When Never Have I Ever first hit Netflix, viewers met Fabiola Torres—the robotics-obsessed best friend whose coming-out arc gave the teen comedy its quiet heart. Actor Lee Rodriguez tells us stepping into Fabiola’s shoes felt like slipping into a mirror: “She’s geeky, she’s loyal, and she’s suddenly questioning everything she thought she knew about herself.” Over four seasons, that mirror turned into a spotlight for queer Afro-Latina visibility on mainstream TV.
Rodriguez recalls the Season-1 table read where Fabiola blurts “I’m gay” to her robot, Gears Brooks, before she can tell her mom. “The room went silent, then everyone exhaled and applauded,” Lee says—proof the writers understood how a single line can echo through bedrooms far from Hollywood. Fan DMs soon followed: high-schoolers thanking her for normalising STEM-nerd lesbians, parents sharing that Fabiola helped them start conversations at the dinner table.
The final season deepens the character’s evolution from closeted panic to confident partner. Rodriguez worked with show-runner Mindy Kaling to infuse cultural nuance: Fabiola speaks Spanglish at home, debates natural hair politics, and still crushes robotics competitions—with a queer girlfriend cheering courtside. “It’s not a trauma plot,” Lee stresses. “It’s first love, awkward dates, and homework—just gay.”
Rodriguez also teases the romance fans begged for: Fabiola and tennis ace Addison finally get a storyline that goes beyond hallway flirtations. On-set intimacy coordinators choreographed their first kiss to feel authentic, not token. “We shot it like any teen rom-com moment—soft lighting, butterflies, the works,” Lee smiles. “Representation shouldn’t come with half-effort cinematography.”
Away from the camera, Rodriguez mentors LGBTQ students through virtual robotics camps, proving nerd cred and queer pride aren’t mutually exclusive. Next up: a sci-fi podcast role and producing a short film about Afro-Latinx families in tech. “Fabiola helped me feel seen,” Lee says. “Now it’s my turn to pass the flashlight.”
