‘The Bold and the Beautiful’s Reign Edwards Previews ‘The Coolest Twist Ever’ With Nicole’s Pregnancy
Spoiler Alert! The wildest pregnancy in daytime drama is about to get even wilder. On May 17, The Bold and the Beautiful’s young Nicole Avant (Reign Edwards) will give birth to a baby after being artificially inseminated with the sperm of her brother-in-law, Rick (Jacob Young), who is married to her transgender sister, Maya (Karla Mosley). But no good deed goes unpunished. The Emmy-nominated Edwards gave us the lowdown on the anguish—and scandal—to come.
In giving Maya the baby she so desperately wanted, Nicole lost Zende [Rome Flynn], the love of her life, who then went and slept with her sister Sasha [Felicia Cooper]. So what is that cad doing in the delivery room?
Zende is with Nicole when she starts having contractions and he doesn’t want to miss the experience, so he puts on scrubs and a mask and sneaks into the delivery room. Nobody knows he’s there. He’s so overwhelmed with the birth and how awesome Nicole is that he admits he made a terrible mistake. He wants to be with her and she wants to be with him. So they get back together…and then comes news that Sasha is pregnant. Oh, Lord!
This is the soapiest!
I know, right? When I found out about it, the B&B fan in me was going, “Oh my God! Nooo!” But the actress in me knew this was the coolest twist ever. Nicole is just devastated. She now fully understands what it means to bring a baby into the world—the incredible joy and beauty of that—and she’s all set to have a happy life with Zende and now Sasha is going to have his first baby, which means she’s always going to be in the picture. That’s a lot to swallow. Maya and Rick are going to be wrapped up with their baby, and Sasha and Zende will be wrapped up with their baby. And then there’s Nicole. Alone.
Plus, she only just found out Sasha is her sister after being best friends with her for years. She seems to have quickly forgiven her, but how is she really dealing with that betrayal?
Nicole’s problem is with their father, Julius [Obba Babatundé]. He had an affair and made Sasha lie about being his daughter ever since she was a little girl. He rejected both Maya and Sasha, so it’s like Nicole, who grew up being very lonely, lost two sisters in life. Then there’s the unbelievable, horrible pain this betrayal causes Nicole’s mom [Vivienne, played by Anna Maria Horsford]. And now the Avant family is falling apart. It couldn’t be more heartbreaking.
Doesn’t Nicole see that Zende is a cut-and-run kinda guy? How does she know he won’t take off again and get back with Sasha the next time he’s unhappy about something?
Nicole understands why he did what he did. She thinks he’s stupid for it, but she gets how and why it happened. He’s a young man and he has his needs.
He has needs? This is sounding worse by the minute.
Nicole realizes that when she agreed to this pregnancy she really didn’t think about Zende and his feelings. He was upfront and said he wasn’t comfortable with her having a baby. But she put her sister before him, and now she can understand where he was coming from. They’re both young. They’re still growing. And they both could have made better decisions. No, he should not have slept with her best friend, but Nicole never stopped loving Zende and she knows he never stopped loving her. And that makes all this easier. It’s the tug and pull of love.
Is Nicole going to be okay giving up her baby?
She’s always going to feel connected to that child. It’s a real bond. It’s also her first child, so that’s huge, too. It’s not like she has children of her own or is a professional surrogate who’s been through this before. We’ll see where that bond goes…
This being B&B, it’s only a matter of time before Nicole falls in love with Rick.
You never know with our executive producer Brad Bell.
Yes we do. That twist would be totally Brad Bell.
It’s true. Rick and Nicole could get together. Or Nicole could fall in love with Thomas [Pierson Fode] since they both have something in common—a baby that’s technically their own but now belongs to someone else. And, of course, Sasha’s mother could come to town and she and Nicole would have to stop their mothers from getting into a major fight. [Laughs] I’m always thinking.
RELATED: How Bradley Bell Has Made B&B a Must-Watch Soap
How did you prepare to play a realistic delivery when you’ve never given birth?
YouTube! I went on there and watched lots of footage of the real thing. I also follow this great Australian couple, Jamie and Nikki, who are big YouTube stars and they got pregnant right around the same time Nicole did, and Nikki does this running commentary on how pregnancy feels, with step-by-step, week-by-week updates. That really helped my performance. By the time I shot the birthing scenes, I felt like I’d really delivered a baby. I was exhausted and lightheaded. I couldn’t breathe. And I was really relieved to finally stop wearing that baby padding. It feels like I’ve been in that pregnancy belly forever.
Uh, you do know real pregnant women don’t want to hear this, right?
I know! Trust me, I have a deep, deep newfound respect for pregnant women. I mean, I always had it before but now I really do. I’m sure that when I have a baby in real life—hopefully not for at least 10 more years—it will be nothing even remotely comparable to the way I did it on TV. I don’t even want to think about how it would feel!
There’s a cast of thousands in Nicole’s delivery room.
It’s hilarious! There’s Maya, Rick, Vivienne, two doctors and Zende. It’s like a party. I don’t know that I could have that many people in the room at such a personal moment, especially my brother-in-law. I just don’t know about that.
Julius is noticeably absent.
Can you imagine? Nicole would be, like, “No, he cannot be here! I couldn’t take it!” [Laughs] And Julius would probably find a way to make it all about him. He does end up arriving after the fact, with his tail between his legs. He’s like, “Hey, everybody!” As you can imagine, he’s not too popular at the moment.
When is he going to get a job? He and Vivienne have been living in that motel room for half a year now. How are they affording it? I thought by now the Forresters would have offered him some kind of position, but instead he’s playing put-put golf on the motel rug.
The Forresters probably don’t want Julius working there. He’d ruin the business in a week! Besides, what job could he do?
Well, certainly not something in Human Resources! Hey, I hear you’ve recorded a song—“These Are the Moments”—that will play during the birth. [Edwards co-wrote it with Brad Bell, Casey Kasprzyk and Anthony Ferrari]. What’s up with that?
I play piano and guitar and love to sing and Brad has been interested in all that since we met at my audition. In fact, I sang for him during both my callbacks. At the first one I did Tori Kelly’s “Stained” and at the second I sang Rihanna’s “Diamonds.” All the actors in the Avant family sing. [Laughs] Hey, maybe they should form a group!
They could be like the von Trapps. Perhaps Julius could earn a living that way.
Obba’s a fantastic dancer, too. I love him and Anna so much. Oh, my God! They are such great actors and I learn so much from them in terms of what it means to be a professional. And they’re so willing to teach us and help us grow. We can call them up anytime for help or an opinion. I don’t know where I’d be without them.
Well, you’re pretty damn gifted yourself. You are surprisingly subtle and nuanced and confident for an actress your age. How can someone this young be this good?
Oh, wow. Thank you so much.
That was actually a question. How is this possible?
Well, first off, I gotta give glory to God. That’s what it’s all about. He gave me the gift of determination. I study really hard with my acting coach and my mom has also put a lot of that hard work ethic into me. She’ll always sing that song from Sister Act, where the lyrics go, “If you want to be somebody, and you want to go somewhere, you better wake up and pay attention.” That’s become the family motto for me and my sisters. There are so many talented people out there, so many people deserving of an opportunity, that you can’t take anything you’ve been given for granted. [Laughs] So I wake up and pay attention!
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Comments are closed on this story.
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P
Totally disgusted with Katie...She is a but-in-ski and the writers for let it play out like that. Tricking Carolyn into saying who the father is.. Ridge asked her not to mention it again and she said she would not.. Then went right to Carolyn....I'm disgusted with the show and need to take a break.....Get new writers...... and maybe I will watch again....
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P
Marilyn, I'm with you, it was none of Katie's darn business who's Caroline's baby daddy. Katie needs to worry about her own messed up life, if she can stay sober enough. I hope Carolyn see Katie and go right and tell BIll and he leaves Katie and take Lil Bill with him, that would teach her a lesson, to go fix her own problems.
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O
She didn't trick her. C. just has a big mouth and assumed that that was what K. meant.
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O
The Ridge character was bad before.. but he's off the charts bad now. I was really hoping for better when they brought him back to the show. And I'm glad its out. If that were someone else.. he'd be all for telling the truth but because of a woman look at what he's doing to his son.
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B
Everything that has taken place so far has been predictable, up to and including Sasha's pregnancy. Stupid, stupid story lines!
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O
It is no surprise that Sasha will be pregnant. The 'I'm pregnant' storyline has always been a game changer. It's kind of old. It is always expected. Haven't watched a soap yet that doesn't use it to stop a major reunion from taking place. Can only recall once where it didn't break up a reunion.
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B
I Think its Totally Lame that B&B is saying Sasha is or may be pregnant, when Zende Never slept with her.He told her when she was all over him,kissing him,he wanted to take things slow,and he wasn't over Nicole yet. Then He told Nicole he never told Sasha he Loved her,that he wasn't at that point.So why does the B&B add Crap into stories taht we watch AND KNOW it didn't happen? Same as Thomas. There has been so Much Hype on Thomas being the father,that usually its just the opposite.That all that worrying with Ridge and Caroline will be for nothing.That Rick thinks he could find something on Ridge just to end up looking like a Fool Once Again,because after all the upset with exposing Ridge and Thomas getting upset,it will turn out that the Doctors were wrong about Ridge's tests,and the baby is indeed Ridge's.
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G
Zende did sleep with Sasha. You must have missed that episode. Sasha tols Nicole that zende loves her because Zende told Sasha "we made love" ... figure of speech out of respect for thee tramp. 😉
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O
Zende and Sasha slept together. I think you missed episodes.
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O
Great interview, I really hope there will be an twist in this story line were i'm looking forward too, i highly doubt that Nicole will give her child away what she shares biological with Rick, she gonna fall in love with both and Papa Avant warned Maya that this is gonna happen, if it happens in turn the table on her cause she didn't listen too him.
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O
It's time for that "oops" baby to show up. You all know good and hell well, that Sasha and Zende aren't ready to be parents.
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O
Sasha won't be worried about that. The only thing on her mind is holding on to Zende and he acts all high and mighty so it'll work. I can't believe that he's sleeping with that girl without any protection. Talk about a lamb led to the slaughter.
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O
I know, right! The slut and dude who can't keep it in his pants, have finally created an oops baby. I want Nicole with Rick... if not Rick, then Thomas. Give me something that I want to watch. lol! 🙂
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G
I hope Sasha is pregnant. Nicole needs to leave him alone. They need to bring in RJ and hook him up with nicole
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O
RJ is like 10 and still in boarding school. If RJ was brought back, he and Nicole would be a terrible match.
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O
This is not about the Avants. Yet lately they seem to be making the soap all about the Avants. What next? Are they going to change the name of the damn soap opera itself??? Something needs to change here alright, like a change in the writers and what they are writing about, the way they are writing.......yes Maya is married to a Forrester (Rick the mini-tyrant) but why does it seem to be that it is all about the entire damn Avant family and seem to be extending even further now??
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O
Its only an 30 min show. lol Plus can't help it if the writing on the show SUCKS.....
If I had the choice I'd put them all on but its better to be talking the Avants than going over and over the same ole crap with the
Forresters.
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O
The writers shouldn't be trying to add to a family that isn't apart of this show when they only have a year to turn this soap around and get the ratings up. This show is suppose to be about fashion which has kept this show going for 25+ years. It's about the Forrester creating fashion dresses that brought money into their family business and it has caused drama within the family. You brought in the Logan sisters and then their kids. Then you brought in other members of different families that didn't stick around very long. Then you brought in the Spencers and made them apart of the Forresters. We were okay with all this.
Then all the good characters started leaving the show. Even though we begged to bring them back or recast them, you wouldn't do it. Then you brought in more characters and started rewriting history. You brought about subjects that should had been left alone. To top that off, you brought in more characters to add to that subject and we have voice our disagreement about it but got ignored. Now the ratings are at their lowest, you want to keep adding to that subject. Enough is enough. Stop bringing new characters in and try to bring back the old ones, that we have begged to see more of, get the ratings back up and then maybe bring in new characters. If not, this show could lose what viewers they still have and be taken off air.
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R
Ratings have gone up not losing viewers. Both B & B and Y & R.
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O
It has shown and told that B&B is at their lowest in ratings. I read the article online. I'm sticking with what I had to say.
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P
It would have been better if Nicole was really carrying Zander baby, that would have been a twist!
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O
His name is Zende.. not Zander. I disagree, the twist that should have happened was Nicole telling Rick that she can't give the child to Maya.
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P
I hope Sasha is not having a baby I think for now we have enough baby drama for now and Nicole and Zanda will be together or she will find some one eles she is young and pretty.I think Zanda will want her back once she has the baby and she do not have any commitmant to the baby and Maya.She is going to be free to do what she want"s.
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O
His name is Zende. That child is Nicole's first born. She may not have a commitment to the child, but she will definitely have a connection. Sasha is definitely pregnant.
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G
That tramp Sasha is a liar. Zende said that the condom never broke because he checked. Also once Sasha realized that Zende was going back to Nicole v she immediately cut him off and said she was pregnant. The writers should write that they never sleep together again and then see if Sasha can produce this imaginary baby. It showed in her face that she was lying when she hugged Zende and he doesn't really believe her.
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O
Sasha could end up pregnant. The jury's still out on that one.
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R
I highly doubts Nicole isn't gonna feel any connection, it's her biological child she shares with rick, not Maya. She is gonna fall for both of them and Papa Julius warned about this, it's gonna bring a twist also turning the table on Maya, if this gonna happen.
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