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Once Upon a Time Star on Alice's New Romance: "Love Is Love"

The lesbian love story was "a no-brainer"

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Lindsay MacDonald

The midseason finale of Once Upon a Time introduced a romance that fans have been waiting for a very long time. Alice's (Rose Reynolds) true love turned out to be none other than Robin Hood's (Sean Maguire) daughter Robin (Tiera Skovbye). Don't you just love it when the next generation falls in love with each other?

While Once Upon a Time has written LGBTQ characters before, the show has never incorporated such a storyline into a major character's arc -- until now!

"I didn't know Alice was going to be the LGBTQ character until after we started shooting," Rose Reynolds told TV Guide of the latest twist in her character's story. "Adam [Horowitz] and Eddy [Kitsis] told me, and I was excited to start exploring that love story. For me, it was a no brainer. Love is love."

We're sure hundreds of thousands of Once Upon a Time fans would agree. For several years now, fans have bemoaned the lack of LGBTQ representation on the show, but Horowitz and Kitsis have remained firm in their belief that the right storyline would present itself one day. And now it finally has.

If you were hoping for a "coming out" storyline for Alice though, that doesn't appear to be in the cards.

Once Upon a Time Bosses Talk Long-Awaited LGBTQ Storyline

"It isn't a coming out story," Reynolds says. "Alice's interactions with either sex are non-existent. Robin is the first person Alice meets who really sees her. She's never experienced that before, and it deeply connects them. Suddenly, Alice is no longer invisible, talking to her ghosts, and that debt is profound."

So far, we've only seen the middle section of Robin and Alice's love story. The peek we got at their relationship in the midseason finale was after they'd already fallen in love and were about to be separated forever by Drizella's (Adelaide Kane) curse. Don't fret though, we're gearing up to get a lot more of their early days when the show returns in March.

"We meet Alice and Robin halfway through [the] story in Episode 10 and flashback to how they met in the second half of the season," Reynolds teases. "They get off to a rocky start and... they slowly prove how much they mean to each other. They teach each other a lot; it's really beautiful, and it feels like a new beginning for both of them."

Their beginning isn't the only storyline we're gearing up for. They've both been cursed, which mean there is a curse counterpart for Robin the same way that Tilly is Alice's new identity. Horowitz and Kitsis have described her cursed identity as a bit of a free spirit, desperate to wander the world with only the pack on her back. Sounds like just Tilly's type, right?

"We will meet Robin's cursed identity, and that 'meet cute' is very similar. An echo of their fairytale," Reynolds says.

Once Upon a Time returns March 2, 2018 at 8/7c on ABC.

Rose Reynolds, Once Upon a Time

Rose Reynolds, Once Upon a Time

Jack Rowand, ABC