Shorty St star’s two

On screen Becky McEwan is having a Warner baby, but off screen she’s found love with the show’s very own Prince, writes Tara Shaskey.

SHORTLAND Street’s newest nurse debuted carrying a Warner baby, but offscreen actress Becky McEwan is lovedup with another of the drama’s stars.

Three years on from her role as highschooler Grace in TVNZ’s series, Filthy Rich, 24-year-old McEwan returned to the small screen this month as Tess, the heavily pregnant girlfriend of Chris Warner’s son, Phoenix, and promptly became a central storyline in last week’s explosive Christmas cliffhanger episode.

But while viewers of the much-loved Kiwi soap have to wait until the new year to see whether Boyd or Zara survive the fiery ambulance and how Tess’s prem baby girl recovers from her troublesome birth, McEwan’s private life is now in a much more serene state.

It’s been a whirlwind year for the Taranaki woman who in February married longtime love Jay Kiriona, or nurse Prince Kimiora – the show’s resident heart-throb.

After meeting at acting school in 2013, the pair wed in a forest-style ceremony at Lake Mangamahoe on the edge of New Plymouth.

Now the Auckland-based couple spend most days together on set and McEwan says she is loving having her other half nearby.

‘‘We’ve pretty much been glued at the hip since we met so we don’t get too sick of each other,’’ she says, explaining the pair have worked many cafe jobs together in between acting gigs.

They now share laughs at the oddities of McEwan having another man’s baby while Kiriona’s character is regularly showing off his ripped torso or being fawned over by other women.

‘‘He’s definitely been getting everything out there,’’ she quips.

And while it can be strange, she says they’re professionals who met in an environment where they regularly had to feign interest in other people.