As fans bid adieu to ‘Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’ on April 5, there are so many reasons to be thankful for the four seasons of The CW comedy musical. From mental health issues to body image issues to sexism and sexuality, the show has addressed many difficult issues, while also narrating a beautiful and oftentimes heart-breaking story of Rebecca (Rachel Bloom), who struggles to find her footing in the world.

During her colorful and musical journey, we also met a bunch of characters that we fell in love with equally, including her once-nemesis Valencia, portrayed by the gorgeous Gabrielle Ruiz. Valencia, who was introduced as the controlling girlfriend of Josh (Vincent Rodriguez III), the man of Rebecca’s dream.

Despite a rough beginning, Rebecca and Valencia managed to forge a beautiful friendship, while also growing immensely as human beings. Valencia’s character growth especially is commendable – she went from a conforming queen b***h to an independent businesswoman, rapidly, and at least a part of the credit for that goes to her girlfriend Beth (Emma Willmann).

Beth and Valencia have a beautiful relationship together, and they challenge each other to be better versions of themselves, but there was a moment in season 4 where we saw an alternative future for Valencia. To say that it was frustrating and heartbreaking for us to see what could have been between Father Brah (Rene Gube) and Valencia would be an understatement – and Ruiz definitely seems to agree.

The actress told MEA WorldWide (MEAWW) how she understood and respected the story and the lesson of “the one that got away,” but she was heartbroken over it nonetheless.

“Then you see Valencia as she is now, and [it shows that] the Universe's plans are far more fun for Valencia than her own, and I can relate to that even just being a part of the show. I had no idea what my life would be like four years down the line,” she said.

The storyline also perfectly represented Valencia’s growth and in the show and her current maturity. “I do enjoy our showrunners and creators - Rachel Bloom and Aline McKenna - has honored that side of the story…Of course, she would love to be implicit in that moment and run away into the sunset, but there are the people that got away and you honor that and it becomes platonic, and I respected that, as heartbroken as I was.”

She further adds, “The only thing I told Rachel and Elaine that I wish I could have Valencia play out, just for Gabrielle's sake, just to get it off her chest, and to confront Hector for the Lettermen jacket moment because that's a little too mature for Gabrielle. I would have probably had that confrontational moment of her going 'What the hell, Hector!' would have been there.”

Further, she talks about the joys of working with Gube. “I have always been good friends since we met doing 'Crazy Ex-Girlfriend' together, and when we had the chance to play together and act together as two characters that really never co-acted in all of the seasons we were very excited, and, it made complete sense,” she says, adding that she felt pride in being able to portray a romantic lead between a Philipino man and a Latina woman.