Emily in Paris cast reveal shocked reaction to surprising new romance this season: "I was like: 'This is a joke'"

After the first trailer dropped for Emily in Paris season 5, everyone was talking about the same plot twist: Emily’s former flame, Alfie, started a flirtation with her best friend, Mindy (Ashley Park).

For the past two seasons, Alfie (Lucien Laviscount) has been on-and-off with the American expat in Paris, Emily (Lily Collins) in an awkward little love triangle with her former chef neighbour, Gabriel (Lucas Bravo).

Creator Darren Star has never been afraid to disrupt the norm on the show, but this romantic storyline felt like a curveball for everyone, including Collins and Ashley Park themselves.

In an exclusive interview with RadioTimes.com, the duo revealed that they thought Mindy and Alfie’s relationship was a ‘joke’ from the creator and that initially they were being 'punked'.

Collins revealed: “Well, I warned her, then we read it, because I read the outlines, but I didn’t know if it was going to end up in the script.

“She thought we were being punked,” Park added, as Collins confirmed: “I did. I really was like, ‘This is a joke.’”

As soon as Park read the script, she phoned Collins to discuss the new storyline as they were both in shock about what it could mean for their close friendship on the show.

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“We both were like, ‘What?!’” Collins said, as Park continued: "But mostly because the only thing I'd seen was just the beginning of this development.

“And for me, my biggest panic was 'What is going to be the fallout? What does this mean for our characters in this friendship that we hold so dear?' Which we didn't have the answers to, so, it's always fun to panic with another friend.”

“We're both panicked about how are we going to fight and make up,” Collins said.

The new love triangle opened up a whole new dynamic this season, one that challenged their friendship, but also allowed the duo to work closely as a trio with Laviscount, which was a welcomed change.

“I was really excited,” Park says, “I really haven't had any scenes with Lucien and I think that I was really excited that we were going to be able to bring out a different dynamic in each other, perhaps, and see each other in a new way.”

Park felt as though this new relationship was also a shock for Mindy, which is why she struggled to know how to handle her situation with Alfie, when it came to telling Emily.

“I think that for Mindy, it’s as unexpected as we felt as actors having this storyline coming in,” Park said, “She’s so thrown by possibly what this is and the person she would go to talk about it with is Emily and it's the first time she tries to suppress that and tries to make it not a thing and not bring that onto Emily's plate.

“In the end, that's the downfall a bit. So, I think that they learn, ‘oh, really, we can lean on each other, even ways that are uncomfortable sometimes’.”

Secrets naturally have a way of unravelling, but Emily and Mindy do find a way to navigate this awkward situation. More than anything, Emily, who is happily with Marcello during this time, is mostly hurt about the lies from her close friend.

“I think the lack of communication between the two of them or the withholding of information is really what is the biggest issue for Emily,” Collins said, “I think in any friendship, there are cracks.

“It doesn't mean that something catastrophic is going to happen, but real friendships have ups and downs, and it's how you deal with them that really defines the growth of a friendship and the heart of the friendship.”

Emily in Paris seasons 1-5 are streaming now on Netflix. Sign up for Netflix from £4.99 a month.

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