Caroline Rhea reaches into her purple purse to whip out a few 8×10 photos of her eight-month-old daughter Ava during a swank party held at NYC’s Le Parker Meridien. In one, she’s wearing brown teddy bear ears.
She introduces me to boyfriend and father Costaki Economopoulos.
Clearly, motherhood agrees with the Sabrina, The Teenage Witch star.
“I love it,” the actress, 45, tells me. “It’s my favorite thing I’ve ever done. She’s the sweetest, loveliest … yeah. I guess I feel like somebody flipped a switch, and the whole world is in Technicolor now. It’s very exciting. I’m very sappy about it, but I adore her. I’m so into momminess.”
What precious moment can they share?
“She’s bound to laugh at everything we say,” Caroline says. “She’s an excellent audience.”
Costaki adds, “I feel so bad, because people go ‘oh my God, she smiled at me.’ I go, ‘she smiles at everybody.’”
This summer, Caroline and Costaki look forward to taking Ava to the beach. “She’s going to discover sand.”
What makes him such a great dad?
“He loves it, and he loves her so much,” Caroline says. “I have the tiniest bit of resentment. His material is doing better with her than mine is. Yeah. He goes for the laugh, and then he repeats it over-and-over and over again. Like the tickling. I can’t stop squeezing her thighs. I can’t.”
They’re also perfect for each other.
“We’re both comics,” Costaki says. “Tell her our rule. We have a rule: it’s OK to be mean to each other as long as it’s funny.”
Caroline adds, “It’s a very tricky rule. As long as it’s funny. It’s a very fine line.”
As for wedding plans? Costaki yuks, “Yes! I need health insurance.” Caroline slyly echoes, “He needs health insurance.”
Dancing With The Stars champ Shawn Johnson is gearing up for her annual holiday tradition.
Bickering reality stars Jon and Kate Gosselin, who never seem to be too shy when it comes to having cameras around or issuing statements to the press, have suddenly come to the decision that maybe, just maybe, it’s probably not a good idea to have their recently announced divorce played out in public.
As much as we would love to have featured the first photos of Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick’s new twin daughters in the pages of OK!, we’re still thrilled to see this adorable pic of the happy family.
