Return Engagement: Jennifer Gareis
Terms Of Service: 2006-2015, 2016, 2017, 2018-present
When you left B&B in 2015, did you think it was for good? “When I went off contract, I think [daughter] Sophia was 3 and this is the thing, I just go with the flow. I look at the positive and not the negative. I just rolled with it and thought, ‘This is time to spend with my kids.’ As my storyline lessened, I never missed the first clap and the first smile and the first walk and the first everything. I was there for it, so when Sophia was 3 and [son] Gavin must have been 5, I was like, ‘Okay, well, now I get to have more time with them and make sure I don’t miss any milestones.’ So, it was okay.”
After you left, Donna still came back for occasional visits. How was the experience of popping in every now and then? “That was actually really cool because it kept me in check. In real life, I was in mommy mode. I was a soccer mom, not putting makeup on or coloring my hair or curling my hair. I didn’t even brush my hair [laughs]! And suddenly I get a call from B&B saying, ‘Hey!’ Usually, they give you about three weeks [before taping], which is just enough time to get yourself ready.”
What was the hardest part about getting back into the groove? “When I went back to the stage, I was like, ‘Wait. I do something. I forgot that I do something.’ I’d forgotten I was an actor. I’d forgotten that I did something I really enjoyed because I threw myself into mommy mode and I was like, ‘I can figure this out again. I can revisit this,’ so that was kind of cool.”
How did it feel to go back on contract in 2018? “It was really bizarre because I had put that out in the universe. I always said to myself, ‘When Sophia enrolls in kindergarten, I am free to start acting again because she will be full-time in school and I’ll be free to do things like that without feeling guilty.’ Brad [Bell, executive producer/head writer] called me two days after Sophia started kindergarten. I had been putting that out into the universe, and the universe answered me.”
Who were you most excited to see again? “Where do I even start? Alley Mills [Pam], John McCook [Eric], Katherine Kelly Lang [Brooke], Heather Tom [Katie]. How do you pick between them? I missed the group and the camaraderie. It really is like a second family, and I wanted to see my family.” Did you want to know what your storyline would be before you returned? “I did not, and I didn’t want to know. I was just happy to be back. I must say, though, I was thrilled we got a new Logan girl in Katrina [Bowden, Flo]. I loved those scenes. I thought there was such a good connection, and when I looked at her, I truly saw Donna’s brother’s daughter. I really like her as a person and as an actor.”
You had another soap comeback experience in 2014, when you reprised your first soap role, Y&R’s Grace. What was that like? “It was really cool because the pause that you have regarding life experience continues, and you can come back with all that experience, whether it’s good or bad or happy or sad. Whatever it may be, you have a new resource to go to for all of your acting needs, whether it’s frustration or anger or loss or whatever, and when you go out there in the real world, you fill that emotional toolbox; it’s really beneficial. There is nothing like life experience to help you with your acting.”
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