--- ---  # _Catfish_'s Nev Schulman Says Dads Need Parental Leave Too by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Sep 23, 2016 5:29 PM UTC  NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 16: Nev Schulman and Laura Perlongo attend as London Fog presents a New York special screening of 'The Dressmaker' on September 16, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for London Fog) NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 16: Nev Schulman and Laura Perlongo attend as London Fog presents a New York special screening of 'The Dressmaker' on September 16, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for London Fog)Cindy Ord—London Fog/Getty Images by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Sep 23, 2016 5:29 PM UTC Nev Schulman who is best known for his role as the host of MTV’s show _Catfish_, recently surprised fans and social media followers with the announcement that fiancée, Laura Perlongo, was pregnant. Shulman and Perlongo teamed up with [attn:](http://www.attn.com/) to make a video about [paternity leave](http://time.com/4214097/why-women-need-to-fight-for-paternity-leave/), which he [posted](https://www.facebook.com/nevschulman/?fref=ts) on Facebook. The video begins with playful music and a narrator saying, “Nev and Laura explain why you need time off work after having a baby.” While giving Perlongo an envy-inducing foot massage, Nev says, “America is really bad when it comes to [paid leave](http://time.com/4495728/tim-kaine-donald-trump-family-leave/) for moms,” after which the narrator explains, “The U.S. is the only industrialized country that doesn’t offer paid [maternity leave](http://motto.time.com/4495074/melinda-gates-unga-paid-family-leave/).” [_Follow Motto on Facebook_](https://www.facebook.com/mottoworkplaylive/)_._ Schulman cites statistics about [maternity](http://motto.time.com/4443746/ivanka-trump-paid-maternity-leave/) versus paternity leave time. He explains, “Globally, moms get an average of 106 days of paid leave for a new baby, while dads only get an average of seven.” Perlongo calls these statistics “totally sexist” because “it’s basically saying that taking care of a baby is a woman’s job.” Schulman and Perlongo also say time spent with young children can have positive effects later in life. Perlongo explains, “Researchers in Norway found that paternity leave actually enhances children’s performance in secondary school.” Watch the full video below: Catfish Nev Schulman Makes Parental Leave Video ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4505708/nev-schulman-laura-perlongo-parental-leave/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4505708/nev-schulman-laura-perlongo-parental-leave/"},"headline":"Catfish's Nev Schulman Says Dads Need Parental Leave Too","datePublished":"2016-09-23T17:29:59.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:03:26.736Z","description":"Taking care of a child isn't just a woman's job","url":"https://time.com/4505708/nev-schulman-laura-perlongo-parental-leave/","keywords":["motto"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt136c7f5918610512/6988a745fb4eac7cff88f38c/nev-schulman-laura-perlongo-parental-leave.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt136c7f5918610512/6988a745fb4eac7cff88f38c/nev-schulman-laura-perlongo-parental-leave.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"London Fog Presents A New York Special Screening Of THE DRESSMAKER","caption":"London Fog Presents A New York Special Screening Of THE DRESSMAKER","creditText":"Cindy Ord—London Fog/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/motto/","name":"motto"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4505708/nev-schulman-laura-perlongo-parental-leave/","name":"Catfish's Nev Schulman Says Dads Need Parental Leave Too"}}]}] ```