Cheryl Blossom might not be part of the Riverdale crew’s fabulous foursome, but that’s only because she’s so fabulous on her own. Between her collection of vintage brooches, flawlessly glossed red lips, and uncanny ability to strike fear in the hearts of her fellow Riverdale students, Cheryl is clearly the best character on the show. Remember that time she gave a eulogy at her brother’s memorial service even though her mother told her not to? Iconic. Or the time she burned her own house down? Masterful. Here, actress Madelaine Petsch talks about what to expect in season two and why she thinks Cheryl might finally get an in with Archie, Betty, Veronica, and Jughead.

On what’s to come in season two:

It's got an underlying mystery throughout the first half of the season that does potentially involve some blood. For Cheryl specifically, the dynamic within her family changes. She's lost her brother and her dad at this point. Her mom has always been very controlling of her, so she starts taking the relationship into her own hands and takes the control from her mother.

On Cheryl getting a real love interest this season:

[So far, she’s been] an independent woman and I like that, but that’s not necessarily been working for her by any means. She lost somebody who was the only person who ever showed her love, and I don't think she even really knows what love is right now. She’s never really received it from anybody. She was trying to find herself last season, and now the undercurrent for her is absolutely needing love. She gets an unexpected love interest.

Ruben Chamorro

On what Cheryl really wants:

Deep down, Cheryl wants to be a part of the gang more than anything, and she's just got so many walls up and so many defense mechanisms that it's impossible for her to find a way to be vulnerable and tell them that. The dynamic with the gang and Cheryl isn't as negative as it was last season. She gets colder and meaner in season two, if that’s possible, but a lot of that anger is shifted towards her mother, where it should be. Hell hath no fury like a Cheryl scorned, but her mom is the one who scorned her.

On how she met her boyfriend, actor-musician Travis Mills:

He messaged me on Facebook in January of season one and congratulated me on the show. He had auditioned for Jughead. I think we just randomly had mutual friends, so we added each other. We kept in touch very rarely, not even that much, from January to February, and then the day I got back from season one in February I was bored in L.A., believe it or not. I was like, “What am I gonna do?” I got my hair cut and he texted me like, “Let's go to a movie!” We hung out and spent every single day together that I've been in L.A. since then, since February.

Ruben Chamorro

Bra, Fleur du Mal; jacket, Guess,; skirt, I.AM.GIA.



And her favorites of her boyfriend’s many tattoos:

He's got a spider behind his ear that I'm always tracing with my finger. He's got Medusa on his neck, which is really cool. My favorite is his Bart Simpson on his leg, though. If you gave me a piece of paper I could probably map every single tattoo he has. Pretty impressive, right?

On whether or not she’ll ever get a tattoo:

I won't be getting them ever. I'm so indecisive and I am very like...everything needs to be clean and neat and organized. I feel like I'd pick something and I'd hate it the next day. I think it would be the biggest regret of mine — getting anything tattooed.

Ruben Chamorro

Do people still ask her if her lips are real?

Yes. All the time. If my hair is real, if my eyelashes are real, my butt's real. It's constant. It's all real. All natural, baby! And I’m a natural redhead. It's funny because I was made fun of for it so much as a kid. I grew up in a small town, I was the only redhead other than my brother. We had South African accents, I was a vegan, I was raised without religion. I was just the weirdest kid in this small town, so I got made fun of a lot for it. My brother got stones thrown at him! So now I very much embrace it and want people to know I'm a natural redhead and proud of that.

On the identity of Cheryl’s signature red lip color:

It's a secret. I'm not allowed to say. One day we'll share.

Ruben Chamorro

Bomber, Levi’s; slip dress, Cynthia Rowley; socks, Free People; sneaker, Vans.



On her craziest Riverdale fan interaction:

It was actually like my first big one. I got back from shooting the first season and hadn't really had too many because we had just aired. I was at the Grove, that open-air mall in L.A., and then somebody, she's probably nine years old, screams “Cheryl Blossom!” at the top of her lungs and sort of like, Terminator runs towards me. I was like, “This girl is about to plow me over.” She jumped on me and it was the cutest and most overwhelming experience all at the same time. She started crying and was like, “Oh my god, I love you so much,” and then her mom was like, “I'm so sorry.” I was like, "It's OK, she's so cute.” But I was like, “Stop crying. Do you want a cute photo? Stop crying!”

On Cheryl’s brooches:

They're vintage and they're very expensive and they're very, very, very hard to find. We keep those in a special place in the costume department. We only have four of them and you can't get doubles of any of them. I feel like when the show finishes that will be my wrap gift.

If she had to be in a love triangle with Bughead or Varchie, she’d pick:

Personally, neither would be better, but if I had to pick, Varchie. Bughead has just got so many issues. Like, I can't. That's not even a love triangle, it’s just a headache. As of the end of season one, Varchie is just simple. Happy. They've got a couple little problems but they're good.

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Hair: Marc Mena for Exclusive Artists Management; Makeup: Tina Turnbow; Styling: Aeyung Kim.