Robe Lowe and his family are toning things ‘way, way down’ this Thanksgiving because of COVID-19

Thanksgiving at the Lowe household will be more subdued than usual this year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Rob Lowe, 56, opened up about how his family will be spending the holiday and revealed that ‘everybody’s going to get tested’ for COVID-19, in an interview with People Magazine published on Tuesday.

And, while the current pandemic will keep families apart this holiday season, Rob has partnered with Ancestry.com to take a look into his past relatives – and even connected with a cousin he never knew existed.  

‘We always do the holidays in a big way,’ the West Wing star said. ‘My wife Sheryl is a great planner of fun for everybody and there’s a gorgeous feast.’

‘But, this year we will pare it way, way down, and everybody’s going to get tested for the virus,’ he continued.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over one million new coronavirus cases were reported in the United States in the last seven days. 

This year the CDC is recommending that people only celebrate the holiday at home with people from their own household.

For Rob, his wife of 29 years and their two sons John Owen, 25 and Matthew Edward, 27 this will mean foregoing their annual Turkey Bowl football game.

The actor told People that the traditional tossing of the pigskin was an activity they did since the 1970s.

‘We take it very seriously, one year we even had referees. It’s gone from Ohio to California — wherever we’ve lived, we’ve always done it,’ he explained.

To keep the family connection alive and thriving this year, Rob partnered with Ancestry.com on a new project.

In a video, Rob and his two sons click through the Lowe ancestry to find photos of long passed family members, and they even discovered a long lost cousin.

‘The Lowe family bootleg legacy,’ his son Matthew quipped while looking at a vintage photo of a relative.

‘He wasn’t a bootlegger,’ his dad clarified before adding: ‘He dressed like one.’

Through their journey Robe discovered a 4th cousin and was able to connect with him virtually in the video with his sons by his side.

Rob’s sons have earned themselves a bit of viral fame this year for trolling their dad’s social media accounts. 

The Lowe-key holiday this year for the family is a smart move, according to all the experts. 

And, the crisis has recently hit close to home for Rob – his West Wing co-star Richard Schiff has contracted the virus.

The veteran actor first tested positive for the virus on November 3 – along with his wife Sheila Kelley and son Gus – and the family had been recovering in their home in Vancouver.  

But he later revealed that he had been hospitalized, and is now being treated with ‘Remdesivir, O2 and steroids’ as he regains strength. 

Things appear to being improving for the actor and last week he tweeted: ‘Covid update. I was just taken off Oxygen!!’

Schiff most recently took part in The West Wing’s one-off reunion on HBO Max, where he joined costars Rob Lowe, Martin Sheen, Allison Janney and others for a special in partnership with When We All Vote in support of now president-elect Joe Biden and his incoming vice president Kamala Harris.