Abigail Cowen Talks Delilah’s Queer Identity In Every Year After
“It was a surprise, but also, not really.”
Every Year After expands the character of Delilah in so many ways from Carley Fortune’s book Every Summer After. For one, there’s her fling with Charlie, which is a big new twist on its own, but even that is further complicated by an unexplored connection with her childhood friend Jordie. That love triangle gets even messier in Season 1’s finale, when Delilah is briefly shown kissing a woman during a Halloween party. While the show has yet to really delve into Delilah’s apparent queer identity, that kiss was very illuminating for Abigail Cowen.
The actor tells Elite Daily that she was initially thrown for a loop by Delilah hooking up with a woman following her divorce, but after reflecting on it, all the pieces came together. “It was a surprise, but also, not really,” Cowen says. “It kind of made sense, because although she was a free spirit when she was young, she was also kind of stifled. She kept herself in this box. Maybe this is something she’s been running from since she was young, and that plays into the reasons she’s guarded and pretends to be someone she’s not.”
The woman who kisses Delilah is not named, and is barely even shown in the brief scene, but Cowen sees the moment as something that “opens up the doors” to “see where Delilah can go” in the future.
Of course, the new divorcée also has some clearly telegraphed romantic prospects with Jordie and Charlie (though Michael Bradway has said he thinks Charlie and Delilah are done). Cowen is happy to let Delilah “play the field” for now: “She spent so many years yearning for Charlie, and then it wasn’t right when she finally got it. But of course there might still be something there. And she’s also questioning Jordie, but I think she’s in a space of focusing on herself and figuring out what she really wants right now.”
Although Delilah was kind of pulled between guys throughout Season 1, Cowen doesn’t rule out her character potentially moving on from men entirely. “I would love to see her be with a woman,” Cowen says. “Who knows?”
