Passions stars Natalie Zea and Travis Schuldt talk love

9-1-1: Lone Star actress Natalie Zea has been married to Scrubs actor Travis Schuldt for six years.

But their first kiss happened over 20 years ago in a professional setting when they met for the very first time. They had to lock lips during the auditioning process for their soap opera Passions, they shared on their new podcast Passions For Life.

‘There we were, our first kiss, and it was at an screen test!’ said the 45-year-old Zea who has been on the hit shows The Detour, Justified and The Following.

Though there were fireworks, they were friends first and did not start dating until 2003. They then got engaged in 2013 and wed in 2014. Four years ago the pair welcomed their daughter Reygan.

First it was Schuldt who described how he got the soap opera.

Travis said he auctioned for Passions when he was 24-years-old and a limo was sent for him. ‘I fly into LA, get in a limo and was taken to the Sheraton where I ate dinner. I thought I had made it!’

And though the soap opera was not his dream job he wanted to land it, ‘I went out to the audition just to prove I could do this.’

Zea asks if he wanted the job and he says he was not sure.

‘At first you don’t want it… but the time you get there, you want it,’ he said. ‘I went in, we went to NBC studios and we ended up shooting the scene on Extra’s set. The TV show.’

He said the audition went ‘awesome’ and he felt good about it. ‘I was cocky and arrogant, a 24 year old white male. But then I got the job!’

He added that people asked him what it was like, he said he felt like he won the Golden Ticket. 

Zea then said her audition experience was different – as in not as easy. It was after an audition season that she found ‘grueling’; she was in NYC at the time.

‘My agent called and said before you go home, there is this soap opera… I didn’t have a choice, I was desperate, I had read for every soap opera at the time and didn’t get any of them,’ she said.

She said she was only 25-years-old at the time.

‘I tested and did fine I guess, they said they would tell me by X date and it was a very long time, I was waiting for the call, I was out of money, I had to give back to bartending in New York.

‘They called and said I did not get the job, which was fine, I tended to bar, I did a play, I did extra work, then about a year later after Gwen had been cast… I get another call they want me to audition for Amanda,’ the former model said.

She then added, ‘I was like F**k it I will do it.’

Natalie went to the sound stage to shoot the scene with Travis. She said he her first impression was that he was ‘lovely and kind and warm.’

They also did their first kiss during the screen test. ‘There we were, our first kiss, and it was at an screen test!’

She went back to NYC and did not get the part because they dropped the character.

Then Natalie she was called again to audition again for another part; she worked with Travis again.

‘I show up on set and he is lifting hay bails naked from the waist up,’ she said. ‘It was so nice to see a friendly face and we did the scene.’

Travis then shared his pay on the soap was $750 an episode which shocked him because he was a serious regular.

Zea told Digital Journal’s Markos Papadatos she loves doing the podcast, ‘It has been great. We just started it and the first episode aired on Monday. The podcast is out and we have a lot to say about what was happening in our lives during that time. It’s really fun.

‘We are doing this podcast, because creatively, we really miss performing and connecting with people. We can’t go on set so this is a way for us to connect. 

‘Also, it has been 20 years since we did the show Passions, and now we can be honest about our experiences because so much time has passed. We are doing it for people who loved the show and hated the show, as well as for people who heard the show but never watched the show. We are doing it for fans of mine and fans of Travis’, and for people who have exhausted other podcasts and are looking for a new one,” she elaborated.