Sebastian Maniscalco Reveals How Touring Adds a ‘Newness’ to His 11-Year Marriage with Wife Lana (Exclusive)

Sebastian Maniscalco is letting fans in on the secret behind his marriage to wife Lana Gomez.

Ahead of the season 2 premiere of his show Bookie, Maniscalco, 51, sat down with PEOPLE on Dec. 8 at the Rams/Bills game, where he opened up about his 11-year marriage.

“I am on the road a lot, so it definitely adds a newness that every time I come back,” he explains, noting that when he comes home from his “It Ain’t Right” comedy tour, they’re “really happy to see each other.”

“Listen, 44 hours, seven days a week. I’m not knocking that,” he continues, before quipping, “But after a while you look at the other person and go, ‘Are you going to leave the house soon?'”

On a more serious note, Maniscalco says the success is due to one relatable factor: “I attribute it to also laughing a lot — with any relationship, whether it be marriage, best friends, your mother, your father, your sister.”

“I think humor is definitely something that gets us through life a lot easier. It’s something I’ve used as a coping mechanism my entire life,” he explains. “So as long as we’re laughing, everything’s okay. It’s either you’re laughing or crying in my area, but I’d rather laugh.”

The comedian met Gomez, 41, in 2009 at the gym. As Maniscalco previously told PEOPLE, he had reached out to his trainer asking if he knew any single women and his trainer instantly suggested Gomez.

From there, Maniscalco started coming to the gym dolled up in an attempt to woo his future wife — with his hair done, wearing “full cologne” and covered in baby oil. “When my trainer was training me on the mat, the mat was filled with oil from my body,” Maniscalco joked to PEOPLE in June.

And though there was some initial awkwardness on their first date, the two eventually developed a strong relationship and tied the knot in 2013. They have since welcomed two children: daughter Seraphina in 2017 and son Caruso in 2019.

These days, Maniscalco is busy balancing parenthood with work. He’s currently starring in season 2 of Bookie, which premiered on Max on Dec. 12, as well as wrapping up the 2024 leg of his comedy tour before kicking off the 2025 slate.

When it comes to his comedy tour, Maniscalco tells PEOPLE he tries to incorporate his children into his schedule whenever possible — even if that means facing some rather humbling moments.

“Every day I get up [is humbling],” he jokes. “Being on the road trying to parent through FaceTime has been something that’s been a challenge for me. But they’re great kids. They understand what Daddy does. They really enjoy coming to my shows. Although my son just fell asleep at the last show he was at. So that was pretty humbling. It’s always nice when you look into the audience, your son is knocked out.”

As for Bookie, Maniscalco takes on the leading role as Danny, a veteran Los Angeles bookie dealing with the potential legalization of sports gambling in California threatening to upend his business for good.

“For me, I had a lot more fun on season 2 just because we established who the characters were,” he shares. “I had never done a TV show from soup to nuts before, so the first season I was getting my bearings, trying to figure out how this all works.”

“I felt like as season 2 came along, I felt more comfortable in who I was as the character and what to expect doing an eight-episode TV show,” he continues. “The more comfortable I get doing something, the more freer I feel as a performer and when they pick us up from season 3, four, and five, it’s going to be an amazing ride.”

Bookie season 2 premieres Thursday, Dec. 12 on Max, with new episodes dropping weekly.