At a Glance
- Stephen forces Lucy to film a false rape confession in season 3’s most disturbing twist
- Real-life couple Grace Van Patten and Jackson White rehearsed the scene “like a play” to nail its darkness
- The actors credit their off-screen relationship for making the brutal material feel safe to explore
- Why it matters: Viewers witness the toxic duo push boundaries further than ever before
Stephen and Lucy reach new depths of dysfunction in Tell Me Lies season 3. After yet another failed reunion, Stephen weaponizes his discovery that Lucy secretly slept with Evan, demanding she record a video admitting she lied about Chris raping her to protect Bree.
“We rehearsed it a lot and got it down and tried to react off each other,” Jackson White, 29, tells News Of Los Angeles alongside Grace Van Patten. “And it was just like anything else – but super dark.”
Rehearsing the Unthinkable
The couple, dating since meeting on set in 2022, approached the harrowing sequence with professional rigor.
- They ran the scene “like a play,” perfecting timing and reactions
- Multiple rehearsals ensured authenticity in every grim beat
- Both actors knew the moment represented the pair’s most vicious on-screen clash
“We had no hesitations to go dark, though,” White says. “I think that’s why it’s great, us working together – we’re safe.”
Safety in Darkness
Their real romance creates a protective bubble that lets them dive into Lucy and Stephen’s ugliest impulses.
“We’re safe,” White emphasizes, explaining that trust allows them to “do whatever the hell we want” even in chilling territory.
Van Patten, 29, recalls shooting the scene and thinking, “This is so f—ing f—ed up.”
“In between takes, you know how far we’re going – which doesn’t stop us from going there – but we knew while filming it, this was the most that they’ve ever had to do to each other and go there,” she says. “It was very obvious.”
Decompressing After Destruction
Once cameras stop rolling, the actors shed their toxic personas with simple rituals.
“It’s a lot easier,” Van Patten says of leaving the intensity at work.
Their post-filming routine:
- Leave set together
- Cook dinner or order in
- Turn on a comforting TV show
- Avoid discussing the day’s darkest material
“We don’t have to talk about work,” White adds. “It seems to be going well.”
“We’re pretty simple creatures, both of us. I think that’s why it’s so easy to live, to be with each other. It’s like, I don’t know. We can both compartmentalize pretty well.”
Life Imitating Art
Van Patten previously told News Of Los Angeles that she and White are “wildly different” from Lucy and Stephen, a distinction that safeguards their relationship.
“It’s like, we get to fight and let it all out on-camera, and then we’re great. It’s our couple’s therapy,” she said.
The actors view the twisted love story as an outlet rather than a reflection of reality, allowing them to exorcise dramatic demons without off-screen fallout.
New episodes of Tell Me Lies stream Wednesdays on Hulu.
