Exclusive Interview: Emeraude Toubia, Desmond Chiam, and Rome Flynn Talk Season 2 of With Love

Emeraude Toubia, Desmond Chiam, and Rome Flynn are three of the stars of Prime Video’s With Love.

With Love is a romantic dramedy centered on siblings Lily and Jorge Diaz as they navigate big life changes and rely on their equally big family to get them through. Following her whirlwind romance with Santiago, Lily decides to focus all her energy on a personal journey of self-love by growing her makeup styling business and looking into homeownership. But when both Santiago and Nick profess their feelings for her, Lily wrestles with what is best for her future. Meanwhile, Jorge begins to question whether he and Henry are truly compatible. When he meets Henry’s proud Texan parents, he can’t decide whether the relationship is a fairy tale or a nightmare.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to speak with Emeraude, Desmond, and Rome about Season 2 of With Love, where we find each of their characters, and how they prepared to tackle that arc.

PC: Emeraude, Lily’s journey throughout the two seasons has been about navigating the ups and downs of life, which can be messy, and living it on her own terms. You brought so much nuance to that. How did you create the space for yourself to dive into her arc? Did you channel any of your own personal experiences when tackling this character?
Emeraude: [laughs] Yes, literally. It’s kind of like Lily’s life played into my own life. I feel like so much of myself is Lily. So many of my girlfriends are like Lily. Women relate to Lily because it’s what we’re constantly struggling with. We’re trying to find love, trying to balance family and societal expectations and our own pressures, be successful, but don’t be too successful because that can push men away. What is all this? Where do we find our happiness and our journey?

In Season 2, Lily starts at rock bottom. She’s paving her way back to what she wants with her dreams, her career, and with her love life. I’m really excited for everyone to see this girl navigate all of that and be present in her life, and not take things for granted. Sometimes, I feel like we don’t appreciate being present. So, for me, it’s Lily is owning who she is, taking control, and leading the way.

PC: Desmond, one of the benefits of television as a medium is the opportunity to live with these characters over an extended period of time and see their evolution. Nick probably has the biggest transformation from Season 1 into Season 2. We’re getting to learn more about him and what lies beneath, and you’ve handled that with so much care. What were you the most excited to dive deeper into with Nick’s journey? How did that trust you built with Gloria [Calderón Kellett] in Season 1 allow you to take agency over his arc?
Desmond: It’s insane the way that you phrased that because you hit the nail on the head. As far as how I tackled that, I had the right people around me. It’s great working with Emeraude and having Glo and Andy [Roth]. They were there to guide me through the process because I came in with Season 1 Nick in my head. I was like, “He’s the wise-crack guy who has sex with a lot of people.” They were like, “No, no, no, no. He actually learns a lot and has an EQ this season.” They helped guide me through that process of, “How do we find the fun in having dignity?” That was a tricky, tricky balance for me. That was made so much easier with the people around.

PC: Rome, when we’re introduced to your character, he very much sees life as the glass half full and looks at love from a very practical standpoint. But because of his relationship with Lily and advice from his father, he starts to have a change of heart, which you brilliantly brought to life on screen. How did you prepare to tackle that juxtaposition?
Desmond: It wasn’t hard considering the progression of things. We started at one point in the beginning of Season 2. Then towards the end of it, it felt like we earned that opportunity to have that realization. It felt like it was a moment that needed to happen. It ends in a way where we don’t really know, but at least we got to have that opportunity for him to have that epiphany because I don’t know if he really felt that way for most of the season.

Make sure to follow Emeraude (Twitter/Instagram), Desmond (Twitter/Instagram), and Rome (Twitter/Instagram). Watch With Love on Prime Video today.