This is Us ' Mandy Moore Talks Isolating with Husband Taylor Goldsmith: ‘I’m Just So Grateful’

On NBC’s hit series This Is Us, Mandy Moore took on a heart-wrenching storyline this season when her character, Rebecca, was diagnosed with early-stage dementia.

To prepare, Moore, 36, "wanted to do as much research as possible," she tells PEOPLE in this week's issue. "I threw myself headfirst into watching documentaries, listening to podcasts. I found a book by a man named Greg O’Brien, who’s in the throes of Alzheimer’s. I carried his book like it was my Bible on set."

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Mandy Moore and Justin Hartley on This Is Us

The emotional turn has made her all the more appreciative of her husband of almost two years, Dawes frontman Taylor Goldsmith, 34, and their time together isolating at home.

"I'm just so grateful that I've been quarantined with someone that I like so much and I've learned so much about," she says. "I'm having this unfettered time to spend with my husband at home that I'll never get again."

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The actress has also discovered during the last few months that she's had "a real avoidance for being present sometimes," she adds. "But now I really relish it. I love waking up and having my routine, but being open to whatever the day is going to bring. Doesn’t mean that we all don’t have days where we’re frustrated or feel a little bit more anxious, but I’ve tried to give myself the grace that I’d give other people way more easily."

Frazer Harrison/Getty Mandy Moore

While Moore's tour to promote her solo album has been postponed because of the pandemic, the couple has also been performing together on social media. "The fact that we do get to do it together is such a treat," the actress says. "There’s no substitute for performing live, and that rush of adrenaline — the audience feeding you energy and you them — it’s indescribable. But in the meantime, I get to share these moments with Taylor."

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Just as long as he doesn't interrupt her me-time. "I love the early morning. If my husband wakes up, I’m like, 'Oh, no, no, you stay in bed. I’m going to go out in the living room and just hang,' ” Moore adds playfully. "I write music, I sing. And then I’m in bed by 8 p.m. — like grandma."

This Is Us airs Tuesdays (9 p.m. ET) on NBC.