The Suite Life of Zack and Cody Star Kim Rhodes Says Show’s Fans Still Call Her ‘Mom’ (Exclusive)

If you see Kim Rhodes on the street, the word “mom” might be out of your mouth before you know why.

“There’s something about my voice, and people recognize my voice, and they’re like, ‘Mom?’ ” Rhodes, who played Carey Martin on Disney’s The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, tells PEOPLE exclusively. “The ‘mom’ comes out of their mouth before they back up and are like, ‘Oh, this person is an actor’… It’s the best, and it’s usually the millennial generation, the generation that I raised, that’s now out and about, who are much quicker to clock my voice.”

But it speaks to the bond that Rhodes, 56, formed with the viewers of The Suite Life of Zack & Cody over the show’s three seasons, from 2005 to 2008 (the series also got a sequel, The Suite Life on Deck, in which Rhodes appeared as a guest).

Rhodes’ Carey was the lounge singer at the Tipton Hotel, where she raised her two sons: Cole Sprouse’s Cody and Dylan Sprouse’s Zack. Rounding out the show’s chaotic gang were Brenda Song as heiress London Tipton, Ashley Tisdale as Maddie Fitzpatrick and Phill Lewis as beleaguered manager Mr. Moseby. Carey, she says, wasn’t a perfect mom, but “a little messy” and “a little outside the box.”

When fans do see her, they ask for one thing: a hug. “It’s the best,” Rhodes says, and she loves “connecting and sharing a moment.”

“I connect to a safer time,” she says. “I connect to some time when we could just be with each other and have fun. I love that.” 

Rhodes says that at the time Suite Life was airing, she had “zero” awareness of its popularity. “I had come out of doing like outdoor Shakespeare and a soap opera,” she explains. “I had no idea what this was capable of doing. I just showed up for work and probably didn’t appreciate it as much as I should have, but that gives me a great deal of gratitude now when I look back on it.”

One particular episode stands out, season 2’s “Birdman of Boston,” where Cody adopts a hawk. “It’s this whole episode about motherhood,” Rhodes remembers, and she shares that writer Jim Geoghan wrote it as a “gift” to Rhodes after her mom died. “That’s the level of heart connection we had on that show,” she says. 

Since Rhodes knows the importance of a little old school comfort, she’s partnered with M&M’s for their M&M’S PB&J Packed Lunch Special, a free packed lunch that 500 fans in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Austin, Texas and Nashville, Tenn. can get on July 29. The lunch comes with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a fruit cup, carrots, pretzels, sparkling water and two packs of M&M’S PB&J (one for you, and one to trade with a friend).  

“You deserve a treat,” Rhodes says. “Adulting is hard. You are working so hard. So give yourself permission to slow down and have a treat.”

On July 29, starting at 12 p.m, EST, M&M’S fans can order their lunch from the brand’s website. 

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