By Sarah Ribeiro
Actress Brooke Burns, who is perhaps best known for her role on Baywatch, hits the small screen this weekend in the premiere of Lifetime’s made-for-television movie, A Sister’s Revenge. In the film, she plays Suzanne Dell, a relentless woman seeking revenge on the man who hurt her sister many years ago. “It was a really fun role to play because of Suzanne’s single-minded evilness,” says the blonde beauty. “She’s a rich, layered character who justifies incredible wrongs because of her deep love and devotion to her sister. Her desire to avenge her sister’s death blinds her to reality.”
Despite this merciless role, Burns tends to focus her career — and her life — on love. She just shot the pilot for GSN’s new dating show, Where Have You Been All My Life?, which she will be hosting. The show is rumored to be a modern-day version of the popular 70’s show, The Dating Game, but she explains that the only similarity is that there is one “looker” who is interviewing three bachelors or bachelorettes. “It’s different in that we show a timeline of the date’s photos from birth to young adult life,” the host reveals. “The questions are focused on getting to know the person throughout his or her life. We do occasional ‘status updates’ and a ‘friend request’, so the show is congruent with the very popular social media and online dating scene of 2013.”
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Burns says she was attracted to the show because it focuses on the psychology of dating, which is important to someone who is a self-proclaimed hopeless romantic. “I’ve always been the girl to save love notes, the napkin we doodled on in Paris, the leaf he gave me at the park,” she confides. “Without love, the garden of life is dull and mute. Love breeds growth and vibrancy that allows you to expand, the way a garden does in the spring.”
In contrast to her current success with love — Burns is engaged and happily planning her wedding to director Gavin O’Connor — she has experienced her share of dating woes, not unlike the contestants on Where Have You Been All My Life? “The worst date I’ve ever been on was a first date,” the actress reveals. “The guy went overboard and showed up at my apartment with groceries forty-five minutes early. He made himself at home in my kitchen and cooked breakfast. He had a limo waiting outside to take us to a tennis tournament that lasted all day. I know it sounds divine and fabulous, but five minutes into the date, he gave me the creeps! I was young and felt guilted into staying with him the whole day.”
However, she credits those bad dates with her emotional growth and says “love is the inspiration for life. Every experience I’ve had with love has made me a fuller, stronger person. I’ve experienced the highest of highs and the darkest of lows because of love, and I’m thankful for both. “
Now, as a mother to her twelve-year-old daughter, Madison, Burns has learned how to balance her relationships with her career. “The balance, for me, comes in always putting my family first,” she shares. “It’s the way I’m programmed. My fiancé has an eleven-year-old daughter, and we got really lucky because the girls adore one another.”
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Burns, who was married to Fantastic Four actor Julian McMahon for two years and also dated Bruce Willis, understands the importance of remaining hopeful and not giving up on romance. “You can never predict when or where love will find you. The secret is…there is no secret. When chemistry comes, it comes, and hopefully, love will follow.”
A Sister’s Revenge premieres on Lifetime this Saturday, April 27th at 8pm EST. Where Have You Been All My Life? is set to premiere on GSN in the fall.
