Jade is a recurring character featured in the Apple TV+ show, Ted Lasso, and the hostess at A Taste of Athens, a Greek restaurant in London that is frequented by Nathan Shelley and his parents.
History[]
The Patient Hostess[]
Jade is working at the restaurant one day when Nate arrives to book a table for his parents' 35th marriage anniversary. Nate asks to book the window table, but Jade declines, saying she would need to talk to the manager Derek first. Nate tries to explain that he wants to impress his father and mentioning he knows Roy Kent. Jade turns him down again, noting he should come back if Roy Kent wants the table. The incident leaves Nate rather insecure.
Nate returns later with his parents and asks about the window table again, only for Jade to tell him they do not book the window table on reservations. Having been coached by Keeley Jones and Rebecca Welton, Nate more forcefully insists that he and his parents be seated at the window table. Jade relents, but when Nate goes further by trying to ask for her number, she declines by saying she is very picky.
Opening Up[]
Sometime later, Nate returns to the restaurant to pick up food he got for his team, and tries to impress Jade by telling him he is now a famous football coach for West Ham United F.C.. Jade shows no reaction, not even when Derek recognizes Nate, sings his praises, and gives him the food order on the house.
Nate later brings his date, a model named Anastasia Orlov, to the restaurant and asks for a table for two. Jade is visibly surprised that Nate is on a date with a model, though she is still unimpressed by Anastasia's apparent fame and the fact that Nate is on a date with her even as Derek shows excitement.
She serves the two and overhears him trying to defend the restaurant to an increasingly rude Anastasia by praising their baklava, which she appears pleased to hear. After Anastasia ditches Nate, Jade feels sorry for him. Later that day, when he half-heartedly invites her to share his baklava for two, she accepts, and they share a friendly conversation.
Dating[]
From there on, Nate stops at A Taste of Athens every day to say hello to Jade, which she receives warmly. Unbeknownst to her, Nate begins stressing out over asking her on a date, even awkwardly asking Derek to pass on his greetings to her while she is away on Tuesday for classes. One day, Nate comes in to try to ask her something, but stops mid-sentence and after briefly sojourning to the bathroom tells her he needs to do something first.
Nate does not stop by the restaurant the next morning, to her visible disappointment, but he eventually comes by the day afterwards carrying a gift for her. However, he trips and the gift gets crushed by a passing car. After recovering his dignity, he walks up to Jade and promptly asks her out, which she immediately and eagerly accepts. She then asks if there was anything alive in the gift, to which he assures her there was not. She arrives at their date later at a riverfront restaurant, where she is surprised to learn from Nate he was not sure she would actually show up.
Jade and Nate officially begin dating, although he is initially self-conscious about labeling the relationship due to being unsure of how she feels. One night she notices him staring at a picture of Ted Lasso, his son Henry Lasso, and Coach Beard and clocks his muted reaction to the fact that West Ham United won a game that day. She encourages him to be happy about winning, noting that Ted, Henry, and Beard seemed to be happy for him. She casually refers to him as her boyfriend, officially giving their relationship a label.
Jade and Nate embraces each other
Jade surprises Nate the day before a game with lunch from A Taste of Athens, having gotten permission from Derek in exchange for an item with a West Ham United logo on it. Rupert Mannion comes into the office and Nate introduces him to her.
Jade immediately notices Rupert's lurid behavior with comments that Nate is out of her league and attempting to flirt with her, and maintains an absolute minimum of interaction with him, similar to how she initially treated Nate: she passive-aggressively states "It was worthwhile to meet you." Rupert seems to be bewildered to see her behavior as he is not used to being coldly treated by others. She remarks after Rupert leaves that he seems "very wealthy, but also nice-like", but Nate claims he is really decent.
After Nate wins another game and makes plans for a "guys night" with Rupert, Jade sends him a congratulatory text and tells him to enjoy the guys night. Later at night, Jade is alone in her apartment when Nate comes by. She notices that Nate seems to be distraught, and without saying a word he hugs her. He doesn't tell her that Rupert was trying to encourage him to cheat on Jade by bringing some women to the bar during their "guys" night. Jade hugs and comforts her boyfriend without saying anything, knowing that they just want to be together.
Pushing Nate[]
When Nate chooses to quit his job at West Ham United, stirring major controversy in the press, Jade finds him in a depressed haze in bed. He asks her if he made a bad decision, to which she points out if he has no desire to go back then he made the right choice. Having planned a trip to Poland to visit her family, she asks if he needs her to stay home, which he turns down. She then invites him to come with her, and help her family screw lightbulbs, which he briefly mistakes for a joke. They kiss each other goodbye, and Jade leaves for Poland, ignoring the paparazzi outside their apartment.
Nate takes up a job as a waiter at A Taste of Athens, which Jade is somewhat put off by, as she knows it is a very different job from his actual passion. One morning, Isaac McAdoo, Colin Hughes, and Will Kitman come in prior to opening, to her annoyance. They ask to see Nate: she coolly states "no such man exists" only for Nate to appear sweeping the floor. While Nate talks with his former colleagues, she hides in the back of the restaurant to eavesdrop, overhearing their request that he return to coach for Richmond instead of working at A Taste of Athens. She disappointedly watches as he turns it down, and is continually annoyed as she observes Derek and even the customers speculating on why he took such a different job.
After work one day, Jade confronts Nate over her concerns, admitting she finds it weird he is a really great waiter and he should seriously consider the offer from Richmond. Nate admits he feels he does not deserve to return after leaving so rudely, but promises to find another coaching job after the current season. During Richmond's game against Manchester, she sees Nate watching the television broadcast and excitedly strategizing in his head, cheering on his team when they make the same decisions. Having had enough, she tells Derek to fire Nate or else she will report him for an unspecified crime. Nate, appreciative of Jade's actions despite it costing him the job, accepts the chance to go back to Richmond. Jade watches as Nate is visited by Coach Beard who forgives him and personally invites him back to the team. She smiles as she eats a leftover kebab.
In her last appearance, Jade is shown having dinner with Nate and his family at A Taste of Athens.
Personality[]
Jade proves rather unflappable as a restaurant host; she is thoroughly unimpressed by fame, showing no reaction when Nate tries to leverage his proximity to it, even when he actually becomes famous as coach of West Ham. It is implied this is the case for all of her customers, and that when she is on the clock she is simply focused on the job.
She is very good at reading people for when they are being disingenuous or rude, which could potentially explain her initial stone-face when Nate was trying to impress her. She employs this exact same reaction upon meeting Rupert and noticing his lurid behavior. Likewise, she can tell when someone is being honest about themselves, noticing Nate's genuine appreciation for the restaurant and even keeping him company after he is ditched by Anastasia, a model, during a date. This in turn leads to them starting a relationship, with her encouraging him to be more honest about his gut feelings.