Plus, the ‘Saved by the Bell’ alum opens up to Parade about turning 50.
Mario Lopez isn’t the only member of his family with fancy footwork.
While the actor’s dance skills were well-documented on Saved by the Bell and in the Dancing with the Stars ballroom, these days Mario shows off his moves on TikTok with his 13-year-old daughter, Gia Lopez.
Related: See the ‘Saved By the Bell’ Cast Then and Now
“She’s like a little Paula Abdul. She will learn the dances on TikTok, show them to me [and] my wife [Courtney], and then we’ll record them,” Lopez told Parade in an exclusive interview to promote Laffy Taffy‘s first card game, The Last Laff.
Gia, the “mastermind” behind the TikToks, is the oldest of Mario’s children. He and his wife, who wed in 2012, also share sons Santino, 4, and Dominic, 10.
Last month, the family celebrated Mario’s milestone 50th birthday. Entering the new decade admittedly brought on a slew of emotions for the dad of three.
“At first, I was a little scared, then a little depressed, then I accepted it, and now I’ve leaned into it and I’m happy,” he confessed. “And I feel very blessed because it’s a moment where you kind of pause and reflect. How you got there, what’s to come.”
Apart from the wisdom that comes with getting older, Mario noted “you sweat the small stuff as much.” He said, “I’m always a happy guy, but being even happier because little things don’t bother you.”
The Access Hollywood co-host was 15 when he started on Saved by the Bell playing A.C. Slater. As for whether there’s anything he’d tell his younger self, Mario shared, “It’s hard because the times are different. You want to pause, you want to reflect, you want appreciate the time, the moment that you’re in and kind of focus at the task at hand, maybe not get as distracted, but I really wouldn’t change too much because it kind formed the person I am today.”
He added, “I think you gotta have bumps along the road, make mistakes to kind of grow and learn.”
SOURCE:PARADE