Love on the Spectrum’s Madison Marilla Is Rewriting What People Think Love Looks Like

Madison Marilla instantly became a fan favorite on Love on the Spectrum. And on a recent episode of The Squeeze, Marilla joins host Tay Lautner alongside her dad, Brennan Marilla, to show off her sparkling personality. The Netflix star talks about everything from her surprise proposal to fiancé Tyler White to what she hopes people understand about autism. She also explains the challenges she faced growing up, the gifts she believes autism has given her, and why joining the Netflix series changed her life in ways she never expected.

Below are the highlights from the conversation, adapted from the episode.

Madison Marilla on Life With Autism and ‘Love on the Spectrum’

What was your proposal like? 

“Exactly on our one-year anniversary, July 15th, and I didn’t know what to expect. All I knew was it was gonna be a surprise. The whole day was gonna be a surprise. I had no idea what was going on, and then there was the scene and then when my parents and Tyler’s [parents] were all having dinner at Tyler’s house, and Tyler asked to pull my parents aside, and then they were talking for over an hour. I had no idea what this could be about, but then I figured out looking back on that day, he was probably asking them for their blessing…

…I remember that morning, like, I woke up, I didn’t even know what to expect or what was going on that day. And then I find out Tyler’s like, ‘come back to Sunken Gardens one year later,’ and that’s all I knew. And then Love on the Spectrum production drives me down there. Little did I know Tyler had Christmas in July planned on the wedding lawn, literally where we first met and first laid eyes on each other…I had no idea our families were hiding in the bushes this whole time…and then we’re exchanging all these gifts to each other under the tree for our anniversary…And then literally Tyler’s like, ‘Open the mailbox’ and I’m like, ‘What’s in there?’ Then I read the letter and I kept tearing up and kept tearing up and then he finally popped the question…I was so surprised.”

Did you ever think you would get married?

“I never ever thought that because before Love on the Spectrum, dating was not even on my radar…Now I’m happy about it.”

What was it like when ‘Love on the Spectrum’reached out?

“I was a huge fan of seasons one and season two, and I’ve even watched the Australian version. So I thought it would be very cool to be on the show and it would open me up to dating.”

Her father Brennan added, “My first reaction, my first instinct was, let’s not do this. I wasn’t sure if it would be good for Madison, I wasn’t sure if I wanted us to put our family out there in the public eye like that, and wasn’t sure about security. I mean, I just, I wasn’t sure if this was the right thing to do…

…We thought that first of all, maybe she’ll find somebody on the show, maybe this is the way she’ll find somebody because we kind of had resigned to the fact that she, you know, might have guy friends, but she is never really gonna be aggressively pursuing it. And so we thought, first of all, maybe she’ll find someone, maybe they’ll actually find someone with her, it’ll be like amazing. Secondly, we just felt like this would give Madison a platform to be inspirational to other people on the spectrum and other families that have people on the spectrum.”

When did you learn about your autism diagnosis?

“I had no idea I was autistic until around the 4th grade. That was when I learned and my parents explained it to me as there’s some stuff that’s easy for you and some stuff that’s harder for you. And it came with one word and the one word is autism.”

How did you handle getting bullied in school?

“When I moved to Massachusetts from California in the 8th grade. I moved and no one understood me. So I had to deal with people bullying me. But then by the end of that school year, I had to do my quarterly current event for my US history class. I sat down with my special ed teacher…and she said, ‘Madison, here’s one about autism awareness so you can educate your classmates.’ And then I did that current event and then every kid in the class raised their hand and had a question for me. Then people started to apologize in the following school year.”

What helps you feel calm when you’re overwhelmed?

“I love to make jewelry. I love to sew. I love to draw and paint. I love to spend time with Tyler, spend time with my friends, volunteer in my church community.”

What is your favorite thing about yourself?

“I would say my own unique sense of style because if I never had autism, I never would have had my own unique sense of style.”

What advice do you have for others about autism?

“Autism is a journey, not a disorder….It is not meant to break you, and there’s so many gifts that come along with autism.”

What makes you most proud today?

“Being on ‘Love on the Spectrum’ and finding my cowboy sweetheart.”

To hear the full conversation with Madison Marilla, listen to The Squeeze wherever you get your podcasts.

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