- - Kaley Cuoco Credits Fiancé Tom Pelphrey for Encouraging Her to Take “Vanished” Role in France (Exclusive)

Liza EsquibiasFebruary 8, 2026 at 8:00 AM

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Tom Pelphrey and Kaley Cuoco

Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, Kaley Cuoco reveals that fiancé Tom Pelphrey was the reason she decided to take on her leading role in Vanished

She explains that she worried about leaving their two-year-old daughter Matilda at home to film the miniseries in France, but Pelphrey assured her it would be okay

New episodes of Vanished air Sundays on MGM+

Kaley Cuoco's fiancé always has her back!

The actress, 40, recently chatted with PEOPLE about her latest role in the new MGM+ thriller Vanished, in which she portrays a woman named Alice who uncovers the secret life of her boyfriend, Tom (Sam Claflin), after he goes missing on their trip to the south of France. The four-episode miniseries filmed on location in Marseille, and Cuoco reveals it took a push from partner Tom Pelphrey for her to ultimately agree to the role.

“Definitely, there were weeks prior leading up that I kept changing my mind,” she explains. “I was like, ‘I can't leave for two months.’ Then I wake up, I'm like, ‘I could leave for a year.’ I was out of my mind. My fiancé was like, ‘You got to go.’ He was so wonderful about it, and he was like, ‘Go, we will take care of things here. We're going to be fine.’ ”

Tom Pelphrey, Kaley Cuoco and their daughter Matilda

Kaley Cuoco/Instagram

At the time, Cuoco and Pelphrey’s daughter Matilda — who they welcomed in 2023 before becoming engaged in August 2024 — had just turned two. The Big Bang Theory alum says her biggest struggle was deciding to leave them at home.

“I wanted to bring them along, and Tom and I made this deal,” she recalls. “I said, ‘Let me get there. Let me see what the world is like there, and then we will decide.’ And the minute I got there — I spent 24 hours in Marseille — as much as I loved it, in my soul, it was not a place for a two-year-old.”

“It was too busy. It was stressful,” she continues. “The house I was living in was on the side of a mountain. There was nowhere to walk. It just was not ideal."

"And I think what was beautiful about that is I trusted my gut and I said, ‘This is not the place for her,' she continued. "And my whole family was like, ‘Got it, noted. We got it.’ And I was able to just separate myself and immerse myself in this new life for these handful of weeks, knowing that everything was taken care of at home.”

Cuoco says Pelphrey reassured her that Matilda was “not going to know,” noting that “maybe if she was a little older, it would have been different.” Looking back, the Flight Attendant actress says she is grateful that her family supported and encouraged her to take the job and go to France alone.

“I kind of did this for me, to have this personal adventure and remember why I love what I do,” she shares, adding: “My gut told me I made the right decision. And again, who knows how many more opportunities I'll have to do this big travel sort of job. I don't know. So I'm really glad that I did, even though I was a little bit unsure before I went.”

Kaley Cuoco in 'Vanished'

Bruno Calvo/AGC Studios/Fragile Films/MGM+

The location was also “such a huge character in the show,” Cuoco notes, going on to admit that she initially asked if there was a way to shoot closer to home.

“It just felt like a big part of the story, and it made it feel much more internationally intriguing and not just saying, ‘We shot here for Marseille,’” Cuoco says. “It was a lot of work, it was a lot of hours, but it was cool because so many of our locations were these amazing locations. So I felt like I kind of got to travel.”

She also reveals she was able to bring a little piece of home along with her — her Chihuahua.

“I brought my dog Opal, which was hilarious,” she quips. “Everyone in France was calling her Opolette, that was her French name. So Opolette was living her life in France and it was really sweet. It was like being on vacation with my friends and then having to go to work a little bit. It was a very nice experience.”

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New episodes of Vanished air Sundays on MGM+.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”