's brought our families together more. We'll have a Christmas and I'll call my dad and ask if he'll want to come over and then he'll ask "Are you filming?" I'm like, no. "Then no."

So my parents just want to be on TV, especially my dad. He loves the attention, loves people recognizing him. And Marjo is a character all of her own. You have my mom and my friends. I was skeptical that they'd want to be a part of the show but when you see the episodes that we produce it's very positive. A lot of reality shows they gravitate towards drama and negativity, ours is more toward entertainment and enjoying yourself with positivity and we are just having fun with it and that's why they want to be a part of it.

Your father, especially when he was at WrestleMania, seems to enjoy the spotlight.

Miz: He became a meme! My dad went viral more than anyone else at WrestleMania.

Maryse: He's compared to Anna Wintour from Vogue [Laughs]. You know who that is, Mike?

Miz: No idea.

Maryse: My goodness.

I'm getting married this year, is there any advice you have about interacting with your in-laws and each other's families?

Miz: I would say the obvious thing, you're going to fight. People say "God you guys get along so well you never fight." Yea we always fight, but we're not filled with venom. We listen to each other, respect each other and each other's opinion. And you listen and sometimes you disagree and sometimes you don't. But the one thing is you respect them. That's the best route to go, and to enjoy life and every moment you have because you never know what's going to happen in life and that's what we have been doing.

Anything from you Marie?

Maryse: No, I think you've said it all really.

Miz: See that?

Miz you're on the road a lot and away from your family. How often do you all get to travel together?

Miz: Yea it's not that often at all, man. It's tough. I travel every single week and it's a non-stop job and it's the job that I always wanted. You just have to make ways to maneuver, everyone does. That's the relatability of our show. We go through everything everyone else goes through as first-time partners, but it's worse because we're in the entertainment industry.

I have a job I have to go to. I imagine everyone has a job they have to go to and be away from their kids and miss them like I do. I want to be there for all the milestones, her first crawl, walk, her first words. Luckily I've been able to see her first step and her first words, she says words but I don't know if she knows what they mean yet. I think she knows what dad and mom mean.

So I'm still getting that. But everytime I leave and come back I feel like she's grown an inch. It's crazy the things you feel like you are going to miss. But you have to make sure your family is set and live the life that they deserve and you feel they should live.

How about you Maryse, are you happy that Mike's not around sometimes or do you miss him?

Maryse: I hate leaving. I do not like leaving my daughter for more than two hours.

Miz: He was talking about me.

Maryse: About you?

Miz: Yea, do you miss me?

Maryse: Oh! No, well…. yea. Before I had Monroe I would miss Mike all the time but now it's more like I miss Monroe all the time.

Miz: Thanks babe. Appreciate it

Maryse: [Laughs]

Miz: You know how I know she misses me? Because when I'm home she's non-stop talking to me and follows me all over the house talking about hair, nails, shoes and clothes. Things I just love to hear her talk about.

Maryse: Just a little bit.

Miz: A little bit? Every time I come home.

Maryse: Whenever Mike is home it's definitely annoying, I know how it is. I know he's traveling and working a lot because I used to do that. I just like when he's home. Especially now, I like [Monroe] being around him as much as possible but when he's home he's definitely the best father ever. He's with Monroe a lot and he takes good care of her and it's cute to see that.

Mike has been going through a lot in the ring lately with his Falls Count Anywhere Match at WrestleMania and now he has a Cage match at Money in the Bank coming up. Is it harder to watch that now?

Maryse: It's nerve-wracking. Even though he's been doing it for 15 years I still get nervous. How could you not? You never know what's going to happen. I was very nervous because they were all over the arena. It's a big stadium and a lot of things can happen. Even just getting out of the ring something can happen. I'm always afraid of him falling on his head or falling off of things. You know, sometimes you get hurt with the stupidest things. It's the WWE and he's been doing it for so long and I know he knows what he's doing. I just try to enjoy the moment but in the back of my head I'm thinking about things that can happen. He's my husband and I love him.

Miz: Awww.

Mike you're going through a stretch as a baby face right now. Did you think you'd be this popular as the good guy?

Miz: No! You know, it's one of those things where I didn't want it to happen but it kinda just happened organically. And Maryse always tells me "listen, when it happens organically you just let it go and do it. And if people are liking you so be it."

Now I have to get used to it and I'm not right now. Right now I'm just enjoying myself and feed off the audience. That's what we do as WWE superstars, if I want the crowd to boo me I know exactly how I'll do that and luckily I've been doing this so long that if the crowd wants to cheer me I know how to make them cheer me louder. Now that [the crowd] is doing it organically and they like me, it's amazing. The villain has become the good guy.

Miz & Mrs airs Tuesday nights at 10/9 CDTc on USA Network