James Lafferty reflected on his “wild” first year of marriage with Alexandra Park — and teased how playing a TV couple added to the craziness of their “honeymoon” phase.
“It’s been going well,” Lafferty, 37, exclusively told Us Weekly on Tuesday, June 20, while promoting his partnership with Smirnoff ICE for the brand’s relaunch tour. “We have the great privilege to be working together on Everyone Is Doing Great.”
The One Tree Hill alum noted that he and Park, 34, also had the “great privilege” of meeting each other on the set of The Royals back in 2015.
Lafferty first crossed paths with the Australian actress while directing an episode of the E! series which she starred on from 2015 to 2018. That working relationship has served the duo well as they play married couple Jeremy and Andrea Davis, respectively, on their Hulu series, Everyone Is Doing Great, which premiered in 2021.
Us confirmed in May 2022 that Lafferty and Park said “I do” in Oahu, Hawaii, surrounded by family and friends, including OTH alum and Everyone Is Doing Great cocreator Stephen Colletti. Park’s former Royals costars Tom Austen and Merritt Patterson were also in attendance.
“The first year of our marriage has been crazy because we’ve been working on season two of EDG,” Lafferty told Us on Tuesday, revealing, “It’s been a wild ride.”
The California native confessed that “it’s been tough and challenging” working side-by-side while navigating their marital status but added it’s had some upsides. “This is sort of where we thrive,” he explained. “This is how we get closer when we both do what we love together.”
When the pair are not on set, they keep a low profile and enjoy date nights at the “beach with the dog until sunset” followed by watching their “favorite movie of TV show,” according to Lafferty.
“Everything revolves around our fur baby,” he joked. “As long as she’s close by, we’re happy.”
The Right Stuff alum told Us that his summer plans will look similar now that Los Angeles is getting sunny weather. “I have no delusions about whether or not it’s gonna be hot here. It’s just gonna be great to go to the beach,” Lafferty explained. “My wife and I, we like to take our dog Billie down to the beach and just watch her frolic into waves.”
This year, the director is adding Smirnoff ICE to his beach must-haves after teaming up with the brand for its Smirnoff ICE Relaunch Tour as part of the Thursday, June 22, concert event in Los Angeles.
“I’m just excited personally because we’ve got Steve Aoki [and] Elena Rose there. I’m excited for a great concert,” he told Us. “I feel like it’s been a while since I’ve had a Smirnoff Ice, because it sort of feels like it went away and now it’s back in a big way because it’s summertime. It’s time to enjoy something cool and refreshing. That’s what I’m all about.”
Learn more about the Smirnoff ICE Relaunch Tour — and its charity partnership with Women in Music — here.
With reporting by Christina Garibaldi
