What drew Allie and Ciara together as friends?
Lindsay Arnold: “Allie taking the risk of helping Ben kidnap Ciara on her wedding day and being very open and honest about expressing her worries to Ciara. She was very open about [sharing] that she didn’t think Ciara was making the right choice marrying Theo. That honesty and tough love kind of brought them together.”
Victoria Konefal: “Allie and Ciara had just started hanging out around that time [of Ciara’s wedding to Theo]. Because Claire ended up backing out of being her maid of honor, Ciara asked Allie at the last minute. That may have added to the start of their friendship, but I think they really bonded when motherhood was involved. A lot of their friendship stems from Ciara confiding in Allie about motherhood. When Ciara was considering the idea of having a baby, she would powwow with Allie and talk about what it’s like to be a mother.”
What have been your favorite Allie/Ciara moments?
Arnold: “We had some really fun scenes at the little bar in town. It was Allie, Ciara, Ben and Tripp. The boys were off talking about stuff, and the girls were in the corner. It was very gossipy, and Ciara was opening up about her worries about trying to have a baby and where Ben’s headspace was at. It was a really productive conversation. The scenes were very intimate and sweet to film.”
Konefal: “The scenes where they were initially talking about Ben in Julie’s Place. Those were pretty cute. It was one of the first times they had one-on-one time. There was also a scene outside of the bakery where Ciara told Allie she was pregnant. There was so much genuine pure joy in that moment. It was very realistic, lighthearted girl talk.”
What do you like best about working with each other?
Arnold: “We’re so close off screen, so whenever we work together, which honestly isn’t too often, it’s always fun because it’s a rare thing. We’ll kind of just be catching up, the way Victoria and I talk, and then once they call, ‘Action,’ we’ll snap into character. It’s fun to have her on set, because we kind of treat it as a hangout time less so than work.”
Konefal: “I like the fact that she is one of my best friends in real life. So it’s very easy for me to trust her. A lot of acting is trusting your co-star, trusting your partner. It’s not fun when the camaraderie isn’t there. She and I spend a lot of time together off set, which establishes a genuine base and connection between our characters. It makes it easy. It’s a joy to work with her. When we get a script or schedule, we immediately text each other, ‘Girl, we’re working together tomorrow.’ I love her on screen, and I love her off screen.”
What are some of the things the two of you like to do together off screen?
Arnold: “We love going out to eat. We’re big foodies. We love going for sushi. Victoria is also my workout buddy. Sometimes we’ll go to a workout class, then we’ll get dinner afterward.”
Konefal: “We love getting dressed up and going out to dinner. We also love thrift shopping. We’ll take a Sunday, go to brunch, get coffee and drive all around L.A. to the best thrift shops. We’ll buy a bunch of things, then go home and do little fashion shows for each other. We like to take turns cooking dinner for each other, too.”
Were you instant friends in real life or did it take a while?
Arnold: “It was pretty instant. We didn’t really cross paths that much at work. After the pandemic [production break], we ended up going to dinner and it was immediate friends. We talked for hours and clicked.”
Konefal: “I had met Lindsay when I was initially leaving the show, so I didn’t want to invest in meeting or knowing anyone. I just wanted to say my good-byes and walk away. After quarantine, I came back for that little bit, and we actually reached out to each other on Instagram to hang out, to go get dinner. The second we sat down it was like love at first sight. We were talking all night. We could not shut up. Once we got to know each other, we were instantly friends.”
Lindsay, would you be friends with Ciara in real life? And Victoria, would you be friends with Allie?
Arnold: “I would be friends with Ciara. She’s super-cool because she can ride a motorcycle. I’d be like, ‘Let’s hang out,’ and have her drive me around on her motorcycle.”
Konefal: “Yes. I would be the friend that would challenge Allie in ways that would make her grow.”
Do you wish you’d have more scenes together?
Arnold: “I wish in general that we got to have more scenes of girls being girls and having fun. A lot of our scenes tend to deal with heavier topics.”
Konefal: “I think a lot of their friendship happens off screen. It seems unrealistic to me that Allie isn’t helping Ciara with this pregnancy. I wish Ciara would have some morning sickness or some random cravings where they would talk about the real side of what pregnancy looks like. That would be fun and relatable to the fans, since a lot of our fans are women.”
