los angeles
“Do you think people now understand?” Ava wonders as another commercial break rolls.
“I think they do,” Beatrice says. “Of course, there will be some who would paint us as the bad guy or would think what we did was shitty but as far as I know, we didn’t step on anyone, at least not intentionally.”
“I wish they would see it as complicated as what they probably went through with their own lives,” Ava sighs.
“What happened to not caring what would everyone will think?” Beatrice asks.
“I just can’t help it sometimes,” Ava tells her. “I still get anxious.”
“And that’s okay,” Beatrice embraces her and kisses her temple. “I get anxious too. But remember, Camila said earlier that people are receiving it well.”
Ava just nods.
“When did you decide to move back to Los Angeles?” Oprah asks Ava.
“I kept seeing my therapist for a few months as the divorce got processed,” Ava tells her. “I also looked at agents and I found Shannon Masters. Her roster is impressive and she’s connected to huge names in the industry. I reached out to her and luckily, she was interested as well.”
“She is indeed huge,” Oprah agrees.
“I’m glad she took a chance with me,” Ava smiles. “I mean, all my career, all I did was rom-coms and I went on a long hiatus but she believed that I have potential.”
“You have tremendous potential,” Beatrice smiles at her.
Ava blushes and leans her the side of her head to Beatrice’s.
“You aren’t used to receiving compliments, are you?” Oprah smiles at them.
“Only when she does it,” Ava giggles.
“So back to your journey back here in LA,” Oprah gestures.
“Oh, yes,” Ava nods. “She sent me a lot of scripts and I was blown away by most of it. At first I thought, ‘no way I’ll get a role in this film’ but Shannon encouraged me a lot. We talked every day. I filmed tons of auditions at home and we sent it.”
“Did you get a lot of callbacks?”
“No,” Ava smiles sadly. “I guess when some saw my name, they immediately thought it was a joke. I haven’t been active for years and I only did one genre. They don’t want to risk it, probably. I can’t blame them. These are films of award-winning producers, writers and directors.”
“But eventually, someone took you seriously.”
“Yes,” Ava smiles. “Frankie Todd, the casting director of ‘Joan of Arc’ called me and asked if I wanted to go here to audition for them in person and of course, I said yes immediately.”
“You immediately flew,” Oprah supplements.
“I did,” Ava nods. “Immediately after I landed, I saw him, one of the producers and Ms. Autumn de Wilde. I was so nervous but I managed to pull through.”
“Did you get the part that day?”
“Not yet,” Ava says. “They really liked me but they are considering others as well and they want to deliberate about it still. But they promised me that I am sure to be part of it and I was happy with that. Lead or not, it would be an honor.”
“What happened next?”
“This is where my luck like exploded,” Ava says.
“I doubt luck has to do with it,” Beatrice comments. “She doesn’t believe she is really talented.”
“You are great,” Oprah agrees. “You gave great performance on your films and I’m sure you’ll be great in your upcoming films.”
“Thank you, that means a lot,” Ava beams. “Anyway, I got a call from Eleanor Blair, the casting director for Mr. Robert Egger’s ‘The Cure’ and asked me to have a meeting with them. And the same day, I got a draft of Mr. Jordan Peele’s new movie and Shannon managed to arrange for me to audition.”
“So you decided to stay permanently?”
“As much as I don’t want to sell the New York apartment because it was a gift from Beatrice, I figured I need to. I need a fresh start. So I put it in the market and went house hunting here in LA while I wait for my next auditions.”
“You weren’t thinking of Beatrice while all these things are happening?”
“She’s always on my mind,” Ava looks at her. “But I want to be settled before I face her.”
“My friends keep telling me to reach out to her but I was stubborn and said I don’t care about her anymore,” Beatrice bites her lip.
“I was disappointed that she didn’t call the moment news on my divorce got out,” Ava tells.
“How did you manage to keep it on the down low, by the way?”
“It cost a lot,” Ava admits. “But JC and I decided to do it that way and just announce it when it’s over.”
“I was just scared and anxious,” Beatrice says. “That’s why I didn’t reach out.”
“So how did you two reconnected?”
“After a few days, I moved into my new home and went to meet with ‘The Cure’s producers and casting director. They said they really liked my audition and thought I was perfect for the role. We only have Mr. Eggers on videocall because he was in the UK. He made me read a line not in the script and they said I nailed it. I was casted that night.
“I was so happy that I wanted to celebrate it with somebody,” Ava continues. “I asked Michael, who I called earlier that day for their address. I got to see Beatrice because when I thought of people I wanted to tell about something great, it was her that comes to mind, always.”
Beatrice kisses her hand.
“On my way to her, she called,” Ava reveals.
“Finally,” Beatrice chuckles. Ava slaps her playfully and she kisses her hand again.
“Don’t worry, my phone was connected to my car so my two hands were on the steering wheel,” Ava looks at the camera.
“What did Beatrice say?”
“She said that she wants to talk to me,” Ava tells. “I told her I’m on my way to her.”
“Took me off guard,” Beatrice says.
“What did you two talked about?”
“I apologized,” Beatrice reveals. “I know that everything that happened was my fault. It was me who left. It’s me who refused to hear her. It was me who hurt her. I hurt us.”
“Well, I told her that we both made questionable choices,” Ava says. “I told her we should just leave it in the past and start over.”
“I asked her if we could be friends again.”
“I told her that we will forever be friends.”
“And that’s it?” Oprah asks.
“Yes, unfortunately,” Ava chuckles. “I wanted to ask her if we can start over as lovers too but I figured it might be too soon.”
“I’m glad she didn’t,” Beatrice says. “Because I would have rejected her and it would have killed me to hurt her again.”
“Why?”
“We haven’t been with each other for three years,” Beatrice explains. “A lot happened in those years and we didn’t leave it on a great note. I thought it’s best that we get to know each other again. Be friends again. It’s the best way to start again.”
“That makes sense,” Oprah nods.
“Besides,” Beatrice pauses. “She forgave me so easily. It didn’t sit well with me. I wanted to make it up to her as best as I could. She deserves that.”
“And she did,” Ava beams at her. “We spent a lot of time together. She helped me a lot with line readings. She keeps me company even though she’s tired from rehearsals. That meant a lot to me. I was alone for months and it’s great to have company. Especially her company.”
“When did you get back together?”
“Of course, it only took a matter of time before we got into flirting with each other,” Ava tells. “Michael told us we either stop or get back together.”
“And?”
“We want to take it slow,” Beatrice says. “We agreed that we should wait until my tour is over and she’s done at least one film. We want to focus on our careers first.”
“Especially me, because I was just getting back into acting,” Ava supplements.
“And you and Michael are still together?”
“Yes…” Beatrice trails.
“And he’s okay with it?”
“Yes,” Beatrice nods.
“Okay,” Oprah slowly nods. “I’ll let it pass since you said that your relationship with Michael was more of a companionship. And people, before you say anything, no, I don’t condone it but I understand because, let’s be real here, we all have experienced complicated situations in our lives.”
“Thank you,” Beatrice says.
“How did your agreement change? You haven’t started tour and you haven’t started shooting your film.”
“Ava’s accident,” Beatrice says. “It made me realize that life could be very short. I have Ava now, why would I delay the inevitable? We both know we’ll be getting back together. Why deny ourselves the love we have for each other?”
“When I woke up, she asked me if I would take her back,” Ava smiles. “I also realized that we shouldn’t be wasting time.”
“Our friends are happy for us when we told them,” Beatrice tells. “Michael told me that I should break up with him,” she chuckles. Ava chuckles as well.
“Why is it funny?” Oprah asks curiously.
“He was jumping up and down with happiness with the news and then he stopped and said, ‘Wait, you are technically cheating on me. Break up with me right now’,” Beatrice imitates Michael.
“They got into this whole skit,” Ava shakes her head. “The whole, ‘It’s not you, it’s me’ and Michael shed a single tear saying, “I have no choice but to let you go’.”
“I saw you crying,” Beatrice reveals.
“He’s that good,” Ava says. “He’s not an Academy Award-nominated actor for nothing.”
“Is there truth in the statement you released?”
“Of course,” Beatrice tells. “We didn’t release it for giggles. We do want to go our own ways. But we’ll always be best friends. I will forever be thankful for the years I spent with him. He’s an amazing guy.”
“I want to say that Michael Salvius is here behind the scenes showing support for his two friends here,” Oprah says. “I can assure you that they are telling the truth because Michael keeps nodding, I’m afraid he will have a sore neck tomorrow.”
They all laugh.
“I would say that the accident is both a blessing and a curse,” Ava mentions. “It was unfortunate but it made us realize things. Not just with Beatrice and our relationship but also with my parents.”
“You mentioned that you reconciled,” Oprah says. “That’s good.”
“It was actually Beatrice who answered when they called while I was still unconscious,” Ava tells. “And when I got home, it’s also her that told me I should talk to them.”
“How did it go?”
“They apologized to me for everything,” Ava says. “Let’s not get into details but it was a good talk. They flew in for a weekend and we talked more.”
“I wished I could have talked to my own mom like how she talked to them but I was afraid she will not take it well,” Beatrice tells. “I hope after this, we’ll be able to talk like they did.”
“I’m sure she’ll understand,” Oprah assures her.
youngsilvanation: ROLLING KICKING MY FEET GIGGLING
queercoded: compared to most queer relationship, theirs are not that complicated and messy believe me
beatrice4lyf: I fully support Avatrice now! Sorry for being so homophobic before
avatricetrash69: EVERYONE SHUT UP I AM BREAKING DOWN I KNOW WE ALL JOKE THE CLOSET IS GLASS BUT IT STILL FEELS DIFFERENT NOW THAT THEY HAVE COME OUT
mikeandbea: okay I take back what I said sorry y’all
notmichael: Michael being the captain of the avatrice ship from day one
yourgayaunt: I’m sure you’ll inspire a lot of parents to accept their kids and at the same time, you’ll inspire a lot of queer kids
lesbeanz: it’s official we now have the gay fixation of the year. Avatrice thank you for your service
foreveryoung: Dear Beatrice, your mom might not accept you but just know you’re a mother to us all
avaofarc: I’M SO PROUD OF YOU AVA! WHERE MY BISEXUALS AT???
sapphiczone: we all knew but them coming out was not on my 2023 bingo card
avatricetruer: Beatrice release the list of songs inspired by Ava challenge
onlinestruggles: watch them turn toxic again. and hello, it’s still cheating no matter what Oprah says
hoybading: @onlinestruggles you just need to get laid
“What inspired you to come out?” Oprah asks.
“At first we thought it would be best if we ease our way into it,” Beatrice tells her. “A lot of people already speculate anyways. Instead of just staying at home most of the time, we started going out to be seen.”
“Of course, to people who have no idea, it looks like two friends hanging out,” Ava says. “But we want people to know we are in each other’s lives and we are close.”
“That was your plan initially. What changed it?”
“There’s just a lot of instances that Ava got affected by what people said,” Beatrice tells.
“Especially after JC’s GQ interview,” Ava says. “I mean, it’s probably my fault because I didn’t explain or tell the thing about Beatrice and I so he thought he was just used.”
“He wasn’t?”
“No,” Ava says. “I did love him. And we had some great memories together. But he and I were never going to work.”
“That gave her a lot of anxiety,” Beatrice says. “She started having these terrible nightmares that doesn’t let her sleep peacefully.”
“That’s terrible, I’m sorry.”
“And it’s not even about her career,” Beatrice reveals. “She’s more worried about mine. She’s worried that people will turn their backs on me.”
“I know it means a lot to her,” Ava quips.
“So I thought, this needs to stop,” Beatrice looks at Ava. “I can’t see her sleepless and barely holding on to her sanity. I need to do something.”
“And you contacted me,” Oprah says.
“I’m so glad you agreed to this,” Beatrice says.
“And we’re honored to have you here,” Oprah tells her. “So, it’s your decision to come out this way?”
“It was my idea but of course, I talked to Ava about it, we’re in this together,” Beatrice says.
“I agreed,” Ava nods. “We want to share this part of us to people so they could understand what we went through and hope that they could sympathize.”
“We are just human like you,” Beatrice says. “We had our fair share of complication in life. We are not perfect.”
“We still want our secret moments in a crowded room,” Ava says. “But we want to have it without the constant fear of somebody catching us.”
“We should have been able to just be us in public,” Beatrice says. “Sorry for the fans that are disappointed. But this is me. This is us. We love each other very much and we want to spend our days with each other. Free.”
“Just goes to show how big of a heart you have,” Oprah comments. “You don’t have to apologize for who you are yet you did for your fans.”
“We would also like to express our gratitude to people who supported and continues to support us,” Ava says. “To our friends and family, thank you. And of course, to you, Ms. Winfrey.”
“Thank you to everyone,” Beatrice smiles.
“Thank you too,” Oprah says. “But don’t go, when we come back, we have fun questions for Ava and Beatrice!”