Sarah Shahi is joining the onscreen prosthetics conversation after Sex/Life fans previously questioned whether Adam Demos used one for the Netflix show’s NSFW scenes.
The actress, 43, shared a behind the scenes set photo on Saturday, June 24, which showed her preparing to wear prosthetic breasts in the series.
“These were not my boobs … it took about 3/4 hours every morning for our prosthetics team to put them on. I wore them in any sex scene with Cooper or if I had to show boob while breastfeeding,” she captioned the Instagram Story snap. “See?? Silicone glue right there.”
Shahi elaborated on why she used prosthetics in some scenes — but not in others — when she sent an Instagram message to “Not Skinny But Not Fat” podcast host Amanda Hirsch.
“For all the Cooper sex scenes and baby. For Brad scenes those were mine cuz it was in the past. Not breastfeeding boobs. Make sense?” the Person of Interest alum, who shares son William, 13, and twins Violet and Knox, 7, with ex-husband Steve Howey, wrote while referring to her character’s changing body.
Sex/Life, which aired from 2021 to 2023, followed suburban mother Billie (Shahi) as she started to question her marriage to husband Cooper (Mike Vogel). As Billie attempted to find more meaning in herself, she began to write about her past relationship with ex-boyfriend Brad (Demos) and ultimately reconnects with him.
Shahi previously praised the show for the liberating way sex is portrayed on screen.
“I’ve often felt that when you have sex scenes in film and television — unless it’s a lesbian piece — they’re kind of depicted through the male point of view. It’s often the woman having sex the way a man wants to have sex,” she exclusively told Us Weekly in June 2021. “I thought this was a real opportunity to flip that on its head. Now, you have female sexuality represented by women on screen. … I felt like this was such a statement, to show that we are these incredible sexual beings.”
Sex/Life went on to become a pop culture hit in part because of Demos’ iconic shower scene. The moment, which took place in the first season, featured Billie’s husband Cooper stalking Brad to the gym. Cooper — and the audience — subsequently caught a glimpse at Brad’s manhood when he took a post-exercise shower.
In July 2021, the show’s official Twitter account posted the official script pages for the NSFW scene. “As he does so, Cooper can’t help but lower his eyes to check out Brad’s package — the instrument that brought his wife so much pleasure,” part of the script read. “And S–T — his worst fears are confirmed. Cooper glances back up at Brad, feeling like more of an underdog than ever and guilty as hell he just checked him out.”
Demos, 38, and series creator Stacy Rukeyser were initially vague when asked about his character’s famous shower moment. Earlier this year, the Australia native confirmed that a prosthetic was used.
“Yes [it is a prosthetic]. That just makes you feel better. Also, to all the men out there who were worried, it was,” Demos, who is currently dating Shahi, told The Project TV in March.
