2 Sides, 1 Story: What It Was Like For This IRL Celebrity Couple To Narrate A Romance Together

Refinery29

a day ago

We're all the main characters in our own story, but flip it into a script about love, and then it becomes two. Two sides, two perspectives. That's how Canadian author Lily Chu structured her latest romance title Rich Girl Summer, now only on Audible, which follows the complicated romance between Valerie Peng and Nico Hever, told from both points of view.
The premise: Valerie poses as a long-lost daughter of a billionaire client to help him uncover a family secret, and ends up falling for his right-hand man, Nico. And for added effect — a layer of love, a bolt of authenticity, a dose of drama — Chu tapped real-life couple Phillipa Soo and Steven Pasquale to voice the two main characters.
Drawing inspiration from the audiobook's format, we interviewed Soo and Pasquale separately about their first date, how they balance their wildly busy acting careers with their personal lives, and what it was like to narrate Rich Girl Summer together. How similar — or different — were their answers? Find out below.
How did you meet?
Phillipa: 'We were set up by our good friend Jonathan Groff. It was kind of a blind date. Looking back, there was definitely a spark. It was so much fun and we connected immediately. We were very similar in terms of our lives and what we did — we're both actors, and we had a lot of mutual friends. We were both having the best time. He's extremely talented, having seen him from afar, but getting to meet him really solidified the fact that I was not only a huge fan of him and his acting, but just as a person. He's really funny and he made me laugh a lot.'
Steven: 'We met through the impossibly charming Jonathan Groff. He insisted that we would get along like a house on fire and he was right. There was an immediate connection.'
What was your first date like?
Phillipa: 'It was at a bar downtown — I don't remember what it was called, but it was a Russian bar — and we met over a couple of drinks, and we laughed non-stop for hours. It was wonderful.'
Steven: 'We went to get drinks at a Russian bar in downtown New York. I can't remember the name — this was 10 years ago at this point.'
Did you know this person was 'the one' for you?
Phillipa: 'I think pretty early on we were both drawn to each other, and within six months we were in a serious relationship. It became very apparent early on that we wanted to make this a lasting thing.'
Steven: 'Not right away, but pretty soon. We were spending a lot of time together and we didn't want to stop spending time together.'
What was your first impression of each other?
Phillipa: 'Really funny, really cute, very talented. He has one of the most beautiful voices I've ever heard. He has a super brain — just very smart and very witty. Again, he made me laugh so much on that first date.'
Steven: 'I thought she was bright. She's so beautiful, but also really bright.'
What was your experience like narrating the dual perspectives in Rich Girl Summer as a real-life couple?
Phillipa: 'The narrative is chronological, but we switch off narrating the chapters from our respective characters' perspectives. When you do any kind of recording, whether it's audio or animation, it's very rare that you get to be in the room with the people you're working with. So, we recorded separately.
'What I learned is that you have to prepare and do your homework before you get into the recording booth, because it'll make your life so much easier when you're there. You have help and support from the sound engineer and director, but you have to learn how to pronounce certain things and understand the different characters' voices because sometimes there are scenes where multiple people are talking.
'There was more communication between Steven and I because we had to talk about what we were thinking for the characters that we were portraying. He recorded his before mine; I remember being in the booth and asking, 'What did Steve do for that part? Can we play it back?' so I could match it in my voice for there to be some sort of consistency. The world that Lily Chu created in Rich Girl Summer was a testament to her writing — she's really specific about each character, who they are, and what they bring, and it's easy to differentiate them because her worlds are so rich; her characters are so rich.
'Steven is a fantastic actor, so there was no doubt in my mind that his side was going to be excellent. It was nice going into the booth — even though I was alone — knowing that I was a part of a collaborative process, that someone I know and love and admire was there doing it alongside me, though not literally. It gave me confidence.'
Steven: 'The irony was that we did it entirely separately. I would do my work in the booth and she would go on a different day and do her work in the booth, and then they put it all together afterwards. So, there wasn't a ton of gazing at each other across the booth.'
What is it like working with each other?
Phillipa: 'He's excellent at what he does and talented and wonderful. The first time we worked together was doing a reading of Kiss Me, Kate, playing opposite each other, and we had a blast. We've also done a TV series together and a production of Guys and Dolls at the Kennedy Center. And every time I learn more about him — because not only is he my scene partner, but also my real partner. Being curious is a really great quality in a relationship. There's always something to learn about yourself and about them, so staying open and curious has been a really great part of our relationship, especially since we get to work together.
'When we were singing and doing the scenes in Guys and Dolls, there was a feeling, a spark, an excitement in the room. People talk about chemistry and are like, 'What does that mean?' For us, it's a very specific thing because we have actual chemistry on stage and [as a couple in real life]. Some of the most fun I've ever had has been on stage with him.'
Steven: 'We starred in a Kennedy Center production of Guys and Dolls together two years ago. And we did a musical Kiss Me, Kate together. We co-starred in a television show called The Bite for Robert and Michelle King during the pandemic. We also did a TV show called The Code together. It's great. Phillipa is a world-class actor, so it's just great to put everything aside and play with a world-class actor. Anytime that happens, it's really fun. It's always a blast.'
How do you balance your career with your personal life? How do you make time for each other?
Phillipa: 'Finding time whenever we can to connect, whether that's on FaceTime if we're long distance, or at the end of the day if we're really busy — even if it's just a cup of tea together and we only have 20 minutes before we're ready to go to bed and the other person just got home from their show. Or, coffee in the morning. Those tiny rituals that make you feel like you're coming back to home base, connecting, and checking it — they certainly make me feel much more grounded, and I can have an amazing day because of it.'
Steven: 'We radically prioritize working in New York City, so that we can at least be in the same geographic space. And we try to be together at the end of the day, even if a day is insane where one of us would be doing a long 16-hour television show and the other's doing a play. It can be hard to balance, but we try to carve out time in our days to spend together. [When we're not in the same city] we call, we text, we FaceTime. FaceTime is the great equalizer of long distance-relationships — it's like being in the same room with a person.'
Do you have the same love language?
Phillipa: 'Meaning, do we express love in the same way? I would say that we have many different ways of expressing our love for each other. I love to cook and so a lot of my day-to-day love language is making a lovely meal for the both of us to share and enjoy. And Steve loves an adventure. We're both big fans of New York; no one loves New York more than Steve. Going out, having an adventure, riding our bikes to a new fun hole-in-the-wall restaurant, having a good time and a good laugh, seeing some incredible art — that's our favorite thing to do.
'He's a big Notre Dame fan and I'm not a sports person at all. At the beginning of our relationship, he told me he was a big Notre Dame fan, and I had no idea what that meant. It involved me learning about football, and now, I watch the game with him because he loves it. He learned how to cook, and I learned how to love watching football.'
Steven: 'I don't know what that means. My love language is Notre Dame football. Is that an acceptable answer? I'm going to put myself in the regular bro category and have no idea what you're even referring to. I'm waving the white flag of surrender on that question.'
What has been the most rom-com moment in your relationship?
Phillipa: 'We laugh a lot. There's always silly things happening. When one of us can make the other one laugh, that's like the best thing. It's just so fun. Constantly joking around and being silly.'
Steven: 'Oh god, she's a very silly fun person, so we have tons of fun all the time, so I couldn't begin to choose one. We are very silly people, so to pick one would be to assume that they are infrequent. They are literally all the time.'
How would you describe your relationship?
Phillipa: 'Super healthy. All relationships are tricky, and you have to put a lot of work into it in order to make it work. As actors, it's sometimes hard to find stability in your life. So, working really hard to find stability and being together as much as we can and connecting and prioritizing any form of connection has been really helpful.'
Steven: 'Great. We have a strong friendship; she's my favorite hanging buddy. She's the yin to my yang. We really are a good balance for each other.'
What has been the most romantic or memorable date?
Phillipa: 'We had a really great date early on when we both acknowledged that this was real and serious, and we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, which was something I had never done in all my years of living in New York, so the first time I did it was with Steve.'
Steven: 'It would have to be when we got engaged. We were on vacation in the Caribbean and it happened on the beach, and it was beautiful. That would be my top choice. I wasn't nervous because she was dropping hints, so I knew it would go well.'
How do you resolve conflict?
Phillipa: ' We talk. We communicate as soon as we can. I think it's better to express what's going on as opposed to sitting on feelings and letting things stew. It's a practice; it's never perfect, but it's definitely better to talk, always.'
Steven: 'We talk it out. We communicate really well.'
What's your number-one advice for couples?
Phillipa: ' Choosing to be loving, whatever that means for you. We can get stuck in ways of loving people and giving people the things that they need because it's out of habit or it's hard to go out of your comfort zone. Loving your partner more will make everything flourish.'
Steven: 'You don't have to be right to be happy — conflict is so easy to avoid if you're willing to not think you have to be right all the time. That's advice my dad gave me, and it's advice I live by to this day.'