Cassie Steele.Photo:tiktok; tubi
tiktok; tubi
Cassie Steeleis glowing as she looks back at a character she grew up alongside, all while preparing for a new adventure.
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“I was the youngest member of the cast for the first few years and I remember just wanting to not be cute anymore. I wanted to be taken more seriously, be a little bit more grown up. I decided to wear a thong to one of the rehearsal days and cut to not too long later, we’re sitting down at a read-through and ‘U Got the Look’ was born,” she reveals.
“I didn’t know it was even about me at first. I guess what had probably happened was that the guys on set were talking about it, and then the crew overheard and the producers and that’s how it was inspired. It was very shocking to me — exciting but also really embarrassing at the time to be reading this and be like beet-red in front of this whole young team,” Steele reflects.
And while she couldn’t appreciate it fully as it was transpiring, Steele says “it feel really good” to look back and be a part of a moment that resonated with so many viewers.
“At that time when you’re young, you feel like you’re the only one. Like I was the only one who wanted to do that kind of stuff when I was that age and with the cast. I think we were all very different personalities, which is what made such a great ensemble,” she says.
Adds Steele, “Some of us are lifelong friends, but ultimately it was our differences that made us friends, not our similarities. So it’s nice to think that while I was going through that time feeling almost targeted sometimes with my peers . . . there were also so many people who related with it.”
While Steele jokes that she’s “going to have a lot to explain to my kids,” she feels even better than ever about being part of a series that tackled so many challenging topics: “I think now there’s a whole new appreciation for it because I realize I wasn’t so alone.”
“It makes me feel pretty proud. I thinkDegrassiwas just different. It was really raw,” Steele tells PEOPLE.
When asked if she thinks Manny would, too, be a mom today, Steele says that after all this time, “I feel like Manny and I have walked step-in-step a little bit.”
“I do think she’d be a mom. She was probably always aspiring to be a mom, but I don’t feel like she would have slowed down for anything. I’m sure she’s got her own business somewhere, she’s all set up,” she speculates. “She’s got her kids and that’s that ‘does it all’ type of woman. She’s going through that divorce, looking to marry someone younger, that kind of thing.”
For Steele, her pregnancy came a little earlier than she had envisioned, happening shortly after settling down in Nashville and starting a number of projects.
“I was like, ‘This year, I’m going to do it all,’ I was all over the place and started so many projects. I was really overextending myself and I felt so worn out. I was just feeling so overwhelmed, so pregnancy was a really nice reset,” she shares.
“I think a lot of people would agree the first trimester is the worst because not only are you dealing with all these new hormones and you’re not trying to tell people so you do feel isolated, and you’re dealing with having way less energy,” she says. “I think dealing with that little ego death is tough but once you get through that, it’s better.”
Filled with confidence and optimism for what’s ahead, Steele raves, “I love being pregnant and I feel like everything kind of happens for a reason.”
“I’m definitely an ‘I need to know everything so I don’t get freaked out,’ person,” she laughs. “I’d just rather know the best course of action and what the options are for myself. I’m planning for a home birth but I also have a back-up hospital.”
“I’m busy keeping this thing alive and that’s what I’m most excited about with this new adventure. In my last marriage, I was a stepmom and when I met my stepson, he was 2. We were married for a few years and that was a really special time for me,” she shares.
“Obviously, this is a little bit different. In that situation, you develop love and become vulnerable with them and your life completely changes. But I feel like I learned a lot about myself and learned about how big your heart really gets when you have to take yourself completely out of the equation and put someone else first. It’s a really beautiful experience and I’m excited to get to experience that again.”
source: people.com
