Soul sisters LILY & JODIE'S OUTRAGEOUS FRIENDSHIP

The girl-mance has gone into overdrive since the love hunt

After appearing on Celebrity Treasure Island NZ last year, reality TV star Lily McManus and Kiwi actress Jodie Rimmer walked away with more than a Fijian tan and an aversion to white rice. The dynamic duo left the island as best friends.

And now the vivacious BFFs are back on telly together, with mum-of-two Jodie narrating Lily’s latest starring role on The Bachelorette NZ on TVNZ 2.

Chatting to Woman’s Day during a rollicking photoshoot at Ponsonby’s Blue Breeze Inn, which involves cocktails and plenty of hilarious banter, the pair can’t help but finish each other’s sentences, shrieking with laughter and sharing the same unconventional humour.

“We met on Celebrity Treasure Island and after about a day I was like, ‘Oh my gosh! I’m you in 20 years,’” grins Lily, 23, who was runner-up on the Zac Franich series of The Bachelor NZ.

“Jodie’s brain works the same as mine, and seeing all the life experience she has and how she’s such a great woman makes me think I’ll be stoked to end up like her.”

Former Shortland Street star Jodie, 45, is quick to note their age gap, joking, “Let’s say in 10 years!”

While the Auckland-based women would be the life of any party, surviving the day’s photoshoot on a few hours’ sleep after a night out together, there’s far more to their friendship than a heap of fun. They share a deep bond that pushes Jodie to tears as she talks about watching Lily evolve on the hit show.