Garcelle Beauvais dishes on new Lifetime movie, Kamala Harris interview

Garcelle Beauvais learned how far a Lifetime movie love scene could go while she was on set filming one.

Beauvais stars in and executive produces “Terry McMillan Presents: Tempted by Love” (premiering Saturday, 8 EDT/PDT and streaming Sunday). In the film, the “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star plays Ava, a chef who returns to South Carolina from Europe to care for an ailing aunt (Donna Biscoe). When she lands back in the States, she feels a connection with Luke (Vaughn W. Hebron), the driver who picks her up from the airport, who's 20 years younger.

“At one point, my character is undoing Luke's pants buckle and I'm like, ‘Can we do this for Lifetime?’” Beauvais, 57, recalls with a laugh. “It just felt too racy. It didn't end up making it in the movie. But I think we pushed the envelope, and it was steamy and grown and sexy.”

“For me being a woman of ‘a certain age’ as we'll say, it's really cool to have the hope of finding love at any age,” Beauvais says of the movie’s storyline. “And we touch upon really real things: She's a chef, but she has arthritis, she's going through menopause. We didn't shy away from what people think is the uncomfortable stuff. But I think that's what makes it endearing, because it's real.”

It’s hard not to notice that TV has become more inclusive when it comes to older women, whether it's the success of franchises like Bravo’s “Real Housewives” or ABC’s “The Golden Bachelor.”

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“I feel like women are looking better than they've ever been,” Beauvais says. “I feel like we're living longer, we're taking care of ourselves. Why put any stigma on it? It's about the spirit. It's not really about the number.”

Beauvais calls herself “invested” in other reality shows like “Golden Bachelor” but admits that she tries to avoid watching reality TV while filming “Real Housewives.” She just wrapped Season 14. The model and actress notes that she’s grown closer with a few of her castmates, including ​​Sutton Stracke and Kyle Richards.

The actress also recently filmed an interview in Washington with Vice President Kamala Harris a few months ago, before she became the Democratic presidential candidate, that was posted online Aug. 10. Besides joking that the Secret Service had her “freaked out,” she enjoyed her conversation.

“I'm a Democrat, and I was nervous because of all the things that I was hearing about President Biden,” Beauvais admits. “But I'm so happy that she's getting a shot that she deserves. This is America, and we've never had a female president? This is our first (female) VP? I mean, come on, we're behind the times.”