There’s no shortage of memorable on-screen chemistry in TV history, but the pairing of Land of Women star Eva Longoria and Christmas Next Door star Jesse Metcalfe on Desperate Housewives is one fans still talk about. Now, years after the show ended, Longoria is looking back at those days — and reveals the real secret behind those steamy scenes was non-stop laughter.
In a recent interview with PEOPLE, Longoria opened up about her time working with Metcalfe, who played teenage gardener John Rowland in an affair storyline with her character Gabrielle Solis. “Every scene with Jesse — we had so much fun,” she said. “We laughed so much.”
One thing Longoria was quick to clear up is the age perception around their characters. Metcalfe was 25 years old during filming, while Longoria herself was just 29 — despite their characters being written as a 17-year-old and a 40-year-old respectively. “I was aged up and he was aged down. People always forget that,” she noted.
On filming all those intimate scenes, she added: “We had so many bathtub scenes and sex scenes — you have to lighten the mood sometimes.” And lighten it they did, according to both stars.
Longoria had nothing but kind words for her co-star: “I adore Jesse Metcalfe.” She said she’s genuinely happy it was him by her side when the show became a global phenomenon, calling him “amazing then and still an amazing human being.”
Metcalfe has previously shared similar memories with PEOPLE, saying that while the scenes “could be awkward at times,” the two were always laughing and never took things too seriously.
Desperate Housewives aired on ABC from 2004 to 2012 and remains one of the most-watched dramas of its era. A reboot starring Kerry Washington is currently in development.
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