Sad Details About Hallmark Star Erica Cerra

The following article includes references to mental health issues.

Erica Cerra has enjoyed success both in her professional and personal life. That's not to say there aren't sad details about the Hallmark star. Cerra had a hard time accommodating motherhood and her TV roles, ultimately choosing to prioritize her family. But her decision wasn't easy. She has opened up about her desire to reclaim her career now that her daughter and son are a bit older. After all, she welcomed her daughter shortly after "Eureka," the Syfy show she is best known for, was abruptly canceled.

That also marked a difficult time for Cerra, especially because she was blindsided by the cancellation and felt like a rug was pulled from under her feet. While she was dealing with the repercussions of being a mom, she also lost her mother. Coming to terms with the death brought up a lot of emotions, filling Cerra with regret for not making more time for her mother. The actor learned her lesson, though. After the death, she made it a point to spend more time with her father. But those days were also numbered.

A few years after she lost her mother, Cerra's father also died. Unlike her previous experience, she found solace in knowing she had enjoyed his last years to the fullest. All these life-changing events happened within a decade. She found it hard to cope with the many different emotions at times. During those years, she developed depression. Cerra has a lot to be grateful for, but she also knows a thing or two about struggling.

Erica Cerra lost her mother in October 2013, an event that left a deep mark on her. For most of her life, Cerra was unable to take in the influence her mom had imparted on her. That began to change after she herself became a mother. In May 2012, she welcomed her daughter, Talia Serafina, with her husband, Raffaele Fiore. But by then, she would only have a little over a year to appreciate her mother's efforts and her company.

Cerra shared her complicated feelings with her fans in a candid October 2019 Instagram post to mark her mother's death anniversary. "Most of my childhood I was so independent, I felt I needed no one. When I became a woman, and then a mother, I realized how much I needed my parents," she wrote. "6 years ago today I watched my mother take her last breath and cry her last tear. I am so sorry I wasted precious time with you."

Cerra's desire to make amends was so strong that she would be okay with having the ability to talk to dead people. When Sharp magazine asked if she would rather talk to ghosts or aliens in a 2016 interview, she pondered for a while before reaching her conclusion. "That's so tough, I can't choose. You know what? I'm going to get a little sensitive and choose ghosts because I lost my mother and I'd want to speak to her," she said.

Losing her mother was tough, but Erica Cerra at least still had her father. That would only last less than seven years, as Cerra also lost him in May 2020. "Today I said goodbye to my Hero; My Pappy. He was the first man I ever loved. My biggest supporter and the most devoted father," she mourned on Instagram.

When Father's Day rolled around the following month, she had a difficult time reconciling her grief while celebrating both her father and husband. "I am mourning the loss of the best father a child could ever have... And at the same time celebrating the best father a child could ever have," she said in a June 2020 Instagram post, referring to both men. What consoled her was knowing that she spent her dad's final days with him.

Her father died during the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic when lockdown was at its peak. "Because of it I was able to help take care and spend more quality time with him," she wrote in a January 2021 Instagram post. Cerra was particularly close with her dad, who was a big influence on all aspects of her life, including her taste in film and TV. "My dad and I used to watch sci-fi all the time, my dad's a huge science fiction fan, a huge 'X-Files' fan," she told SicFi Vision ahead of the release of the Syfy film "Mega Cyclone."

Between 2018 and 2019, Erica Cerra went through a hard period in her life that affected her mental health. In a May 2019 Instagram post, she shared an inspirational quote paired with a candid caption that gave insight into what was going on in her mind. "I don't know about you... but this sh_t is hard!! I WANT HAPPINESS. I WANT MORE. I WANT BETTER," she wrote in the caption.

In the hashtags added at the end of the post, Cerra revealed she had been facing depression. The Hallmark star also showed that she wanted to overcome her health struggle by tagging #beatdepression and #lifeishard. A few months earlier, she had made another post suggesting she had been struggling but was trying her best to feel better. "No matter how you feel. Get up, dress up, show up and never give up," the message she shared on Instagram read. She also added inspirational hashtags to the caption.

In December of the previous year, Cerra showed a preoccupation with mental health when she shared a free number that folks in her native Canada who were struggling with the so-called holiday blues could text to get help. "Please reach out for support and stay safe," she captioned the Instagram post. In early 2020, Cerra opened up about how hard the 2010s had been for her. "At some point I was so focused on my sadness and my anger, many wonderful joyful moments passed me by," she reflected on Instagram.

If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.

"Eureka" fans everywhere were delighted when Syfy announced the network had renewed the show for a sixth season in 2011. The bad news was that it would be the show's final season. Then came the shocker. A week after announcing a new season, Syfy decided to cancel "Eureka" after Season 5. Fans weren't the only ones shocked; the news hit Erica Cerra just as hard.

Just like everyone else, Cerra never saw that one coming. "It's like you're a little kid and someone's eating ice cream in front of you and says, 'Did you want a bite? Sucker!' It's all of those things wrapped up in one big cup of 'this sucks,'" she told The Wrap shortly after learning the news. She was just as relieved as the show's fans to learn that Syfy would at least add an extra episode to Season 5 to allow for a proper finale. "That hopefully will give the writers the opportunity to have some sort of a closure," she said.

It didn't help that the network never gave a proper reason for its decision to abruptly cancel the series days after teasing a new season. "Unfortunately, I think it was a financial decision, although I can't be sure. We have not heard anything definite," Cerra told The Hollywood Reporter. Despite the sad news, she remained optimistic for her post-"Eureka" career prospects. "I feel prepared to tackle whatever my next role is in full force," she added.

Erica Cerra's career seemingly took a hit after she became a mother, particularly after welcoming her second child. In a 2022 Instagram post, she hinted at the struggle of reconciling motherhood and her acting career after her daughter and son were born in 2012 and 2016, with the Hallmark star living a mostly normal life afterward. "I love being a Mom, but I miss being fancy! To a future of fame and fancy!! I'm taking back my life and my career!" she captioned the post.

Cerra included a throwback photo from when she was pregnant with her son, Michele. "This is the last photo shoot I did, I was 4 months pregnant, it was 6 years ago," she noted. Cerra had previously discussed how motherhood had affected her approach to her work, noting that becoming a mother changed her priorities. "When I had [my daughter], I had an amazing epiphany about life and what the important things in life are," she told Icon vs. Icon in 2016.

The death of her mother, which happened not long after Talia was born, pushed Cerra's focus even further away from her career. "These two unbelievably intense things have happened to me in the past few years and experiences like these open your heart," she noted. That doesn't mean she lost interest in her work. "I don't have the desperation that I feel I had before and might have gotten in the way," she explained.