Betty Gilpin Says Stilettos and 'Chic' Pregnancy Style in “Office Romance” Was 'Wish Fulfillment' After Giving Birth (Exclusive)
Betty Gilpin Says Stilettos and 'Chic' Pregnancy Style in “Office Romance” Was 'Wish Fulfillment' After Giving Birth (Exclusive)
Jack SmartTue, June 9, 2026 at 2:14 PM UTC
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Betty Gilpin in 'Office Romance'Credit: Ana Carballosa/Netflix -
Betty Gilpin talks to PEOPLE about playing a pregnant corporate worker in the new romantic comedy film Office Romance with Jennifer Lopez and Brett Goldstein
Getting to portray a pregnancy with "contour and heels" contrasted with her own, unglamorous first pregnancy, she says
Rom-coms are "not supposed to be the grim reality of hoodies and stained crumbs all over one sweatpants," quips Gilpin
InOffice Romance, Betty Gilpin got to live out a fantasy she didn't know she had: a pregnancy with "contour and heels."
"My first pregnancy was in the pandemic and I wore all of my husband's clothes," says Gilpin, 39, who has welcomed two daughters with her husband Cosmo Pfeil, in November 2020 and May 2024. "So to be fake pregnant in stilettos and chic corporate wear, with full beat, full Kris Jenner beat, was different."
The new rom-com (on Netflix now) stars Jennifer Lopez and Brett Goldstein as star-crossed lovers whose headstrong — and very pregnant — co-worker Sydney (Gilpin) is something of an obstacle.
Betty Gilpin at the New York premiere of 'Office Romance' on June 2Credit: Kristina Bumphrey/Variety via Getty
"I would say Sydney is the version of myself that I'm too afraid to be," the GLOW Emmy nominee admits to PEOPLE.
Office Romance, as Gilpin says, continues the romantic comedy genre's tradition of fantastical escape. When it comes to preparing for the arrival of a baby, rom-coms are "not supposed to be the grim reality of hoodies and stained crumbs all over one sweatpants."
In fact, Gilpin's two modes as an actor, she jokes, "are either gauzy wish fulfillment, cheekbony, squinty, glossy, or fluorescent lighting, sobbing about the realities of the world. But this one's the former in the best way."
Spoilers follow for Office Romance: workaholic Sydney, after refusing to take maternity leave, goes into labor in the corporate offices where she, Lopez and Goldstein's characters work. Gilpin's chaotic birthing scene atop a desk "felt like this meta thing of what being a working parent sometimes feels like," quips the actress, "where you feel fully exposed and like you're screaming at the sun and your guts are on the table whether you want them or not out there."
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How did Gilpin decompress after portraying a new mother in such a wild scene? "It was time to go put my real kids to bed! It's like, 'Oh, I guess that's my legacy now on camera forever. Well, time to make some mac and cheese,' " she jokes.
"And the sun will eat the earth some day," adds Gilpin contemplatively. "We may as well do things with prosthetic vaginas and make ourselves laugh."
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When asked about what's next in her thriving screen career, Gilpin (who just appeared on horror-comedyWidow's Bay) lists Ethan Hawke's seriesThe Lowdown and Las Vegas-set miniseries The Roman. But more important in her near future is mom time.
(Left-right:) Jodie Whittaker, Betty Gilpin, Edward James Olmos, Jennifer Lopez, Brett Goldstein, Ol Parker, Amy Sedaris and Tony Hale at the Los Angeles premiere of 'Office Romance' on May 26Credit: Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty
"I am going to color with my daughters and probably forget that they're holding markers and then they'll color on the couch and I'll learn how to self-regulate my own rage," she says, recalling that she recently "realized that I also accidentally colored on the couch" during playtime with them.
As Gilpin says, "we're all together in this stained couch tapestry of life."
The Ol Parker-directed Office Romance, co-written by Goldstein and Joe Kelly, also stars Tony Hale, Amy Sedaris and Edward James Olmos. It's on Netflix as of Friday, June 5.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
