Soap Opera Digest: Kayla, when we first spoke with Tanner for his feature in 2020, he told us how you met on the set of a music video, and it involved a pair of missing sunglasses. Let’s hear your side of the story now.
Kayla Ewell: I wish I still had those sunglasses because if we did, we would frame them because that’s the reason we’re together. Tanner and I were both shooting a music video for an Australian band called Sick Puppies, and we had both left our sunglasses with the makeup artist. He texted me after the shoot and said, “Hey, I can pick up your sunglasses and bring them to you,” and I thought. “What a gentleman. This nice Canadian man is picking up my sunglasses for me. I’m so grateful.”
Tanner Novlan: Little did she know I was holding them ransom.
Ewell (laughs): So, he used them as a way to see me again, which is really kind of romantic. I feel like it’s something you’d write in a Hallmark movie — or a soap opera! So, we met for lunch and I had butterflies in my stomach but I said yes. It was probably a two-hour lunch. I got in my car and I’m driving home and I’m thinking, “What an incredible day,” and I stopped at the red light and I realized I never got my sunglasses. He never gave them to me.
Novlan: I honestly forgot that time. It was my fault. I just forgot.
Ewell: But it was great because it wasn’t about the sunglasses. It was about seeing each other again. I did eventually get them back — so don’t worry — but it was such a cute way of meeting and seeing each other. The best part about the story is you spend your entire life trying to find your person. That’s what you want in life, to find your person to spend the rest of your life with, and I spent a lot of time getting all dolled up and putting makeup on and doing my hair and trying to find someone and then it’s a 4:30 a.m. call time on a music video, I’m barely awake, my hair is a mess and I walked in the trailer and who knew that’s where I’d meet the love of my life?
Novlan: I remember thinking, “Wow. Okay. This is it. There’s no more looking.” It was really natural and easy, and that’s the main thing. It was just always easy.
Ewell: Aw, thanks babe.
Digest: Was there ever any hesitation about dating another actor?
Novlan: In this case, thank the Lord that Kayla is an actress, because she got to come in and be the intimacy double for me on BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL. That could have been really tough. Some of the other cast members do that with their spouses but for me, it’s been great because your partner understands the industry. For me, her having been on B&B before and getting some tips on what it was going to be like and then, on top of that, having her come in and be Jacqui’s [MacInnes Wood, Steffy] intimacy double, she enabled us to be able to do a lot of the storyline that we, because of the pandemic, would not have been able to play out. Building intimacy when you’re 8 feet away from someone, it was hard to do. Luckily, I had Kayla, who had expertise not only in being an actress but also as a former cast member. It was amazing that she was able to pull off Jacqui’s look so well and progress storyline.
Ewell: I think for me to answer that question about dating actors, I had dated other people.
Novlan: Wait, what?
Ewell: Sorry, babe. I know it’s a shocker but I dated other people.
(Novlan laughs.)
Ewell: None of them were actors, and it was difficult. It was a bit unfair for one individual in the relationship to kiss a bunch of other people and one not able to, so when I met Tanner, he and I are both grounded by nature, especially when it comes to being performers. We get it, and so we understand that you have to form a connection with your co-star in order for it to be successful, but you understand what it takes and you want the other person to succeed so you just say, “Go for it.”
Digest: Tell us about your courtship.
Ewell: They do say that if you want to test a relationship, take a cross-country trip together.
(They both laugh.)
Ewell: I think for me, the biggest test for our relationship was when I, a California girl, born and raised, used to an 80-degree Christmas, had to go to Saskatchewan, Canada, to meet Tanner’s family for the first time. I think it was minus-30 degrees. It is so unbelievably freezing! But I got to know his family and I think I passed the test with flying colors.
Novlan: You did pass the test!
Digest: Tell us about the proposal.
Novlan: Yeah, the proposal was tough because she’s really on it. One time for her birthday, I was all ready to take her on a hot-air balloon ride and at 4 a.m., I woke her up and said, “I’m taking you on a surprise,” and she just looked at me and said, “Are we going on a hot-air balloon ride?” So I knew I had to be sly with this proposal. It was around Christmastime and I chartered a boat to tour Santa Monica Bay, and I thought we’d do it out there at sunset. To throw her off the scent, I had my friend Josh, who was the best man at our wedding, say that he won it at a company event and he had three tickets. He was single at the time, but I told her he couldn’t come with us — it was normal for him — but you had to use it before the end of the year. All these things, but she bought it. I remember being very nervous and telling the boat captain to get us out there, not realizing it’s about a half hour through the harbor before you get to the ocean, and I had this sweater on and nobody tells you how big the ring box is, so I thought, “Oh, my God, she’s going to see it,” and it was cold but I put the sweater down, which had the ring in it, and she was like, “You’re not cold?” and I’m like, “No, I’m fine.” I was freezing! I just didn’t want her to see the ring. So it was really beautiful, we got out to the mouth of the marina and once we got out there, I looked at the captain and he gave me the nod and I was like, “Okay, here we go.” And so he said, “Go to the bow of the ship and I’ll take your picture with the sunset,” and I said, “Okay, perfect.” And then I said, “Well, let me get my sweater. I’m cold now.” So I went and got it with the ring. I proposed on the boat and the captain pressed record and so we have it all on video, and I had this great, wonderful speech prepared, like, “Life is like an ocean in that it can be beautiful and calm or it can be violent and choppy but no matter what the ocean is, though, the goal is to go through it together with you.” And I got down on one knee and looked into her eyes and she was so happy and I said, “Life is like an ocean,” and she said, “What?” and all of a sudden I was like, “It’s crap. It’s crap! Scrap the whole thing! This did not come out the way I planned.”
Ewell: The best part was that he included my family. My sister and her husband flew down from San Francisco, and when we pulled back into the dock, my entire family was standing there with sparklers and jumping up and down with champagne. I burst into tears. It was such an awesome celebration.
Novlan: Luckily, I had a second pass at it when Finn proposed to Steffy, and the B&B writers wrote a beautiful, scripted proposal to get a redo. Kayla was filling in, and happily, she said yes again.
Digest: You had a beautiful wedding that was featured in People. Tell us about the honeymoon.
Ewell: We went to Belize and we stayed on the ocean for a little while and then we went to the interior and stayed in this beautiful but very remote hotel with the howler monkeys. We just had screens on the windows, and you never know if there could be a boa constrictor in your room. It was phenomenal. We visited a place called Chaa Creek. We went cave diving and saw all kinds of creatures that had never seen the light of day and the water was cold but it was so adventurous and awesome. We had helmets on and lights…. I don’t think I ever looked dorkier in my life but ever been more in love. It was really fun.
Digest: You welcomed your daughter, Poppy, in 2019. Kayla, how did you break the news?
Ewell: He was so shocked and I think for a minute, I don’t know…. Did you think it was a joke or did you know it was real immediately?
Novlan: I was just in shock.
Ewell: We were at one of our favorite restaurants and talked and talked and were like, “Wow, we’re doing this!” The best part is how we told our family. We had them all over for Thanksgiving and we set up a camera in the dining room and we had everyone at the table and Tanner decided to say the prayer, and he’s kind of drawing this prayer out really long —
Novlan: I really need to write these speeches down and talk to the B&B writers to help me out.
Digest: Thanksgiving is like an ocean, right?
(They both laugh.)
Novlan: That is true. It can also go up or down. It can go a lot of different ways.
Ewell: And then at the very end, he said, “And please bless Kayla and me and the new addition to our family because Kayla and I are having a baby,” and everybody freaked out. That was a really fun way to surprise our families.
Digest: What’s it like seeing your partner as a parent?
Ewell: It is the sexiest thing to watch Tanner be the best dad ever to Poppy. I’m not just saying that. He is so involved and so enthusiastic. He teaches her so well, and she listens, and for me it’s just a different level of love.
Digest: Any plans to give Poppy a sib?
Novlan: I think so. We have time, but I think we’d like them to be close in age, so we’ll see.
Ewell: Tanner and I both come from large families. Being isolated in the pandemic as first-time parents was an experience.
Novlan: For Poppy, half of her life has been lived in quarantine, and a lot of people can relate to that. Lucky for us, she was young enough that we didn’t have to deal with the schooling aspect of it. Ewell: The short answer to your question is yes.
