Today’s Dylan Dreyer Has a Thanksgiving ‘Rehearsal’ Because Her Husband ‘Gets Very Anxious’ About the Big Meal

Mar. 15, 2025

Dylan Dreyer and Brian Fishera on the ‘Today’ show on Monday, April 22, 2019.Photo:Nathan Congleton/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal/Getty

Nathan Congleton/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal/Getty

Dylan Dreyerputs a lot of effort into her family’sThanksgivingdinner.

While speaking toToday.com, the NBC News meteorologist and co-host ofToday’s third hour explained that prepping for the holiday has changed since herson Calvin, 7, wasdiagnosed with celiac disease in 2023.

“Thanksgiving is my husband [Brian Fichera] and my favorite holiday. Like, I just love everything about getting the family together and cooking a big meal that everyone gets to enjoy," said Dreyer, 43. “My husband gets very anxious because he wants dinner to be perfect, because it’s his favorite meal of the year."

Dylan Dreyer, her husband Brian and their three sons.dylan dreyer/instagram

dylan dreyer/instagram

Now that the meal has to be gluten-free, Fichera came up with the idea of doing a rehearsal so they can test recipes.

“Stuffing has to be a little different because you can’t use bread, and gravy has to be a little different because you can’t use flour. Rolls have to be a little different,” said Dreyer.

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She added of Brian, “He always wants me to just do a rehearsal just to make sure the gravy is perfect, the stuffing is perfect, the mashed potatoes are just right.”

The practice round allows for some things to be adjusted if it doesn’t work out perfectly on the first try.

“The feedback on the gravy for rehearsal was it was a little too watery but the flavor was good. The stuffing was too dry, so I have to add more chicken broth. So, you know, I’m taking notes on what I need to fix," she said.

Dreyer — who also sharessons Oliver “Ollie,” 4, and Russell “Rusty,” 3, with Brian — said Calvin “will eat everything,” but her two youngest kids “don’t really like anything about Thanksgiving” food-wise.

“Now I’m also thinking, what else could I make that they can at least have a nice meal without having to cook a whole separate thing for them?” she said.

A photo of Dylan Dreyer’s gluten-free Thanksgiving dinner in 2023.dylan dreyer/instagram

Dreyer revealed Calvin’s celiac disease diagnosis to PEOPLE in May 2023. By July, she saidhe was doing a lot better.

Thanks to a gluten-free diet, Calvin “has no more pains, no more headaches, no more stomach aches. He’s just like a regular kid,” she said.

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Before his diagnosis, Calvin had been “constantly complaining of stomach pain every day,” said Dreyer. The parents took him to the emergency room, and doctors eventually found a stomach ulcer.

“We were very concerned because we thought it was something much more serious because of how some of the results came back. You start Googling and thinking the worst, so when we found out it was celiac, I could say, ‘Okay that’s an inconvenience, it’s a life change, but we can manage that.’ We were very grateful,” Dreyer previously told PEOPLE.

source: people.com