EXCLUSIVE! Actress Candice King Talks Pregnancy, Babymoons and More: “There Might Be a Few Less Crop Tops for Bess Sinclair”
Candice King knows a thing or two about evolution—on screen and off. Best-known for her unforgettable turn as Caroline Forbes on The Vampire Diaries, King brought to life one of the most iconic vampire characters in TV history on the CW’s wildly popular series. What began as a shallow, insecure and often self-centered teenager transformed over eight seasons into a fiercely loyal friend, devoted family member and fan-favorite symbol of strength and compassion. And just when viewers thought they’d said goodbye, Caroline made her return in the beloved spinoff, The Originals, proving that some characters never truly leave our hearts.
Now, King is stepping into an exciting new chapter in real life. Already a mom of two, the actress is preparing to welcome another child—this time with fiancé Steven Krueger, who fans will recognize from The Originals. In an exclusive interview with Reader’s Digest, King opens up about her expanding family, some sweet babymoon memories and a newfound love for slow travel. She also reminisces about her real-life meet-cute and teases what fans might expect in Season 2 of We Were Liars.
Read on to find out where life, love and storytelling are taking her next.
Get Reader’s Digest’s Read Up newsletter for more celebrity interviews, fun facts, humor, cleaning, travel and tech all week long.
This video interview took place on Dec. 9, 2025, and has been edited for length and clarity.
Reader’s Digest: Congratulations on your expected bundle of joy. What is this chapter of motherhood like for you?
Candice King: I’m so grateful. I had my first child when I was 28. Now I’m 38, so this is a decade later. I’ve heard other mothers say that with each child, there’s a different respect and understanding for the quality of just being present with your baby. I really look forward to that and embracing the fourth trimester.
Parallel to that, I also feel this quiet presence within the pregnancy and a different sense of gratitude toward my body and what it’s able to do. Whereas when you have your first, you really don’t know what your body’s going through. Now I’m like, Ah, I know what you’re doing, and I know what you’re about to do and then what you’re going to have to do after that. Our bodies are just so cool. I have such an appreciation for them.
Reader’s Digest: Tell us about your babymoon and this idea of slow travel. What was it like in Aruba?
Candice King: I have an almost-10-year-old and a 5-year-old, so if you do the math, that means that I was pregnant in 2020. There was no travel, and very high stress levels for me as an expectant mother. Instead of waiting until the end of this pregnancy, we thought, Why not take the opportunity?
I was deeply craving the sun. We live in Nashville, and you wouldn’t think that the winters are crazy here, but they are. It gets very gray and dreary. We got to go and have a really wonderful early babymoon, and neither of us had been there before. … They have this really incredible, clean, portable water system there, so I was able to bring my pregnancy hamster jug of water around and just fill it up tap by tap. I was not able to bring my pregnancy pillow. I knew I had to sacrifice one thing, so the pregnancy pillow stayed home.
Being able to go on a babymoon where the priority was just relaxing and taking care of my mental and physical health was just really, really special. Highly recommend it. There’s something to be said about an early babymoon. I’m just putting it out there for the readers.
Reader’s Digest: You and Steven actually met through the industry, and fans love that you both once played vampires on your respective shows. Have any former co-stars or friends joked about you two now having a “vampire baby”? How have the people around you celebrated this moment with you?
Candice King: We haven’t gotten too many vampire baby jokes yet. I have to go back in the lore and try to understand what that would be. But it’s been really special celebrating with friends. And funny enough, I was just in L.A. visiting friends I’ve had since I was a teenager, and so many of my friends were expecting and announcing pregnancies. So it’s been a really exciting time on a personal level.
Steven and I, while we worked within the same umbrella company, the invisible string theory is quite strong here. I mean, the amount of times we were probably in the same room or crossing paths. We actually never spoke or spent time together until years and years later. The Vampire Diaries, Legacies and Originals cast come together for appearances, and we just happened to sit together at a dinner that a group of us went to that night. It’s like the kids say: We met IRL. We were two people who got seated next to each other at a dinner table.
Reader’s Digest: Fans are thrilled about the renewed second season of We Were Liars. Is there anything you can tell us about tone, twists or character evolution this season?
Candice King: On a personal level, I can tell you that Bess Sinclair will not be pregnant next season. The baby is due in May, before I go back to film. But there might be a few less crop tops for Bess Sinclair. I‘m really pitching loose, casual cashmere for her on the island. For anyone who’s just like me and cannot wait to know what happens in Season 2, there’s a fantastic book called Family of Liars, and it’s technically the second book that followed We Were Liars. It’s a prequel, so it’s the storytelling of the mothers [and] the aunts when they were children on the island and how they became who they are and why they became who they are. That’s going to be really fun. [There are] flashbacks to the ’90s, which makes me so happy, even though I probably won’t be there.
I’m so excited to dive into the storylines. I have no storylines. I have no secrets. I’m just itching for all the Season 2 spoilers. I’m asking [the co-showrunners] Julie and Carina if that can maybe be my baby gift—just all the Season 2 spoilers. But yeah, I feel very lucky coming into a second season. [I’m also excited] as a mother of a baby just surrounded by so many other supportive co-workers, women and mothers themselves, because that makes a big difference. Community is the cornerstone of motherhood, in my opinion.
Reader’s Digest: If you could send one message to viewers who gravitate toward stories about healing, heartbreak and reinvention, what would you want them to take away from your work and life?
Candice King: What Caroline Forbes has taught me is that there is such great power in being a flawed individual, and growth is way higher value than perfection ever will be.
Rapid response with Candice King
Want more fun tidbits about King? Check out her answers below.
Reader’s Digest: Dogs or cats?
Candice King: Dogs. I take these kinds of questions very seriously.
Reader’s Digest: Mornings or nights?
Candice King: Mornings, but I feel like I’m such a night person. Lately, I feel more creative in the morning.
Reader’s Digest: Aisle seat or window?
Candice King: Window! I can’t believe I almost said aisle!
Reader’s Digest: Would you rather travel to the past or the future?
Candice King: I’m going to say the past just for nostalgia’s sake, but I’m not sure when.
Reader’s Digest: What is your favorite breakfast food?
Candice King: An egg white spinach feta wrap from Starbucks—double toasted or DT, as the insiders say.
Reader’s Digest: If you weren’t an actress, what would you be doing?
Candice King: I’d be a therapist—a psychologist.
Reader’s Digest: What advice would you give to your younger self?
Candice King: Stop listening to the noise. Annie Lamott has this wonderful [concept], and she calls it Radio KFKD. It’s all the static and noise that can kind of cloud your brain. She talks about turning that noise down, so I would try to instill the concept of turning Radio KFKD down in my younger self’s brain.
Why trust us
At Reader’s Digest, we’re committed to producing high-quality content by writers with expertise and experience in their field in consultation with relevant, qualified experts. We rely on reputable primary sources, including government and professional organizations and academic institutions as well as our writers’ personal experiences where appropriate. For this interview with Candice King, Reader’s Digest Associate Editor Mariah Thomas tapped her experiences as a celebrity interviewer, entertainment writer and editor of more than five years. We verify all facts and data, back them with credible sourcing and revisit them over time to ensure they remain accurate and up to date. Read more about our team, our contributors and our editorial policies.
The post EXCLUSIVE! Actress Candice King Talks Pregnancy, Babymoons and More: “There Might Be a Few Less Crop Tops for Bess Sinclair” appeared first on Reader's Digest.
from Reader's Digest https://ift.tt/ow1Eagi
Comments
Post a Comment