Molly Bernard Reveals Why She Calls Hilary Duff ‘Mama’ (Exclusive)

Molly Bernard I couldn’t survive new mom life without it Hilary Duff by her side.

On Friday, November 8, the 36-year-old actress caught up with PEOPLE following her Broadway debut as Rachel Dahl Cult of lovea new show that follows the Christian family the Dahls as they reunite for a chaotic Christmas dinner.

Bernard describes her character to PEOPLE, saying, “I play Rachel Dahl, who is married to Mark, the eldest son. I’m a Jew, which is a little difficult for the hyper-Christian family we’re in,” she says, and adds, “I think Rachel is a very important example of how the family does or doesn’t deal with differences. Rachel and Mark are at a precipice of change in their marriage.”

In February 2023, Bernard and her wife Hanna Lieberman welcomed their first child, a “spicy baby girl.” She tells PEOPLE she couldn’t have gotten through the past two years without the advice of Younger costar Duff, who is the mother of daughters Towns6 months, Ma James3, and Banks Violet5, with husband Matthew Koma and son Luca Cruz12, with ex-husband Mike Comrie.

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“Every day she gives me motherhood advice,” Bernard, godmother to Duff’s four children, tells PEOPLE. “I just call her ‘Mom,’ and I don’t even say, ‘Sorry, I’m transferring to you.’ It’s just, ‘Hello, Mom!'”

She adds that when it comes to motherhood, “You can’t do it alone. It’s the most humbling, exhilarating experience. And it doesn’t just take a village, you need a whole community of cheerleaders and people who are going to do it.” do with You.”

Bernard shares with PEOPLE that her daughter and Duff’s children are good friends, and that their age differences “match perfectly.”

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“I feel like my daughter was a nice little preparation for their new baby coming in,” Bernard adds of Duff and Koma’s newborn Townes. ‘They’re obsessed with her. It’s great.’

Becoming a mother to her daughter has been “the most incredible experience of my life,” Bernard tells PEOPLE, adding, “I know it’s cliche.”

“I was terrified of becoming a mother. It’s scary! And it’s the greatest, most loving thing that has ever happened to me,” she says sweetly.