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For actress Justine Lupe (and Who What Wear cover star,) starting to film season one of the hit Netflix series Nobody Wants This while at the end of her first trimester of pregnancy was perfect timing. “It was divine intervention in a real way, because, yes, I felt like I had mono through my first trimester,” Lupe said. “I could not get up. It was so, so tiring. I really lucked out that it started and then I was in that amazing kind of reinvigorating second trimester. Like a Renaissance moment.” and
When it came to Lupe’s character, Morgan, the costume department tweaked her wardrobe to adjust for Lupe’s real-life pregnancy, while still maintaining the character’s essence in the clothes.
“They did such a good job of keeping the essence and the character alive in these new outfits that were a little bit more, I guess, conservative, or covered up a little bit more,” Lupe said.
On the latest episode of The Who What Wear Podcast, Lupe shares what it was like being pregnant while filming the show, how her 2025 Emmys look came to be, and more. For excerpts from their conversation, scroll below.
I want to touch on being pregnant while filming season one of the show. My first question is how? As far as I know, nobody has escaped the first-trimester extreme fatigue. Did you have that? How did you deal?
I actually got the job when I was in my first trimester, and then I started the job right at the end of my first trimester. It was divine intervention in a real way, because, yes, I felt like I had mono through my first trimester.
I could not get up. It was so, so tiring. I really lucked out that it started and then I was in that amazing kind of reinvigorating second trimester. Like a Renaissance moment. You’re like, “I can do anything.” It was a very different experience than what I was experiencing a month prior. I lucked out.
Let’s talk about Morgan, your character’s style on the show. I’m curious if there are any outfits that you especially loved wearing or that you feel like the public had a strong reaction to?
I had the most fun with the bomber jackets that I would wear with the little skirts. It was definitely in reaction to my belly growing that they were like, “Let’s put a bomber jacket on her,” but there’s something really cool about a big jacket and legs with tights on them.
I’ve never done that in my day-to-day life, and now I’m like, “Okay, I’m in.” It’s cool. Before they knew I was pregnant, they had gone out and they had gotten this huge wardrobe together of all this stuff that I was gonna wear. It was a really clear character that they had built with these outfits. Then I got pregnant—or I was pregnant—and I told them, because I was out of my first trimester and it wasn’t as vulnerable a thing to share.
They did such a good job of keeping the essence of the character alive in these new outfits that were a little bit more, I guess, conservative, or covered up a little bit more. Because Morgan, you know, in the first round there was a lot of miniskirts and little tiny tanks that showed my belly, and they did such a good job of keeping that vibe alive.
I wanted to pivot to a fashion moment IRL that you had recently, the Emmys. You wore a Carolina Herrera dress by Wes Gordon, and I want to know how you picked it; how it came to life.
I saw a picture of it on the runway. Rebecca Ramsey, my stylist, sent me a picture of it a while ago, right after it went down the runway. I had the same exact reaction that you had. I was like, “Oh, wow. That is gorgeous.” Then I sent it to my publicists, and they were also like, “Whoa, whoa, whoa, holy smokes, that’s beautiful.” It didn’t really come back around. It was on our radar. When the Emmys came up, we were like, “Well, what about asking about this?” Like, could we see if we could get it? It feels like a champagne glass of an outfit. It’s so fancy and happy and celebratory and sexy. When they said that they were gonna send it, I was over the moon. So excited.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
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