Notoriously low-key actor Lance Gross opens up this weekend about fatherhood, love and his baby daughter in a big way with an exclusive interview with Daver-Campbell.com, and his words will make you swoon.
In November, celebrity photographer Gross, 33, and his fiancé Rebecca Jefferson welcomed the birth of their baby girl, Berkeley Brynn Gross. Since then Gross has made fatherhood and his family his first priority. “I made the choice to be there, not just for her birth, but to help and be there for Becca,” said Gross. “Nothing was more important than those moments.”
Gross, who recently guest starred on Grey’s Anatomy, admits he turned down a great job offer that he’d already accepted to be sure he didn’t miss a moment of fatherhood. “When Becca was in her last stages of pregnancy, I got offered an acting gig that shot in another city for a few months,” he said. “I turned it down because, I had taken the job, there was a good chance I’d miss out on Berkeley’s birth. Before Berkeley was even thought of there was no way I’d turn a job like that down – no way, no how. But in my situation, I wanted to be present. I wanted to live every moment.”
Gross, who has been as well known for his lifestyle photography as his acting these days, revealed that he’s reveling in the joys of fatherhood. “Some of the most rewarding experiences being a father is being able to be present,” he said. “Spending as many moments as I can with my little girl. It’s amazing how things shift from worrying about yourself and what’s next to this new life you’ve created.”
For Gross and Jefferson, the actor said it was chemistry at first sight: “Rebecca! That’s my partner in crime on so many levels,” he said. “She’s beyond a best friend. She’s such a cool individual that isn’t afraid to march to the beat of her own drum. I find a lot of inspiration in that. She doesn’t sweat small stuff and keeps a positive outlook from A to Z. We clicked immediately. That’s my type of energy. We met by chance in Santa Monica. We kind of kept crossing paths that day. At a certain point, I spoke up and simply asked her to let me take her to dinner.”
A special love requires a one-of-a-kind proposal, and when it came time to ask Jefferson to be his wife, Gross did just that. He revealed that he popped the question during a couples’ trip to Cabo for New Years with friends in 2013. “During the countdown I handed her a pen and a card I made. It was the one with the old school, grade school style notes you would pass in class to ask a girl if they like you. Yes or no. Except mine was asking her to marry me. By the time she read it. I was down on my knee with the ring in hand.” Are you swooning yet? Because the moment only got better. “As she said, ‘yes’ the fireworks filled the air and that’s how we brought in 2014. I told none of my friends on the trip. It was a complete surprise to her and them.”
Aww! For more great stories from Gross and details about his new role on his NBC pilot read the rest of interview here.