If there’s one thing The White Lotus consistently delivers, it’s rich people spiraling in luxury. But in season 3, amidst all the wealth-induced existential crises, we also got something rare: a tender sex scene. Yes, I’m talking about the same show. In a show filled with messy affairs and power plays in the bedroom, Aimee Lou Wood and Walton Goggins’ characters give us a moment of actual intimacy — and it wasn’t by accident.
In a recent interview with Elle, Aimee spilled the tea on how she and Walton worked with The White Lotus’ intimacy coordinator, Miriam Lucia, and creator, Mike White, to craft a scene that felt meaningful, not just spicy. She made it clear: this wasn’t going to be a throwaway sex scene for the shock factor.
Though, I was still pretty surprised. Walton’s character, Rick, isn’t exactly super sweet or gentle to his girlfriend (Aimee’s character), Chelsea, up until this point. But I guess that stress management course Chelsea forces him into really makes a difference because after that, a pretty awkward dinner, and then a conversation about him leaving for a few days — they have some pretty tender, loving sex.
So, how did they pull it off? Well, according to Aimee, it was definitely a team effort. Here’s what Aimee has said about the sex scene in The White Lotus.
Their Intimacy Coordinator Was A Huge Help
Intimacy coordinators are (thankfully) pretty standard in the industry these days when it comes to any sort of sex scenes, and The White Lotus definitely took part. Aimee said that their intimacy coordinator, Miriam Lucia, was super informed by the actors when guiding a scene.
“She’s like, ‘You tell me your vision for this scene, and I will make sure that we can execute that in a safe way where everyone’s happy,'” Aimee said.
They Set A Lot Of Intention Behind The Sex Scene
Aimee explained that her and Walton were super vocal about how they wanted Rick and Chelsea to interact — and what message they wanted to portray with the way they had sex.
It wasn’t lost on Aimee that Rick had not shown Chelsea a lot of tenderness up until that point. “So we have to make sure that when they’re physical and intimate in that way, that you see the love,” Aimee said. “We don’t want it to be like a fucking gratuitous [sex scene]. We wanted it to be very tender.”
Aimee Actually Had Control Over The Final Cut
Aimee and Walton weren’t just involved up until they yelled, “Cut.” Aimee explained that Miriam had let them both go into a room and watch the scene so that the actors could get the final say.
“She was very much like, ‘Is this okay with you?’ And Mike was very much like, ‘Yes, go and show Aimee that scene, and it will be her that can approve,'” she explained.
