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INTERVIEW

ICYMI Karla Mosley Interview

Soap Alum Karla Mosley (ex-Amanda, Y&R et al) is thrilled to be expecting baby No. 2.

Soap Opera Digest: How has life been since you left B&B?

Karla Mosley: Life is wonderful! Of course I miss the soap fans and my B&B family, but I’ve been very creative on my own. In addition to enjoying my beautiful daughter and partner, I’ve been able to work on a few Hallmark movies, to do a musical last year — that unfortunately had to close early because … 2020 — and to produce and act in theater and film/TV work.

Digest: How would you describe your life under quarantine?

Mosley: Of course, it was a shock at first, but I must say that I’ve been grateful to live in a place where we could get outside regularly, even during the most extreme stages of the pandemic. I think the most challenging moments were when I’d take my daughter to the beach, but we couldn’t go on it. We would walk across the street from it, just for a change of scenery, and she’d point at it and say, “There! It’s right there! Go there!” Thankfully, those days are behind us.

Digest: Congratulations on your new bundle of joy!

Mosley: Thank you!

Digest: Tell us about how you initially found out there would be a new addition to your family.

Mosley: To be honest, I did experience a miscarriage early on in the pandemic — around May of last year. I share that only because I think it’s important to acknowledge that the road to parenthood is often not the one we imagine. I’ve experienced a miscarriage before and I approached this one much the way I did the last: I asked myself what I was meant to learn. What came back was that I really wanted to have a baby. We weren’t unsure, but we were kind of lax about the decision before. After I had the miscarriage and realized how sad I was about it, it helped me to know firmly that I was ready to have another child. So, we were quite intentional this past fall and very happy to receive a positive pregnancy test result.

Digest: What was your reaction when you learned Aurora would have a baby sister? Did you ever consider not finding out the sex?

Mosley: We were so excited! John totally called it, I wasn’t so sure. But, I have a younger sister and come from a very female-heavy family. So, it feels like we are adding to the awesome girl crew! I did consider not finding out but as soon as the ultrasound technician offered to let me know, that went out the window.

Digest: Since you are so close with your own sister, were you hoping for a sib to keep your kids close in age?

Mosley: Yes! I loved the experience of having a sibling close to me, though maybe not always at the time [laughs]. Aurora has a very strong personality, so I thought it would be good for her to have someone close to her age to reckon with … and to care for and confide in.

Digest: You had a home birth the first time around. Do you plan to do the same?

Mosley: Yes, I absolutely adore my midwives and I’m excited to have them at my birth again. It does feel more challenging to prepare for birth while also raising a toddler, but I guess that’s where the trust comes in that my body has done it once and it knows how to do it again.

Digest: What was partner John’s reaction to being a father again? How did you tell him?

Mosley: John is an amazing father and family man. He was so excited to become a father again. He was basically reminding me to go get a test.

Digest: How did you inform the families there was going to be a new addition?

Mosley: I did wait until the end of the first trimester and then told our families over Zoom, which is kind of a bummer. But, I’m happy that we will all be able to enjoy the arrival in person this summer.

Digest: How would you describe your mommy experience so far? Was it what you expected? Did you even have any expectations?

Mosley: I absolutely love being a mother. I was fairly relaxed going into it — I don’t know why! But it’s been an absolute joy to learn who Aurora is. I think I have more anxiety this time around because of my expectations about what I want their relationship to be like or not, and the mystery of introducing a new personality into our home. But, I’m really working to let those go and to embrace that same curiosity and wonder that I had the first time around.

Digest: What would you say is the most valuable lesson you’ve learned from the first time around?

Mosley: Don’t buy anything expensive! It’s all fair game for destructo-babies. I’m astounded at how much and how quickly she can run through something. Aurora really likes to take things apart.

Digest: How do you think you’ll be with a second baby? More mellow since you know what to expect?

Mosley: Again, I’m working on embracing that mellow, go-with-the-flow vibe I had the first time around. I do find myself wanting to fall into a schedule so that they both feel supported, whereas the first time we were pretty loosey-goosey on schedule. We’ll see what actually happens.

Digest: Will the new addition be wearing her sister’s hand-me-downs?

Mosley: Oh, yes. Although, I am also making an effort to find a few choice pieces that can be just hers. But, again, they run through things so quickly I’m not too concerned about it. I have clothes that still have the tags on from the first.

Digest: What’s the most fun about having a girl, and how do you envision having two?

Mosley: I love pushing the boundaries of gender norms. I didn’t really talk about Aurora’s gender with her and it is interesting to watch as she learns about those concepts on her own through TV, books and other people. I just listen, but I do try to highlight other possibilities when it seems like a learned idea: Like, why would a girl’s favorite color have to be pink?

Digest: Will they share a room? And, any plans to decorate?

Mosley: Yes! I loved sharing a room with my sister and I’m excited for them to do the same. The baby will be with us for the first few months, and then we will transition them both into the same room. No big changes to Aurora’s room, but we are turning our guest room into a playroom when we don’t have a guest staying with us.

Digest: What was it like to go to work at Y&R — and while pregnant to boot?

Mosley: I absolutely loved working on Y&R! The cast and crew could not have been more welcoming and supportive. I do think my belly grew quite a bit over the month that I was there, so I really felt for the camera people and directors whose job it was to hide it [laughs].

Digest: Speaking of soaps, what prompted your exit from B&B? At the time, you’d come back from maternity leave. Maya and Rick had split. She came home with Lizzy and he stayed in Paris. It seemed like there was more story to tell.

Mosley: In soaps, you just never know what’s going to happen. You never know where the story is going to go and at that moment, there just wasn’t story. I didn’t take it personally. You just say, “Okay, moving on,” and that’s what happened. I was happy to come back at all. I would have felt more sad and incomplete if I went off on maternity leave and then faded off into the sunset, so I was glad there was some kind of resolve. I was really happy to be back at work and see everyone, of course, so that was great. I love working. I love BOLD and I love all the people who work there so I was just very happy to get the chance to come back — sad that there wasn’t more story, but also understanding that’s the way soaps go sometimes.

Digest: The fact that Maya was transgender garnered international headlines, and it was a critically-acclaimed story that played out before it became an issue about trans actors playing trans characters. As an advocate of LGBTQ rights yourself, did that affect how you viewed the character?

Mosley: Well, I brought up the possibility that perhaps Maya should be played by a trans actor and it’s something I thought about even when I said yes to doing this storyline. I was happy to tell this story. I was happy it was being told, but I never felt completely comfortable being the one to tell that story, so there was some peace in stepping away. As sad as it was for me personally, it also felt like the right thing to do.

Digest: How important personally was that story for you to play?

Mosley: The main thing I wanted to do was that I wanted to know as much as I could, being a cis[gender] actor, about the trans community so that I could tell the story in the most honest and authentic way possible. It felt like a great responsibility and a wonderful challenge, and it opened up parts of me and my heart, and changed my life in ways that I did not expect, and that has certainly made me a more rich and full person.

Digest: Where do you think Maya is today?

Mosley: I think she probably took Lizzy and went to New York. I couldn’t imagine her living on a farm somewhere [laughs]. She just feels like a cosmopolitan person.

Digest: Should B&B call, would you ever revisit the character?

Mosley: I think I would do a limited [run] if it were to give myself and the fans a sense of closure. I would say yes to that. When we told the story, it was a bit ahead of its time, which is what was so exciting about it, and now we are in a different time — but I do think it would be nice to have some kind of end to that story.

JUST THE FACTS

Birthday: August 27 Hails From: Westchester, NY

Otherwise Known As: Maya, B&B, 2013-19; Christina, GUIDING LIGHT, 2008-09

Be My Babies: Mosley and John Rogers welcomed a daughter, Aurora Imani on August 17, 2018 and are expecting a second daughter this summer.

Star Gazing: Should either of the girls become an actress, “I think John would be totally on board. I think I would internally groan and, of course, support any decision they’d like to make for themselves. I absolutely love what I do, so why wouldn’t some- one else want to do it, too?”

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