Jessica Capshaw Told Grace Van Patten Not to Date Costar Jackson White

Jessica Capshaw has changed her tune on the romantic relationship between Tell Me Lies costars Grace Van Patten and Jackson White.

“I was there from the beginning. I saw it all and I really did,” Capshaw, 48, told Us Weekly exclusively at iHeartRadio’s Jingle Ball on Friday, December 13. “I remember looking at Gracie and saying, ‘Don’t go out with him. … You’re on a show. It’s a series. Could be dangerous.’ Meanwhile, they were already together. I had no idea.”

Capshaw admitted she has “a thing about actors and actresses” being together romantically.

“I’m like, ‘I don’t know guys. I’m not sure it’s a good idea.’ Whatever,” Capshaw recalled. “It was the very beginning of the show — and they publicly said all of this, so I’m not giving anything away.”

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The Grey’s Anatomy star thought, “I shouldn’t have said that” after talking with Van Patten, 28.

Capshaw played the role of CJ Albright during the first season of the Hulu series. Van Patten portrayed her daughter, Lucy Albright on the show. As the first season of Tell Me Lies was airing in 2022, Van Patten and White, 28 — who play on-again, off-again love interests — confirmed that they were dating offscreen.

Real-life romance aside, Tell Me Lies has become a phenomenon, even airing its second season earlier this year.

Capshaw told Us “in no way” did she expect the show to succeed in the way that it did. She actually got the role after working alongside Emma Roberts in the 2020 movie Holidate. (Tell Me Lies is based on a book of the same name by Carola Lovering and Roberts is an executive producer on the show.)

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“My character came up in the first season, I think three episodes or something like that. I hadn’t gotten to read the entire book. I just read the scripts,” Capshaw said, noting that her reaction to the book was “wait a second” because her character was more involved.

“You didn’t quite understand why she was so upset with her mother. But if you read the book, you understood that [Lucy’s mom] slept with her high school crush,” Capshaw said. “I was like, ‘Oh, why didn’t you keep that super naughtiness in?’ I could have been way naughtier.”

Capshaw added that the Tell Me Lies set was “so much fun” overall.

“Honestly, everyone in that show is so good,” she said. “I have been so pleased and excited to just hear everyone. I think it’s very addictive.”

With reporting by Molly McGuigan