Kim Coles Says ‘Living Single’ Ladies Were So Close, Their Cycles Synced (Exclusive)

The cast of Living Single had some of the best chemistry on television, and according to Kim Coles, 63, and former costar Erika Alexander, 55, that was very much because of the tight-knit relationships they had formed behind the scenes. 

In a joint interview with PEOPLE, Coles revealed that the ladies on the show got so close, their menstrual cycles were synced at some point. 

“There’s something that no one has ever said, and I don’t know if you remember this, Erika, our cycles would link up,” she says. 

“[When] you spend this much time on set every day — it takes a week to rehearse and shoot and do these shows — so after about a month of coming back following a hiatus or two, our cycles would actually link up,” Coles explains. “It was fun, I’m sure, for everybody and fun for the fellas to experience,” she tells PEOPLE exclusively. 

But synced cycles weren’t the only indicator of their closeness. According to Coles, because she and Queen Latifah shared space backstage, the two of them got to enjoy certain experiences other castmates didn’t. 

“So backstage, we had something called quick change booths … where you can quickly get dressed, touch up your makeup, and be ready for the next scene. Well, for some reason or another, everyone had individual quick-change booths, but Latifah and I shared the same one. It was just like a double-wide trailer or something,” she explains.

“I went to — it’s closed now — but I went to Pier 1 Imports, and I got a little area rug, I got a little sofa in there, we had a little side table. At the time, we both were smoking cigarettes, I had an ashtray. We weren’t supposed to be smoking on set. We’d sit there in our underwear like sisters and smoke and prepare and put on our pantyhose and just laugh, and I would give her facials sometimes — I’m sure I got on her nerves — and just laugh and play.”

And while Coles was happy to give their space some upgrades, she was also intentional in her nurturing of the “Ladies First” rapper because she had just suffered a huge personal loss. 

“I felt like it was my job … We knew that Latifah had just lost her brother [in] a motorcycle accident, and I was keenly aware that I wanted to keep her joyful and laughing in this time of great pain, and they were very close. And so I felt like it was my job to sort of be the court jester to the queen, with jokes and all that. That was my job.”

Coles and Alexander recently launched their “official unofficial” rewatch podcast, ReLiving Single, where they not only sit down, rewatch the episodes and dissect the show together, but they also give fans some behind-the-scenes tidbits about everything that was going on off-camera. 

Asked whether or not she’s watched the show in the 27 years it’s been off air, Coles says she caught an episode here and there, but hasn’t actively searched for the show. 

“I had stopped searching for it. If I caught it, I caught it. If I was in a hotel room and it was on, it was on. I hadn’t watched it. I mean, let me tell you, I was grateful for it every time a residual check showed up,” she joked. 

“[I was like] it must be airing because of the residual check. And over the years, the residual checks have slowed down and they’ve gotten smaller and smaller, but then it moved to Hulu and another check!”

“It pops up when somebody says, ‘I was just watching an episode,’ or I see a clip on YouTube. So it is delightful for me. It’s been delightful for me to do this rewatch podcast and to actually be rewatching the shows. It holds up.”

ReLiving Single is available on Spotify, YouTube and everywhere you get podcasts.