'Riverdale' Star Marisol Nichols Opens Up About Her Divorce: 'I Don't Mind Starting Over'

After filing for divorce from her husband of 10 years, Taron Lexton, in November, Marisol Nichols is ready for her next act.

The Riverdale star told PEOPLE that she can relate to the position her character, Hermione Lodge, found herself in at the beginning of season 1, when her husband’s imprisonment turned her life upside down.

“Right now I kind of feel like that, like there is a new beginning, a new start, a new chapter in your life,” Nichols said at the Vicks VapoCOOL Experience to celebrate the launch of DayQuil and NyQuil SEVERE with VapoCOOL. “I think everyone goes through those phases.”

“I don’t mind starting over, I don’t mind starting new things. I think it’s exciting, it’s another opportunity. That’s how I look at it,” she added.

Nichols is as busy as ever, raising 10-year-old daughter Rain India while starring in the CW hit. Luckily, Rain enjoys tagging along to filming, and has even formed a special bond with Camila Mendes, who plays Nichols’ on-screen daughter, Veronica Lodge.

“I won’t let her watch Riverdale, but Rain loves Cami,” Nichols said. “It’s like hero worship every time she comes to set. She’s like ‘Cami!’ They’re really great.”

Mendes is among a handful of Riverdale actors who’ve found love on the show’s Vancouver set, and Nichols approves of her TV daughter’s real-life boyfriend, Charles Melton.

“It’s pretty crazy,” Nichols says of all the cast couplings, which also includes stars Lili Reinhart and Cole Sprouse. “I mean, we’re secluded up there for 10 months out of the year. I know a couple people outside of the show, but otherwise it’s just us. I think it’s kind of a natural thing that it would just — that’s who you’re working with, there you go.”

“And I’m happy. Cami and Charles are great together. He’s such a sweetheart. I’m like, ‘Oh, I like this together. I ship this,'” she continued. “It’s good. I really like it. [And] Lili and Cole are doing great. It’s good.”

As for Riverdale‘s dramatic fictional relationships, Nichols is still hoping Hermione Lodge can escape her toxic pairing with husband Hiram (played by Mark Consuelos) and perhaps reunite with good guy Fred Andrews (Luke Perry).

“I think we’ve known that since season 1, that she shouldn’t have picked Hiram. But, you know, that’s how life is, and sometimes you don’t always make the best decisions,” she said. “I think she had a respect and an admiration for Hiram because of his determination, and I think she maybe had mistaken that for love. Of course, I’ve been there. Who hasn’t?”

Nichols would also like to see Veronica and Archie (KJ Apa) restore their relationship after breaking up earlier this season.

“Archie is any mom’s dream to have him date their daughter,” she said. “I think Hermione is absolutely secretly one hundred percent rooting for them. She’s a mom. The last thing she wants is for Veronica to end up with a guy like Hiram.”