Shorty Sweethearts We Had To Hide Our Love

They took their on-set fireworks home ...

- Ellen Mackenzie

While her onscreen marriage is falling apart, Shortland Street star Ngahuia Piripi’s real-life romance couldn’t be better.

But as the beauty cuddles up to her boyfriend and former co-star Teone Kahu at our Woman’s Day photo shoot, she confesses there was once a time when the pair couldn’t stand each other.

“We’re not the typical fairytale,” laughs 27-year old Ngahuia, who plays Doctor Esther Samuels on the beloved Kiwi soap. “We met while working on a play three years ago, but it wasn’t till he started the show in 2016 that we got together.”

Yet even after Teone, 25, started on Shorty, the blossoming romance had a rocky start. “We clashed immediately,” confesses Ngahuia, laughing. “After our very first scene that we shot together, I wanted to murder him! He was telling me what to do and I was like, ‘Don’t tell me what to do – you just started and I’ve been here for much longer!’”

Teone, 25, recalls, “We didn’t plan for it to happen, but for some reason, we just kept bumping into each other – at the supermarket, at the same party, then work. That’s what made us think maybe we should give this a shot.”