Eve to Take Maternity Leave From 'Queens' With a Possible Return in Season 2

Queens star Eve will be taking a break from the new series as she prepares for the birth of her first child. The rapper and former talk show host is taking maternity leave after announcing she's expecting a baby in February 2022 with her husband, Maximillion Cooper.

Deadline broke the news, reporting that the star has been traveling between her homes in the U.K. and Atlanta, where the ABC drama films. The network and the show's producers are reportedly supportive of the star's decision, adjusting the schedule so Eve can film additional scenes before she leaves to be with her family and prepare for their new addition.

Queens, which premiered last month, also stars Brandy Norwood, Naturi Naughton and Nadine Velazquez. The series follows four women looking to recapture the fame they achieved as the '90s hip-hop group Nasty B**ches. Having been estranged for about 20 years, the four must work to regain the swagger they had as the iconic group that made them legends in the hip-hop world.

Eve plays Brianna, aka Professor Sex, a rapper juggling a stressful family life with a resurrected career. Although the 42-year-old will reportedly appear in most of the show's original 13-episode order for its freshman season, her temporary departure will leave the series out on a lead character.

But the good news for fans is that Eve's storyline is said to wrap up in a way that allows the rapper to return if the series gets renewed for a second season.

ET has reached out to ABC and reps for Eve for confirmation.

Eve revealed her pregnancy on Oct. 15, Instagramming photos of her showing off her baby bump and tagging her husband. While this is Eve's first child, Cooper shares four children with his first wife.

"Can you believe it @mrgumball3000 we finally get to tell everyone!!!!! ❤️," she wrote. "You all know how long we've been waiting for this blessing!!! We get to meet our lil human February 2022."

Cooper shared the same pictures on his own Instagram, writing, "Very excited to share this news… we have a lil human on the way! ♥️."

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Last month, Eve and her castmates spoke with ET about their new show, gushing about their connection and what they're looking forward to the fans seeing.

Eve revealed that she fell in love with the concept during a conversation with Zahir McGhee, the creator, writer and executive producer of the series. "We talked about it first, then I read the script and I was like, 'How did he do this?' It was so good and I loved my character so much that I was like, 'I want to be a part of this,'" she recalled.

"It's funny because if someone had just asked me, 'Would you want to be in a show about a group of rappers from the '90s?' I probably would've said no based off the question because we come from that era and it's a big deal for it to be authentic and amazing and he's done such a great job. It's great. I love it."

Watch the video below for more on the ABC series.

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