THE MODELS

FULL DISCLOSURE: the stars of our Tahiti Honeymoon story are not actually a couple but they are real-life besties, actors Peter Porte and Constantine “Connie” Rousouli.

Peter’s television credits include NCIS: LA, Devious Maids, The New Normal, Parks And Recreation, CSI: Miami and The Young And The Restless. Constantine’s childhood dream to star on Broadway came true just out of high school when he was cast in the national tour of Hairspray and went on to close the Broadway show as Link Larkin opposite Tony winners Harvey Fierstein and Marissa Jaret Winokur. Lead roles in Broadway productions of Wicked, Legally Blonde and Ghost followed.

What did these two super-talented actor/ model/besties get up to behind the scenes on their DNA shoot, we wondered? And they told us…! DNA: How did you both land this dream job shooting in Tahiti? Peter: I was out at a bar in LA, someone must’ve spiked my drink and then I woke up in a glass bottomed, over-water bungalow in Bora Bora. Connie: [Photographer] Lewis held me at gunpoint and said if I didn’t go on this free tropical vacation with one of my best friends he would shoot me. I had no choice! Peter: It was a surprise to get the call and it all happened very quickly. Lewis needed two models with genuine chemistry and thought we’d be perfect. We f lew out to Tahiti about two weeks later. Where and when did you two meet? Peter: We met years ago on the set of an Old Navy commercial. We were partnered with mannequins and lip syncing crappy songs in Spanish about swanky tanks. It was the campiest thing you’d ever seen. Connie had me cry-laughing throughout the shoot and I haven’t stopped bothering him since. Connie, Hairspray looks like the most fun a musical theater performer could ever have on stage. Connie: Hands down the best time of my life thus far. Until you shot in Bora Bora of course, right? Connie: Oops, of course! Peter, you’ve also starred in Broadway shows? Yes. I went to Europe to model, lost 50 pounds, but was told I was still too fat for Parisian sample size! So I returned to the US, refocused on acting and landed the part of Sky in the Broadway national tour of Mamma Mia! Peter, how does playing Eva Longoria’s psychotic son on The Young And The Restless compare to playing a gay groom honeymooning in Bora Bora? Peter: As far as I’m concerned, the two are identical. Eva’s character has brown hair, my character has brown hair. Eva tried to kill Christine in a bathtub. I tried to kill Connie with a moray eel. Please go on. Peter: We were shooting in this ocean cave and Lewis spotted an eel poking out of the rocks behind us. Connie and I completely freaked out, while Lewis calmly, and unsuccessfully, tried to convince us to look smoldering and sexy for the shot… with an eel slithering up behind us! Connie: That wasn’t happening. I don’t do eels! Any tips for looking DNA cover-ready? Connie: Invest in body butter. One of the assistants spent half the shoot applying and reapplying huge amounts of that stuff on us! Peter: You feel like you’ve been deep-fried in Crisco by the end of each day, but the end result is worth it. Everything I know about modelling I learned from doing German catalogue work. German photographers are brutal. You’re shooting outside and they just scream, “Schauen Sie in die Sonne!” (“Look into the sun!”). It really helped in Tahiti, with all of that white sand and bright sunshine. Tears were running down my face and my retinas were searing, but your eyes sure do sparkle! Apparently you had the crew and hotel staff in stitches with your banter and antics. What are you two like when no one else is around? Connie: It never stops. We’re always back and forth. He’s Ike and I’m Tina. Peter: Without all the beatings. Connie: Just lots of singing and dancing. Did you learn any honeymoon tips from this shoot? Connie: Marry someone rich so they can pay for an amazing honeymoon like this one! Peter: The bar has been set high! What was your most memorable Tahiti experience? Peter: A shark eating my very expensive, custom-made sunglasses. Connie: He lost them overboard when we went diving with reef sharks. Peter: And then a shark ate them. Connie: [disbelieving] Sure it did. The whole trip was incredible, but my favorite part was our “honeymoon” dinner on the beach at the Four Seasons. A perfect sunset, f lowers scattered over the perfect white sand, it was like the ending of South Pacific come to life. Doesn’t get any better than that. Peter: Tahiti is simply amazing. I truly had a blast from beginning to end.