Honey Mag

What if you got to peek into your future, and it scared the hell out of you? That’s the predicament facing Gabrielle Union’s Flash Forward character Zoey Andata, when she sees a vision of her fiancé’s funeral rather than the wedding she’s been planning. Off to a promisingly intriguing start last fall, the ABC series has been on a winter hiatus but returns with a dozen new episodes Mar. 18 to delve deeper into the mystery of why everyone blacked out and saw—or in the case of Zoey’s FBI agent boyfriend (John Cho), didn’t see—their future. During a visit to the set, Union revealed plot tidbits and even more about herself.

Honey Magazine: What’s ahead for you when Flash Forward returns?
Zoey kind of becomes unhinged. Zoey goes off on everyone—Courtney’s [B. Vance] character, Joe’s [Fiennes] character. She tries to save her man by any means necessary. She’s convinced it’s not looking good for him and she’s gonna do whatever she can to save him. I always joke if I had this kind of passion and conviction when I was married, maybe I wouldn’t be divorced! The way Zoey is with this man, and they’re not even married yet, the level of dedication is insane.

What did you learn about relationships from your marriage?
That you can’t sweat the small stuff. I spent so much of my marriage upset. Things like the toilet seat being up or down shouldn’t define your day. You put so much on every little thing. You look at your parents like they were infallible and perfect and you realize now that they made a lot of mistakes and they’re just people. I’m giving the men in my life the same consideration. They’re just human.

Would you want to see into your future?
Hell, yes! I have bills. I want to know if I’m going to be able to pay them. In Janet’s flash forward she sees herself having this baby and she never even thought about children. I don’t think about children. I’m 37 and I don’t think about wanting kids at all or look at babies and go ‘Ooh!’ I have more of a chance of adopting animals on the street.

We’re envious of your wardrobe on the show!
This wardrobe is amazing. I have the most gorgeous suits. Usually on a lot of my productions we’re low budget and everything is from Zara, which is fine, but here they want my character to have a really put together look and our stylist is amazing. In Episode 17 I have some really fly suits. I’m more of a jeans and tank kind of gal in my own life but on TV I really love to be put together. I never had a wardrobe like this

What do you consider your best features?
My teeth. I thank my orthodontist. My eyes, my laugh, my generosity. For lack of a better word, my fellowship. I love bringing people together. I love connecting with people.

Do you entertain at home?
All the time. That’s one of the reasons I bought my house 10 years ago, and I still love entertaining. I love having people over.

Do you cook or order in?
Both. I do collard greens, a glazed ham. I do cupcakes very well. Spicy red potatoes. Everything else, everyone has to bring.

What don’t you like about yourself?
I tend to procrastinate. I obsess over things I have no control over. I’m judgmental at times. That’s kind of it. There aren’t too many things I don’t like about myself. What I don’t like I try to change. I don’t return e-mails and I hate talking on the phone. I text. I make my mother and father text. We’re not allowed phones that ring on the set so when I’m here I text.

What’s your favorite way to beat stress?
A great glass of wine. There’s a liquor store in Studio City that has wine tastings and they teach you about it. Vendome Liquors, every Friday night, and it’s awesome. I have my driver meet me after so we don’t have any of those issues. Everyone says the Valley is devoid of culture, but it’s not. It’s inexpensive. I’m from Omaha, which is not wine country by any stretch so I don’t know a lot about wine. I just learned how to pronounce sommelier so I’m learning. I’m humble enough to say I don’t know a lot about it and what better way to learn it than from people who sell it?

How do you stay in such great shape?
I work out with a trainer. She comes up with new and exciting ways to torture me every day.

Do you have a favorite vacation spot?
Lahaina, Maui. I love it. It’s very laid back. We rented a house there, learned how to paddle surf. It was very chill. Very cool people.

What charities are important to you?
I lobby state legislatures to increase funding for rape crisis centers. And I’m also a Susan G. Komen global ambassador for breast cancer. My aunt is still going through chemo and one of my best friends at age 32 was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer.

Can women have it all, do you think?
Yes. I don’t believe in a glass ceiling. My mom did it all, had three kids, got her college degree while she had kids–I sat in the classroom at the University of Nebraska. I was never raised with the idea that you can’t have it all. My parents got divorced after almost 30 years but I don’t think she would have attributed that to her work. But as much passion as she put into her work and her family she didn’t leave enough for herself. We can have it all but sometimes we neglect ourselves, our health. I’ve met so many cancer survivors, all these women who run companies who say, ‘I had it all but what I forgot was me. I didn’t go to the doctor or take a spa day or take time for myself.’ Call me selfish, but I can’t be everything to you if I’m not good to myself. So I make sure I’m all together in body and spirit.

-Gerri Miller