Real life romances behind ‘insane’ show that has viewers hooked

There’s no denying Jackson White, who is the son of American actress Katey Sagal, and Grace van Patten have electric chemistry as Stephen DeMarco and Lucy Albright – so it’s no surprise they’ve found love together outside of the show. 

Their relationship on Tell Me Lies is turbulent and toxic at the best of times, but off-screen, they appear very happy and loved up. As Grace confirmed to People, their real-life love is “way less dramatic” than their on-screen counterparts. 

Jackson and Lucy first met during the casting process of Tell Me Lies, which premiered in 2022. They sparked dating rumours early on after the show came out, but didn’t confirm their relationship until later that year. 

Grace opened up about how they started dating on the Call Her Daddy podcast in October 2025. She admitted to host Alex Cooper that she “didn’t like Jackson” when she first met him over Zoom for a chemistry read, as she perceived him to be a “serious actor”. But her opinion changed after their second meeting. 

Grace said they “vibed instantly” during a dinner with some mutual friends. “It was that night we were both like, ‘We have a crush on each other.’ This is probably the worst thing that could happen. We sat on the stoop for I think like six hours and talked about every reason we should not act on this. And then I kissed him.” 

The pair were already dating by the time Jackson was cast and filming on the first season began. And they’re still going strong three seasons into the show. Speaking of the show’s success, Grace said: “Honestly, it was so fun to go through it with [Jackson] because I think alone, it’d be a lot more overwhelming and maybe more startling or something.

“But because we’re together and it’s happening to us because we’re on this show together, it feels like we’re really in it with each other.”