Bold and the Beautiful fans were treated to a rare insight from original Taylor Hayes actress Hunter Tylo, who opened up about a storyline she once refused, six years after exiting the soap in 2019.
A Rare Interview After Years Away
Tylo appeared on the Unexpected Cosmology YouTube Channel, reflecting on her time on the long-running daytime drama. Known for keeping a low profile since leaving the show, she shared that her acting choices were sometimes guided by deeply personal experiences.
“I have, in the past, temperamentally walked off of a set. I have refused to say things or do things because either they didn’t jive with what I believe in, or I could just see how flat-out wrong it was,” Tylo revealed, according to MichaelFairmanTV.
The Tragedy That Shaped Her Choices
Tylo lost her son Mickey in October 2007, when the 19-year-old tragically suffered an epileptic seizure and fell into their home swimming pool. The grief resurfaced painfully when her on-screen daughter Phoebe (MacKenzie Mauzy) died in a December 2008 episode.
“They [the writers] will start taking your real life, and then they’ll write it into the story. So, you get to live it twice,” Tylo explained.
The storyline proved too much to handle. “I’m like, ‘What? I can’t do that. I can’t do this!’” she said. Her emotional response made her increasingly late to set, as she struggled to reconcile acting with reliving her loss.
Tylo revealed one scene that crossed a line for her: being asked to go to the morgue and identify her on-screen daughter. The script demanded a reenactment of grief, including holding the body, kissing her hands and toes, and performing all the intimate rituals of mourning.
“I wasn’t going to do that. I said, ‘I don’t care. Fire me. Goodbye. This ain’t happening. I mean, it’s not for sale. My pain is not for sale, okay?’” she said.
Advice for Aspiring Actors
Tylo also shared her hard-earned advice for anyone considering a career in acting. “It’s not all roses. It’s not all flashy cars and limos and gowns and red carpets and lights are flashing and everybody loves you. It’s not. Sometimes people hate your guts and sometimes you’re doing stuff that is extremely traumatizing to yourself. So that’s my two cents.”
Her candid reflections reveal the emotional toll of acting, especially when real-life trauma intersects with a character’s storyline.