‘We Were Liars’ Star Candice King Reveals Baby News, Her ‘Vicious, Fun’ Role and Season 2 Details (Exclusive)
The 'Vampire Diaries' alum talks early babymoons, marrying 'The Originals' costar, 'We Were Liars' S2 and a possible Caroline return
Candice King figuratively stole the hearts of fans worldwide as Caroline Forbes on The Vampire Diaries—and literally on the show, as a vampire. She continued her reign as the popular and determined eternal teenager through appearances on spinoffs, The Originals and Legacies.
But the world of vampires and drama brought her more than just fame and a cherished role—it led to King meeting her now-fiancé, Steven Krueger, who starred as Josh on The Originals. Although both series came to an end by 2018, King and Krueger fell for each other years later and are now expecting a child together.
King is already a mother to two young girls—Florence May King, born in 2016, and Josephine June King, born in 2020—and is ready to welcome her third child soon.
Woman’s World had the opportunity to sit down with Candice King as she shared about their recent babymoon to Aruba, her experience on the hit Prime Video drama, We Were Liars and her time on The Vampire Diaries.
Woman’s World: Congratulations on your pregnancy and your announcement. How are you feeling and how has it been since sharing the news with the world?
Candice King: Well, thank you. It’s not much different, except now I’m trying to be more active, so when I’m going out and about, I can feel a little bit more relaxed about my burrito belly since it’s not fully popped yet. But it’s been such a joy having time to slowly share with friends and family as I’ve gotten farther along in my pregnancy. And it’s a really special thing to share it with the world and the socials. It always feels like another exciting kind of milestone to get to the point where you’re sharing it on a grander level.
In our parents’ generation, it was newspapers. You would literally take out sections of the newspaper with write-ups of every engagement and every wedding and every birth and pregnancy announcement. It’s funny: This is our generation’s version of that.
WW: You recently had your babymoon in Aruba—how was that, and why did you choose Aruba for your reset?
CK: My first pregnancy, I was working the whole time and then my second pregnancy, it was COVID. I didn’t find that quite relaxing. I know some might have enjoyed being home, but I was quite nervous the whole time, and so the second that I stopped feeling kind of sick from my first trimester [this pregnancy], it was a wonderful opportunity for my fiancé and I to take a really early babymoon and go relax. And honestly, this is my new favorite thing. I think everyone should be having an early babymoon.
I’ve never been to Aruba and neither had he, and we were looking for some sun, some vitamin D, before the Nashville winter comes through, and could not find a better place to relax… It was beautiful. It was just what the doctor ordered, even though the doctor did not order me to go to Aruba, but that’s what I heard. She says vitamins, I hear Aruba.
WW: I mean, Vitamin D is a vitamin, right?
CK: Exactly. It was great. I still brought my little water bottle around and made sure to stay hydrated the whole time. We got to learn about the island and see flamingos, and there’s snorkeling.
WW: What are you doing to prioritize your wellness and recharge before becoming a mom again?
CK: This is my third pregnancy. My last pregnancy, I was home because it was COVID and I didn’t move very much. And my first pregnancy, I was constantly on my feet on set. [Last time] I could feel the effects of that on my body. What I learned from that experience is just how important it is to walk and prioritizing some sort of time for a workout, even if it’s just a walk around the neighborhood. I’m trying to counterbalance the need to rest while also making sure that I’m constantly moving and prepared to feel strong,
WW: How do you balance having a successful career, motherhood and wedding planning?
CK: I’m trying to apply a sense of being present as much as I can with each moment. While we have really wonderful, beautiful plans for our wedding, which we cannot wait for, we’re taking everything step by step, because we also want to be really present at this time in our life as well. The biggest thing is to try not to do it all at once and being okay with everything looking a little bit different
That’s kind of how I’ve applied what it means to be a working mother, especially so soon after childbirth. I’ve done this before when I was on The Vampire Diaries. I was back on screen six weeks after my first daughter was born and I learned a lot, and the number one thing was to really give yourself grace because you can’t do it all. I remember being 28 and I’m breastfeeding in the middle of the night and trying to learn my lines for the next day. And some days I would get to work, and I’d have the energy and others it’d be really hard for me to be at the level of the kind of work I like to give. I wasn’t asking for enough help and support.
At this point in life, I feel much more prepared on how to have a sense of balance. And so much of that is leaning on your community, which also ties into wedding planning. The most important part is that you have your community and that when you’re ready to get married, you get married.
WW: I want to talk about We Were Liars. You were incredible as Bess in the series—how you brought her to life. She’s a very complicated character, so what about Bess made you want to play her? Did you read the books before learning about the role or did the role come first?
CK: I’ve worked with Julie Plec [co-creator of The Vampire Diaries and We Were Liars] on The Vampire Diaries, and I had worked with Carina [Adly MacKenzie] when I appeared on The Originals, but never in the capacity that we worked together on We Were Liars. I’m very close with them and I’d heard them talking about this project for many years. By the time I actually read the book, I was, like, ‘Oh my gosh, the story could not be in better hands than those two to bring it to screen.’ And I would have been a part of catering just to be a part of it.
We get a sense of the aunts [Bess, Carrie and Penny] in the first book, but we really get to know them in Family of Liars, which is the prequel, and that’s kind of loosely what the second season will be following. I was just excited to be a part of the show as it is, and then to start diving into the character development that we started exploring in Season 1… Gosh, it was such a lovely, vicious, fun playground to go to each day for work.
I think that all three mothers have a really complicated relationship with motherhood for very different reasons. That was my favorite part to explore, because there’s going to be a day where your patience gets fried, or you haven’t slept or you’re just completely overwhelmed. For most people, you are able to process that or hopefully lean on someone. But with these women in particular, it was really fun to play what would happen if these mothers were to actually yell and let that out in real time. So, to play in that mess was really liberating.
WW: Do you know anything about Season 2 yet?
CK: Everyone knows as much as I know. I keep joking that my ideal baby gift would be all the Season 2 spoilers from Julie and Carina. We’ll see if they send it to me wrapped in a bow.
Woman’s World: What about Caroline Forbes on The Vampire Diaries do you miss the most? And in the world of reboots and revivals, would you ever consider bringing Caroline back, even if just for an episode?
CK: My heart says yes, but I’d have to talk to my dermatologist about how it would be possible to look like an eternal 17-year-old. I love that world and that show and that character so deeply, and so, who knows? But I will say we really stretched it as far as it could go, considering that these were vampires that didn’t age, and I am very grateful that Caroline got to explore all three shows; she was kind of the last vampire standing. But yes, I truly love her and I’m glad that she means as much to so many of the viewers of the show as she meant to me.
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