“Sometimes the most challenging times of your life, when you persevere through it become the most rewarding”

Emily In Paris star Ashley Park, who plays the bubbly Mindy, says she was late to filming her scenes in season four due to a sepsis diagnosis.

“It’s wild to watch [season four] back and to know what I was going through,” the 33-year-old told Good Morning America. “But sometimes the most challenging times of your life, when you persevere through it, become the most rewarding.

“It was a big mental and physical struggle for me,” she continues. “I love when people come up and say, ‘This show really lifted me out of a hard time’… I experienced that first-hand. Just showing up to work and being in Mindy’s shoes—or stilettos—and the cast and crew, especially Lily Collins and Paul Forman, being so supportive…It felt like a family there to support you.”

Sepsis is a serious condition where the body responds improperly to an infection. Park’s battle began with a bout of tonsillitis at the beginning of the year and, as per her Instagram post on January 20, spiralled into critical septic shock and infected and affected several of her organs.

During the interview with the morning show, Park broke down in tears watching a scene where Mindy sings a song on the streets of Rome.

“It was my last day of filming… I think it’s a magical thing when the words that you’re singing as a character really match what you’re feeling on the inside,” she says. “It’s about highs and lows and finding something beautiful in devastation and ruins or heartbreak.”

In exciting news, Emily In Paris will return for a fifth season.

“Emily’s going to have a presence in Rome,” said creator and producer Darren Star. “It doesn’t mean she’s not going to be in Paris, but she’s going to have a presence in Rome.”

Emily In Paris Season four, part one and two, is streaming now on Netflix.