You’d think having to act out excruciating mind games and volatile fight scenes for years with your significant other might have an adverse affect on a relationship, but that’s simply not the case for Grace Van Patten and Jackson White. The Tell Me Lies stars began dating after meeting on the show’s set, and in their four years together, they’ve managed to keep Lucy and Stephen’s very obvious issues separate from their IRL romance. In fact, they see their relationship as a helpful tool for bringing their characters to life.
As the psychosexual drama series enters its third season, Van Patten and White have gotten pretty familiar with the benefits of dating your co-star. When asked by Elite Daily if their actual relationship makes it easier or harder to play a toxic, on-again-off-again couple, they both respond at the same time: “Easier.”
“I think if I had to do this with anyone else, it’d be really, really hard,” Van Patten says. “I think the only reason we’re able to get there is because we feel so safe with each other and we trust each other so much.” She can’t imagine having to play out Lucy and Stephen’s dynamic opposite someone she didn’t feel as strongly about. “If a stranger was acting that way in a scene with me, I’d probably be really, really scared,” Van Patten says.
The couple doesn’t only see how their relationship helps them film the show — they’ve also spoken about how working on the same series together has strengthened their bond.
“We’ve had the same schedule for the past four years. When we’re working, it’s lined up. When we’re not working, it’s lined up,” Van Patten said in a Jan. 7 interview with NYLON. “It’s been really nice to go through that with someone, having the same anxieties and talking each other through it. We both handle it in different ways, but it’s the same anxiety.”
