Mistresses

Season 2 e.tv (*194) 22:00 Drama

If there’s one lesson that Rochelle Aytes has learnt from her character April in drama series Mistresses (2013-2016), it’s to appreciate life. “April lost the love of her life when her husband died before the show started. Everything changed for her. It was unexpected, as death is. She had the ground ripped out from under her. Seeing how she has transformed made me stop and think, ‘Take care of your loved ones while you still have them. Too late is too late’.”

Playing April gave her something else – a husband. Rochelle started dating CJ Lindsey in 2015 after he was cast as Detective Cannon in an episode of Mistresses and they married in August 2016 after filming wrapped.

Her showbiz career started when she was a teen and was signed as a TV model for brands like McDonald’s and Coca- Cola. And despite being 1.7m tall, Rochelle says that she always felt short next to the other girls.

“I wanted to be a dancer growing up and I have a degree in Fine Art, but once I got into commercials, acting followed and the rest is history,” says the actress. That hasn’t stopped her from dancing, which she still rehearses weekly to keep in shape.

She hasn’t taken her humble roots in Harlem, New York for granted and she works with DonorSee, a platform that allows donors to specify the charity they want to help. Rochelle has also funded wells in Malawi to provide drinking water to villages.

And without knowing the role, she auditioned to voice a character in 2009 videogame Left 4 Dead 2. Her character’s name? Rochelle.