Ava Von Richter (Secret Life of a Celebrity Surrogate)

**Ava Von Richter** (Brianne Davis) is the main villainess from the 2020 Lifetime film, *Secret Life of a Celebrity Surrogate* (airdate September 19, 2020).

## Introduction

Ava Von Richter was a famous actress who was introduced as a woman who (along with her husband, Hayden Von Richter) was looking to have a child, leading to Ava seeking out a surrogate. Ava's assistant, Cassidy, chose main protagonist Olivia Bolton, whom she introduced to the couple and who was charmed by both halves--especially Ava, who stated that she had three eggs remaining, but her embryo rejected them.

Olivia accepted Ava's offer to carry her child, though she quickly noticed Ava's eagerness to get Olivia pregnant, and ended up on the receiving end of verbal lashing from Ava when she didn't become pregnant quickly enough. After taking the proper fertility drugs, Olivia became pregnant and informed the Von Richters, who expressed elation before Hayden attempted to coerce Olivia into a menage-a-trois, with Olivia backing away. As the film progressed, Olivia noticed the couple's strange behavior as well as a near-physical confrontation from Hayden towards Ava, though Cassidy--in response to Olivia's concerns--simply told Olivia to continue playing her role and keep quiet. All the while, Ava kept Olivia on a strict diet and monitored her every move.

Having enough of being watched relentlessly, Olivia left the house and went to the police with her fears about the couple, but before she could give her report, she saw the Von Richters on TV mentioning Olivia, with Ava claiming that Olivia was unstable and had run off with their baby. In addition, Ava portrayed Olivia as a thief by claiming that she had stolen Ava's necklace, which belonged to her great-grandmother (Ava had given the necklace to Olivia as a *gift*), leading to Officer Woll taking Olivia and returning her to the Von Richters.

## Reveal

    Ava berated Olivia and accused her of being ungrateful and deceitful, the latter in response to Olivia's statement regarding Hayden and Ava's argument, and afterwards, Ava locked Olivia in an isolated room as punishment. Olivia's attempt to escape was thwarted when Cassidy caught her, leading to Olivia being shackled inside her room. Though later on, in the film's climax, a tearful Ava entered and informed Olivia that Hayden left her, and regarding the baby, Ava stated that due to her and Hayden being separated, the pregnancy would be terminated. The villainess ignored Olivia's pleas and left her in the room, after which Olivia's labor pains were heard by Cassidy.

Olivia informed Cassidy that Ava planned to terminate her pregnancy, after which both women escaped the house. Upon realizing that both Olivia and Cassidy were gone, Ava chased after the pair and ran them off the side of the road, then held the pair at gunpoint and ordered them to return to her. It was after Ava stated to Olivia that she didn't "get to have it all" that Olivia realized the truth: Ava was fully unable to have children, and the baby was actually Olivia's. As it turned out, Ava masked her infertility and devised what was ultimately revealed as a kidnapping scheme, which involved impregnating a surrogate and taking her child. In addition, the evil Ava revealed that Cassidy had known the truth about her boss and pointed out Olivia to her, and during the reveal, the deranged villainess lashed out at both women, as Ava had paid to save Cassidy's ill mother in the past.

Olivia suddenly gained the upper hand by kicking Ava's ankle and taking the gun. An enraged Ava arrogantly declared that Olivia was a nobody, only for Olivia to throw her arrogance back at her face, stating that Olivia was the nobody who was having a baby, while Ava never would, and ultimately defeated Ava by using the gun to strike Ava in the face, knocking her out. Olivia and Cassidy managed to escape to safety, and Olivia ended up at a hospital and gave birth to a baby girl. The film's final scenes revealed that Ava was arrested (off-screen) for her scheme, therefore destroying any chance of Ava achieving her lifelong goal of having a baby.