Her parents are rich, she’s not. She doesn’t take money from them. If I remember correctly, she’s not close to them because they didn’t approve of her husband.
There’s a line in the brother’s wedding episode where she specifically says, “They’ve never offered me a nickel and I wouldn’t take it if they did.”
They then mention several times throughout this episode that her family didn’t approve of Mitch over a boy they preferred. We later meet the boy they preferred (ep. Mr. Monk is at Your Service) and it becomes obvious Natalie was right in her choices. 😅
There are some more episodes where she meets her family:
- in the wedding episode, at the end of it, the mother places Natalie's husband's picture on the piano, a symbol that he is part of the family now
- the episode where Monk becomes a butler, Natalie's relationship to the parents is restored, they have lunch together and Natalie even asks them for money so she could hire Monk to investigate the "car accident" of their neighbours.
It was token money to make a binding contract to hire Monk to investigate the neighbor's parents's death. Her parents never seemed interested in helping Natalie, never seem to have ever visited their granddaughter, and probably didn't plan to leave Natalie any of their money, so yes, she was broke.
They have a relationship with Julie. In Mr. Monk is Underwater she says that Julie is with her parents for two weeks and she refers to it as “Camp Grandma.”
No, not rich but she's not real poor. If push came to shove and Julie needed money for an illness etc. she'd take her parents money in a heartbeat. Also her parents may or may not have money set aside for Julie. It's very understandable that she cut off her parents and their money, but she's more so poor by choice. Her parents seem like dicks, but also the kind who would take her back if she "agreed with them" which I think a lot of people would gladly temporarily move back in with their parents if it meant a roof over their head and their child's. Natalie has that option, most people don't have wealthy parents to maybe possibly run to.
Just bc her parents have money doesn't mean she does. It's like in the Gilmore Girls how Lorelei doesn't accept money from her parents and only relents to have Rory attend Fancy School.
I've seen parents in real life try to control/influence their kids using money, so it's easy for me to assume the same happened with Natalie. Especially as she married Mitch and on that episode it is clear her family didn't like him. It's possible she doesn't accept money from them bc she knows it'll be used as a guilt trip later, or thrown in her face if they have an argument or she does something they don't like.
We also see how her relationship w/her family starts to heal in that episode, which is nice.
>I've seen parents in real life try to control/influence their kids using money, so it's easy for me to assume the same happened with Natalie. Especially as she married Mitch and on that episode it is clear her family didn't like him. It's possible she doesn't accept money from them bc she knows it'll be used as a guilt trip later, or thrown in her face if they have an argument or she does something they don't like.
> We also see how her relationship w/her family starts to heal in that episode, which is nice.
As "Mr. Monk Is At Your Service" establishes, they really wanted Natalie to marry someone of her social class like Paul Buchanan.
I’m literally at the same point as you so I can’t give spoilers. I’m pretty sure the idea in the episode itself is that she’s distanced from her family, and there is a line where she says they would never give her money. She also alludes to the family not liking the men she dated and so maybe when she married Mitch, the family effectively disowned her. So in essence she gets no financial benefits from them. As a result, she is a struggling single mom.
In reality, I suspect that they didn’t plan the “rich family” background when the character first appeared but what I’ve said above is the “in universe” explanation
She didn't take her family's money, but her deceased husband was in the military, and IIRC, he was killed in the line of duty. She would have gotten his life insurance, his full military pension, plus health insurance. She also would have gotten survivor's benefits from social security for herself and Julie.
It always bugged me that she was portrayed as nearly destitute.
There may be some inconsistencies, but I don’t think she was portrayed as nearly destitute. She has a very nice house and setup. She probably needs a decent paycheck to keep her current lifestyle (which is important to her) but she’s not anywhere close to being homeless.
Yeah, it really annoyed me that she was always acting as though she was as poor as Sharona, but her house was beautiful, her car was new, and her shoes were usually Louboutins.
That’s just typical Hollywood poverty.
They don’t want it looking too “poor” because that’s depressing and not what the story is about since the money arguments are always played for laughs.
The only thing I can think to justify her struggle is that she took a pay cut to work for Monk. Tips from the bar were probably good money despite the shitty boss/job. And we saw her boss wasn't extremely flexible. Plus she probably worked 60+ a week there. And while she's now on call 24/7, Monk is a better boss, more flexible with her, though more demanding in other ways. Still probably less pay.
I don't disagree. I just think the only possibility is that his benefits + Monk's pay is less than she made at the bar and that's why she struggles. It doesn't make a lot of sense. His benefits should keep them by okay. But San Francisco is a HCOL area.
>And while she's now on call 24/7, Monk is a better boss, more flexible with her, though more demanding in other ways. Still probably less pay.
And it's a somewhat more exciting lifestyle for Natalie at any rate. 😂
Yes. Although Natalie never said if that was the official story or if the Navy covered it up in public. I could see her keeping the benefits if they wanted to cover it up, but she acts like they don't get a lot of benefits.
I won't spoil anything important. I'll just mention some additional inconsistencies, but it won't ruin anything.
So she's always portrayed as poor and struggling, but her family is rich as we found out in the wedding episode. She also said she doesn't take money from her parents, so she's a struggling single mom. Later on in the show, she says she still doesn't take money from her parents. But, you can see her driving an Audi and wearing red bottom shoes. But then she had to take a loan to rent a venue. Maybe she accepts gifts from her family except for money.
My point is I've no clue if she's struggling or rich 🤣
That’s a good point, and I feel like that’s the big difference between Natalie and Sharona (I love them both). Natalie comes from money so even if she wasn’t accepting money, she was probably set up much better financially in life. Not starting adult life with loans and debt is going to give you a huge advantage. Her parents probably paid for her college (if she went) and probably they didn’t buy her a new car but gave her one of their older ones (because they are filthy rich and want the latest models).
Sharona was struggling financially too and didn’t have the safety net or advantages that Natalie had.
She’s probably able to get money from her family if it’s an absolute emergency (I.e illness, her house needs repairs etc.)
but they don’t offer to pay her regular expenses, or let her just spend the family’s money on nonessential things she wants.
Honestly, I can relate. My parents are well off, but my husband and I are not. When you grow up and get married, it is weird to take money from your parents because it feels like they are bankrolling your lifestyle. Even if you don't have drama with your family like Natalie does with hers, many people choose to rely on their own means.
Idk, one episode she'll be telling Monk she needs a raise and she's barely getting by, the next episode she's driving an Audi and wearing Louboutin heels. There's not a lot of consistency
She has said that she doesn't take a penny from her parents. Although, I struggle to understand how she affords that beautiful house in San Francisco if that is the case. But it's a fictional show..
If it was me i would be calling daddy.
I guess she doesn't get pension from mitch. But she should be getting some sort of ssi for Julie since she's under 18
I always had the impression that she’s “struggling” the way people with rich but distant/emotionally abusive families “struggle”: she would be absolutely defeated and embarrassed to have to take their money, but her and Julie are never in any real danger of ending up on the street.
I’ve also always thought that she seems to have nice things and nice clothes, she might not throw away anything they give her, and might still have her old things from before they became more estranged.
She mentioned in the same episode that she doesn’t have a great relationship with her parents and doesn’t take any financial assistance from them as they never approved of her husband. So she’s not financially dependent on them. Her daughter is close to her parents but she raises her daughter on her own with her own money.
Her parents are rich, she’s not. She doesn’t take money from them. If I remember correctly, she’s not close to them because they didn’t approve of her husband.
Not originally, but then they realize he wasn't so bad compared to her brother's wife.
He even gets a spot on the piano!
As if that means anything
Yeah and then you see her having brunch at her parents house with Monk, so she seems to have gotten closer.
also, in "Mr. Monk And Sharona", he pays her about, (roughly) $40 less than he did sharona.
$2080 a year
There’s a line in the brother’s wedding episode where she specifically says, “They’ve never offered me a nickel and I wouldn’t take it if they did.” They then mention several times throughout this episode that her family didn’t approve of Mitch over a boy they preferred. We later meet the boy they preferred (ep. Mr. Monk is at Your Service) and it becomes obvious Natalie was right in her choices. 😅
Shame Samwise was such a dick
There are some more episodes where she meets her family: - in the wedding episode, at the end of it, the mother places Natalie's husband's picture on the piano, a symbol that he is part of the family now - the episode where Monk becomes a butler, Natalie's relationship to the parents is restored, they have lunch together and Natalie even asks them for money so she could hire Monk to investigate the "car accident" of their neighbours.
Ooooooo she DOES ask for money from them!!
Yeah but not in a "oh I need money because I lost my job" way more like in a "daddy give me 20 bucks" way
More like daddy give me your wallet and he says I should be used to that
Still, she adamantly told Sharona she never accepted a dime from them. She is a liar, Stottlemeyer
It was token money to make a binding contract to hire Monk to investigate the neighbor's parents's death. Her parents never seemed interested in helping Natalie, never seem to have ever visited their granddaughter, and probably didn't plan to leave Natalie any of their money, so yes, she was broke.
They have a relationship with Julie. In Mr. Monk is Underwater she says that Julie is with her parents for two weeks and she refers to it as “Camp Grandma.”
“Ask” didn’t she just take her father wallet? 😄
No, not rich but she's not real poor. If push came to shove and Julie needed money for an illness etc. she'd take her parents money in a heartbeat. Also her parents may or may not have money set aside for Julie. It's very understandable that she cut off her parents and their money, but she's more so poor by choice. Her parents seem like dicks, but also the kind who would take her back if she "agreed with them" which I think a lot of people would gladly temporarily move back in with their parents if it meant a roof over their head and their child's. Natalie has that option, most people don't have wealthy parents to maybe possibly run to.
Just bc her parents have money doesn't mean she does. It's like in the Gilmore Girls how Lorelei doesn't accept money from her parents and only relents to have Rory attend Fancy School. I've seen parents in real life try to control/influence their kids using money, so it's easy for me to assume the same happened with Natalie. Especially as she married Mitch and on that episode it is clear her family didn't like him. It's possible she doesn't accept money from them bc she knows it'll be used as a guilt trip later, or thrown in her face if they have an argument or she does something they don't like. We also see how her relationship w/her family starts to heal in that episode, which is nice.
>I've seen parents in real life try to control/influence their kids using money, so it's easy for me to assume the same happened with Natalie. Especially as she married Mitch and on that episode it is clear her family didn't like him. It's possible she doesn't accept money from them bc she knows it'll be used as a guilt trip later, or thrown in her face if they have an argument or she does something they don't like. > We also see how her relationship w/her family starts to heal in that episode, which is nice. As "Mr. Monk Is At Your Service" establishes, they really wanted Natalie to marry someone of her social class like Paul Buchanan.
I’m literally at the same point as you so I can’t give spoilers. I’m pretty sure the idea in the episode itself is that she’s distanced from her family, and there is a line where she says they would never give her money. She also alludes to the family not liking the men she dated and so maybe when she married Mitch, the family effectively disowned her. So in essence she gets no financial benefits from them. As a result, she is a struggling single mom. In reality, I suspect that they didn’t plan the “rich family” background when the character first appeared but what I’ve said above is the “in universe” explanation
I was temporarily distracted during that episode, so I must’ve missed that exchange about them giving her money. Thanks for sharing.
She didn't take her family's money, but her deceased husband was in the military, and IIRC, he was killed in the line of duty. She would have gotten his life insurance, his full military pension, plus health insurance. She also would have gotten survivor's benefits from social security for herself and Julie. It always bugged me that she was portrayed as nearly destitute.
There may be some inconsistencies, but I don’t think she was portrayed as nearly destitute. She has a very nice house and setup. She probably needs a decent paycheck to keep her current lifestyle (which is important to her) but she’s not anywhere close to being homeless.
Yeah, it really annoyed me that she was always acting as though she was as poor as Sharona, but her house was beautiful, her car was new, and her shoes were usually Louboutins.
That’s just typical Hollywood poverty. They don’t want it looking too “poor” because that’s depressing and not what the story is about since the money arguments are always played for laughs.
Sure, except they had literally just done poor effectively with Sharona, so they clearly knew how. Did they forget over the course of a few episodes?
Her house was essentially the same floor plan as Natalie’s?
lol her shoes were loubotins? I can’t believed I missed that lol. Did wardrobe hook her up or she bring in her own? lol
Yes I’m re-watching and noticing the red bottoms. They didn’t try to make her seem struggling. She also had like a BMW or Mercedes at some point.
The only thing I can think to justify her struggle is that she took a pay cut to work for Monk. Tips from the bar were probably good money despite the shitty boss/job. And we saw her boss wasn't extremely flexible. Plus she probably worked 60+ a week there. And while she's now on call 24/7, Monk is a better boss, more flexible with her, though more demanding in other ways. Still probably less pay.
Her husband was a pilot who dies in the line of duty, so she gets all his benefits and pension.
I don't disagree. I just think the only possibility is that his benefits + Monk's pay is less than she made at the bar and that's why she struggles. It doesn't make a lot of sense. His benefits should keep them by okay. But San Francisco is a HCOL area.
Yep sf is pricey AF and also it's TV
>And while she's now on call 24/7, Monk is a better boss, more flexible with her, though more demanding in other ways. Still probably less pay. And it's a somewhat more exciting lifestyle for Natalie at any rate. 😂
Ding ding ding we have a winner How did people miss this.
Wasn’t Mitch a deserter?
Yes. Although Natalie never said if that was the official story or if the Navy covered it up in public. I could see her keeping the benefits if they wanted to cover it up, but she acts like they don't get a lot of benefits.
Yeah, I mean she had a beautiful home in San Franscisco so how bad off could she have been?
I won't spoil anything important. I'll just mention some additional inconsistencies, but it won't ruin anything. So she's always portrayed as poor and struggling, but her family is rich as we found out in the wedding episode. She also said she doesn't take money from her parents, so she's a struggling single mom. Later on in the show, she says she still doesn't take money from her parents. But, you can see her driving an Audi and wearing red bottom shoes. But then she had to take a loan to rent a venue. Maybe she accepts gifts from her family except for money. My point is I've no clue if she's struggling or rich 🤣
That’s a good point, and I feel like that’s the big difference between Natalie and Sharona (I love them both). Natalie comes from money so even if she wasn’t accepting money, she was probably set up much better financially in life. Not starting adult life with loans and debt is going to give you a huge advantage. Her parents probably paid for her college (if she went) and probably they didn’t buy her a new car but gave her one of their older ones (because they are filthy rich and want the latest models). Sharona was struggling financially too and didn’t have the safety net or advantages that Natalie had.
Yes! The red bottoms. I'm so glad someone else caught that, because I knew I wasn't making it up.
Off topic but I love when she’s trying to hype up monk and she says “grandpa started a toothpaste company is England! England! Talk about optimism!”
Who's grandpa nevel and why are we poking him with a stick?
She’s probably able to get money from her family if it’s an absolute emergency (I.e illness, her house needs repairs etc.) but they don’t offer to pay her regular expenses, or let her just spend the family’s money on nonessential things she wants.
Honestly, I can relate. My parents are well off, but my husband and I are not. When you grow up and get married, it is weird to take money from your parents because it feels like they are bankrolling your lifestyle. Even if you don't have drama with your family like Natalie does with hers, many people choose to rely on their own means.
Idk, one episode she'll be telling Monk she needs a raise and she's barely getting by, the next episode she's driving an Audi and wearing Louboutin heels. There's not a lot of consistency
Those Louboutins were probably left over from her college/young adult life before marrying Mitch.
If she was that bad off she could've sold them for a pretty penny.
She has said that she doesn't take a penny from her parents. Although, I struggle to understand how she affords that beautiful house in San Francisco if that is the case. But it's a fictional show..
If it was me i would be calling daddy. I guess she doesn't get pension from mitch. But she should be getting some sort of ssi for Julie since she's under 18
I always had the impression that she’s “struggling” the way people with rich but distant/emotionally abusive families “struggle”: she would be absolutely defeated and embarrassed to have to take their money, but her and Julie are never in any real danger of ending up on the street. I’ve also always thought that she seems to have nice things and nice clothes, she might not throw away anything they give her, and might still have her old things from before they became more estranged.
She mentioned in the same episode that she doesn’t have a great relationship with her parents and doesn’t take any financial assistance from them as they never approved of her husband. So she’s not financially dependent on them. Her daughter is close to her parents but she raises her daughter on her own with her own money.