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Who Was Olivia Maine on This Is Us?
The fellow actor caused a great deal of drama for Kevin Pearson in Season 1.
Olivia Maine (Janet Montgomery) was a key player in Season 1 of the hit NBC drama This Is Us. She represented a new era for Kevin Pearson (Justin Hartley), who had until then been the star of the sitcom The Manny and was not being taken as seriously as he'd hoped.
Kevin and Olivia's relationship might only have lasted for one season, but it certainly left a mark on the show. Revisit Olivia's full storyline on This Is Us.
When did Olivia Maine first appear on This Is Us?
In Season 1, Episode 4 (“The Pool”), Kevin auditioned for his first Broadway show, and was paired up with “Miss Maine,” in the director’s words, which he assumed meant she was competing in a Miss USA pageant. He was corrected and told that the actress’s name is Olivia Maine, and the two of them attempted to read through the scene together, but ended up bickering through the entire thing.
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At the end of the episode, the two randomly bumped into each other as Kevin was trying to navigate his way around New York City. Olivia asked him out for a drink and gave him the advice to take acting classes instead of auditioning for plays. However, while they were sitting together, she got the news that Kevin had been cast in the lead role because the directors thought his Hollywood fame would help sell tickets.
Olivia Maine's Acting Lessons for Kevin Pearson
In Episode 6 (“Career Days”), Olivia tried to give Kevin acting lessons by taking him to a stranger’s funeral, forcing him to act like he knew the man who had died. The exercise brought out Kevin’s grief for his father’s death and opened him up to the feelings all over again. “That pain is a part of you. I can see it now, I can feel it,” Olivia told him before kissing him.
She revealed that their romantic entanglement was simply another acting trick, though. “You’re my husband and I’m your dead wife. And you will never sleep with me again. How does that feel?” she asked him at the end of the episode. “Sad,” he admitted. “Great, use that,” she said.
When did Olivia Maine and Kevin Pearson get together?
Kevin convinced Olivia to come to the Pearson family Thanksgiving in Season 1, Episode 8 (“Pilgrim Rick”). While on a hike near Randall Pearson (Sterling K. Brown)'s house, Olivia opened up about her tumultuous childhood and Kevin saw a more sensitive side to her. She fought with him later in the evening, saying that she couldn't be what he was looking for, but then her talk with William Hill (Ron Cephas Jones) prompted her to find Kevin and kiss him.
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In Episode 9 ("The Trip"), Kate Pearson (Chrissy Metz) approached Olivia about her relationship with Kevin, and Olivia told Kate that the Pearsons were holding Kevin back and making him "play a role" of the uncomplicated one in the family. She then proceeded to cuddle with another man, Ash, in front of Kevin (as seen in the clip at the top of this post).
Kevin told her that he felt sorry for her, saying that she wasn't "real" and was mocking his family's normalcy. She stormed out and Kevin ended up sleeping with the writer of their play, Sloane Sandburg (Milana Vayntrub).
What happened to Olivia on This Is Us?
Olivia's final episode of the show was Season 1, Episode 11 ("The Right Thing to Do"). After leaving Kevin's cabin, Olivia had disappeared and left their play, forcing the director to recast her role with Sloane, who was by then sleeping with Kevin. Olivia walked in on Kevin and Sloane talking about their relationship, and said "Well, don't you two look cute together."
To Sloane's dismay, the director of the show was excited to see Olivia, saying that the show was "dead" without her. But Kevin made the decision to keep Sloane in the play, and continue to date her, but admitted that it was simply "the right thing" and not what he actually wanted.
Taking both rejections, Olivia said to him, "I am going to go have incredible sex with a stranger and forget that I met you." She stormed off and left the show. Sloane rejected Kevin's offer to get a drink, having overheard his words to Olivia, leaving Kevin alone in the theater.
Catch up on Olivia's full story, and the rest of the Pearsons, by streaming This Is Us on NBC.com.
