7 times “This Is Us” made us ugly cry

Everyone needs a good cry once in a while, and luckily This Is Us gives us a reason to break out a box of tissues each week.

Before we go any further, we’ll say this right up front: SPOILERS AHEAD! This post is chock-full of ’em.

To say that the NBC drama tugs at our heartstrings would be a a big ‘ole understatement. The plot revolves around a couple (played by Mandy Moore and Milo Ventimiglia) and their young children. It also follows those same children as adults (Chrissy Metz, Justin Hartley, and Sterling K. Brown) as they struggle to come to terms with their childhoods and understand their place in the world. Here are the moments from the hit TV show that had us mopping up puddles of tears.

1When the doctor tells Jack their third child was stillborn

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When the doctor who delivered Rebecca’s babies tells Jack that not all of the babies survived, his monologue includes a heart-wrenching story of the child he lost. The doctor ends with telling Jack that while they no longer have triplets, they can still take three children home if they adopt.

2When young Kate gets bullied at the pool

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A family visit to the community pool demonstrated how cruel kids can be. An eight-year-old Kate, confidently wearing her Care Bear swimsuit, receives a note from other girls at the pool that reads, “We don’t want you to play with us anymore. You embarrass us,” along with a drawing of a pig. Knowing that Kate has life-long struggles with her weight makes this scene extra poignant.

3When Jack vowed to stop drinking and be the best father he could be

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“The drinking has to stop. You have to reign it in, baby… Because I’m done letting you lower our score,” Rebecca tells Jack in a very moving scene. Jack then vows to quit drinking and be a “12” on a 10-point scale. They start to cry, and then we began crying, too.

4When William died

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Even though we find out early on that Randall’s biological father William has a terminal illness, it doesn’t make his death any less emotional.

5When Kate reveals she watches the Steelers games with her dad

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The biggest tear-jerker moment on the show may have been when Kate reveals to Toby that she watches the Steelers football games with her dad. And then when Toby asks to meet him sometime, she shyly pulls out the urn with Jack’s ashes.

6When Jack reads Kate his wedding vows in their old apartment

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As a Valentine’s Day surprise, Jack takes Rebecca back to the first apartment they lived in and reads her their handwritten wedding vows, as they sit on the floor surrounded by twinkly lights and flowers. “Saying ‘I do’ means saying I will; I will love you every day for the rest of our lives,” he reads. Does it get any more romantic than that? Swoon.

7When Randall confronted Rebecca

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When Randall finds out what the audience already knows (that Rebecca kept his father away from him as a child), it’s a tense, emotional scene. Sitting across from her at Thanksgiving dinner, Randall feels all the feels as he demands an explanation of why she kept this secret from him for his entire life. “I can’t even look at you. All those times I asked you about my family — and if I hadn’t found him on my own — I gotta go,” he says before leaving the party.