Gardner and Nwodim both exited “Saturday Night Live” ahead of season 51.

Heidi Gardner, Ego Nwodim get emotional over SNL friendship in tearful reunion: ‘Can be such a challenging place’

Gardner and Nwodim both exited "Saturday Night Live" ahead of season 51.

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October 28, 2025 10:38 a.m. ET

Heidi Gardner and Ego Nwodim during the 'Bowen's Straight' sketch on 'Saturday Night Live'. Credit:

Caro Scarimbolo/NBC via Getty

- Heidi Gardner broke down in tears over her *SNL* friendship with Ego Nwodim.

- Gardner and Nwodim both exited the NBC show ahead of season 51 earlier this year.

- "You were just such a light in what can be such a challenging place to so many people," Nwodim told Gardner.

Though they're no longer cast members on *Saturday Night Live*, former stars Heidi Gardner and Ego Nwodim's friendship has endured beyond the iconic NBC sketch comedy show.

Gardner broke down in tears during an emotional reflection on her friendship with Nwodim, as the pair reunited on the latest episode of Nwodim's *Thanks Dad *podcast weeks after they both exited *SNL* ahead of season 51.

Near the end of the installment, Nwodim recalled that the pair had a "bond instantly" upon being assigned to the same dressing room space. "To have to share such an intimate space together, and for hours on end on Saturdays, and Thursdays and Fridays rehearsing, it made us close quick," she recalled.**

Heidi Gardner, Ego Nwodim on 'SNL'.

Will Heath/NBC via Getty

Nwodim, who joined *SNL* in 2018, said that their first full conversation together revolved around her turbulent relationship with her father, as she noted that she doesn't have much of a relationship with him.

"We got right into it, we went really deep, really fast, which I'm known for — even in romance," Nwodim said. "One of us got called to the floor to rehearse a silly sketch, and it's like, okay, I just told you everything about my life. And the thing you said to me is, I was called to exit, you were like, 'Well, that's more than I know about anyone who works here, and I've been here more than a year.'"

The actress later called Gardner, who joined *SNL* one year prior in 2017, her best friend, adding, "I'm so glad we got paired together in that dressing room. Getting to spend seven years of my time on *SNL* with you, one of life's greatest gifts, it's not the easiest place to work, but you were such a huge gift."

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They recounted feelings of jealousy and ambition that often go hand-in-hand for cast members at the show, but Nwodim said that Gardner always maintained a healthy reaction to her successes.

"I love you so much. I'm so honored that we worked so hard there, and then we also worked on our friendship so hard, which wasn't hard, by the way, we're human, so we have egos, we want things for ourselves, we want to succeed. There weren't a lot of times we were able to succeed the way we wanted at the exact same time," Gardner said.

Later, she got emotional while thinking back to the April 5, 2025, episode hosted by Jack Black, which she called one of the highlights of her career.

"It was beautiful to watch you succeed so much, and that's why I think back, it's so recent, but that Jack Black week, it was everything to me because it was my hero. I could've never imagined a week like that, and I got to do so much in the show," Gardner reflected, going on to reference Nwodim's instantly iconic "Miss Eggy" segment during "Weekend Update."

Ego Nwodim on 'Saturday Night Live'.

Caro Scarimbolo/NBC via Getty

"I can honestly say my best friend had the moment of the year, you know? I'm just being really vulnerable. There's a part of me, if I think about it, I'm like, but wait, I should want that for me, but you had it, and it was f---ing awesome," Gardner said. "And I got to go out there and watch it and to have you have it with my favorite person in the world and you're my favorite person in the world, it's like, what is my life, this is so beautiful, and we wanted it. We knew how special that was, and I knew how important it was to you and the people who, everyone loves you."

Nwodim ended the podcast by noting that it's "easy to get caught up" in backstage envy, but that "watching [Gardner] be so gracious toward everyone, truly, I told you this on the phone, there's just nobody like you and you were just such a light in what can be such a challenging place to so many people."

Nwodim's "Miss Eggy" segment saw her portray a stand-up comic pitching herself to host the White House Correspondents' Dinner. During the bit, she performed a call-and-response segment of the sketch, and held the microphone out to the crowd, and didn't initially anticipate the studio crowd to actually play along. But, they did — including using profanity live on air (which the network censored in the moment.)

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"They really threw me for a loop, but it was so exciting because I love improv and so getting to play with them was so fun," Nwodim said of the moment earlier this year, during an Emmys FYC discussion helmed by fellow *SNL *alum Fred Armisen.

Listen to Gardner and Nwodim discuss *SNL* in the podcast episode above.

Original Article on Source

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