Courtesy/NBC

Talk about your daytime twists!  Many Days of our Lives fans were in for a shockwave when recent romantically jilted characters, Rafe Hernandez and Kate Roberts DiMera, hit the sheets!  And the best part, they just can’t seem to keep their paws off of each other and seem to be enjoying their sexcapades!  So while this pairing may have appeared to come out of left field, the story that can spin out of it could be pretty compelling and soapalicious!

Now think about it … Sami (Alison Sweeney) despises Kate, and chose EJ (James Scott) over Rafe.  Kate’s grandson Will (Chandler Massey) is the father of Rafe’s sister’s baby!  Rafe is investigating what happened to Gabi’s (Camila Banus) man, Nick (Blake Berris), the resident Salem homophobe while he was in prison.  Rafe hates the DiMera’s in which Kate was married to the DiMera kinpin, Stefano (Joe Mascolo) … should we go on?

On-Air On-Soaps chatted with two of daytime’s sexiest stars, Galen Gering (Rafe) and Lauren Koslow (Kate) to find out what they thought of the decision to bring their two seemingly unlikely characters together in a very adult and contemporary relationship.  We also dig to see if this duo could just be just a stitch in time, which ultimately sends Rafe back in the arms of Sami, and Kate back to Stefano!  Whatever the case, one thing is for certain, for an off-the-cuff, engaging, lively, and thought-provoking chat, there is none better in the soap game than Galen and Lauren.  Here is what they had to say about rating, (as they are now lovingly called by DAYS fans) “RATE”!

MICHAEL:

How did the two of you first find out that Kate and Rafe were going to have sex?  When you found out this big tidbit, what was your initial reaction to it?

GALEN:

Courtesy/NBC

I was told first, and then I went and read it in the script.

LAUREN:

But, were you told by another actor?

GALEN:

Yes.

LAUREN:

So was I!  I forgot about that until you brought it up!  Michael seriously, whenever people say things like, “You’re not going to believe who you are going to sleep with …” you always think they are totally kidding.  I think James Scott told me. (Laughs)

GALEN:

Well, that makes sense.  It was actually Alison Sweeney who told me! (Laughs)

LAUREN:

That is so funny.  I did not believe it, and then I got the script.  I went, “Oh, my God!”

GALEN:

For the record, they don’t tell you anything, Michael.

Courtesy/NBC

MICHAEL:

I remember, the producers use to call the actors up to their offices to tell them a major story point like, “This is what was going to happen …”

LAUREN:

No! (Laughs)  It’s been a very long time since that has happened.  In some ways, I think it’s better for us as actors to be surprised anyway. 

MICHAEL:

How far in advance, before you filmed the first scenes of Kate and Rafe hitting the sheets, did you know about it?

LAUREN:

I think it was a week.

GALEN:

I think it was like … an hour! (Laughs)

LAUREN:

Courtesy/NBC

They did the scenes out of order.  Galen and I have never really worked together.  So it was going to be brand new for us, and so production switched the order for the day.  Our first scene, of course, is shot in this private area.   In the scene, we are both supposed to be drunk and kissing.  That is our first scene together!

GALEN:

And … it was first up in the morning!  I was like, “Are you kidding?”

LAUREN:

I think it went straight to tape!   They were really rushing.  We were backstage, like the good actors we are, discussing it and trying to figure it all out.  All of a sudden we hear, “OK, Lauren and Galen.  We are going to go straight to tape on this!”  I am like, “What?”

GALEN:

And then we were all freaked out, and then Lauren said she watched the scenes back and said they were pretty good.  Remember that?

LAUREN:

That was true because we had all these great ideas.  I was excited to work with Galen because he has ideas similar to mine and he works like I do.  After I saw the scenes, I think the fact that it was so rushed when we taped it really suited that scene because Kate and Rafe were kind of … off their game! (Laughs)  I think it really worked for the characters.  I kind of liked the scene when I saw it, because there was not anything predictable about it.  It was raw, which was right for it.

GALEN:

Courtesy/NBC

I have not seen the scenes back.

LAUREN:

Really?  Whatever!  (Laughs)

GALEN:

I lived it.  Do I have to see it after?  (Laughs) 

LAUREN:

Joe Mascolo never watches his scenes back either.  Maybe it’s a “guy thing.”

GALEN:

I don’t know.   I go through stages where I watch it and then I will see something and go “Oh, my God!”  When I see something I don’t like, I will stop watching for six years!

MICHAEL:

Galen, how do you feel about the break-up of Rafe and Sami?  Clearly, the show is now embarking on telling the love story of EJ and Sami.  Now to get to that point, some viewers felt that the arguments and strain in Rafe and Sami’s relationship were very contrived.

GALEN:

Photo Credit: Kathy Hutchins

Obviously, they had a reason to break up when they originally did.  Sami slept with EJ and that is when they really broke up.  Then they started to revisit the idea of that maybe they would be together again.  I don’t know at what pointed they decided not to do that, because obviously they were going back and forth with the story a little bit.  It did feel a little strange at that point.  I think that is a sentiment that had been echoed pretty widely.  You are not alone in that.  Obviously as an actor, you become very invested in a story line that you lived for several years.  So yeah it’s hard, but it’s good.  I have really been enjoying the Rafe and Kate scenes.  It’s unique because of what they want out of this relationship for daytime.  They don’t really want anything!  They are not playing this crazy love story.  They are two characters who are mature enough to make a decision about what they want, which is to have a good time, and that is basically it.  It’s honest and simple.  For me, that was the refreshing thing, and something that Lauren and I consciously wanted to impart on this story with our characters.

MICHAEL:

Lauren, I noticed in a scene when Rafe had to leave Kate in bed, she looked at him quite fondly.  Is she really beginning to really like this guy?

KATE:

I think she definitely likes him, but that is a different thing than being in love with somebody.  I think she likes Rafe and has fun with him.  She likes the fact that he is steady and is a good guy.   It’s a time in their lives when they both have been through a lot, and all of this emotional investment just blew up in their faces.  It’s to not have all of that, but to have something simpler and cleaner than that.  I think for Kate, it was unexpected for her.  You can read a lot of things into that look, but everything about him to a degree I think is unexpected for Kate.  Even that she did this is unexpected for her.  But definitely, she is struggling with it and the thought of, is this is a good idea?

MICHAEL:

Is there a part of Rafe and Kate that would love Sami to know they are having sex together?

KATE:

Courtesy/LaurenKoslow

No.  Kate does not want anyone to know about it!  That is what I think is the beauty of it. There are not all these machinations going on with this thing.  It’s something that simply happened and there is nothing behind it to get back at someone.  There is none of that going on.

GALEN:

But I do feel whether they want to accept it or not; the fact that a) they don’t want anyone to know, and b) they are not supposed to be together as it is taboo is exciting to them, whether they admit to themselves or not.

KATE:

You are right about that!  It is kind of interesting that it is forbidden for both of them.  For Kate, Rafe is such a good guy.   This is exactly what happened with Roman (Josh Taylor) that one time.  No one would expect that.  So for Kate, the good guy is unexpected for her, not the bad guy! (Laughs)

MICHAEL:

Galen, over the years it seems that Rafe can get thrown around in story, where it feels like the show is trying to figure out what to do with him.  Do you view the Rafe and Kate alliance as an intermediary storyline to something else?

GALEN:

I am slowly discovering where things are headed.  Hopefully, the show wants me around and to be an integral part to the stories that are on the canvas there.  Obviously, I think this has been an interesting choice and fun choice for them.   It has been a really interesting for me.  When I was first introduced to this, obviously it was a departure for him going with a character who was married basically to his arch-enemy.   When Rafe met Sami, he did not know who EJ was, or what the DiMera family stood for.  Now Rafe knows first hand.  So, I have taken this weird leap of faith and the fan reaction has been …. GREAT! (Laughs)

MICHAEL:

Photo Credit: Kathy Hutchins

What are they saying to you? (Laughs)

GALEN:

You know, what is really weird?  There is a very strong vocal group of young girls who love it! (Laughs)  They are coming out of the woodwork.  I think part of it is these are fans of Lauren’s.  She is this stylish and radical woman, and these girls are like, “When I grow up, I want to be her!”  They see this relationship, and they see it as really hot.  They are super into it.  I never would have predicated that coming.

LAUREN:

Little girls would tell me they were fans of Rafe!  I am getting a lot of those who follow me telling me they love him, and they are excited about what we are doing right now.  We are known as RATE.  We decided on that, and it’s very interesting.  (Laughs)  The thing is, what I have liked about it is there is a lot of humor in Kate and Rafe’s relationship and that is what you don’t get on daytime.  A lot of time you get the sweet cuddly type of humor, and they aren’t really doing that with us.   It’s very humorous.  I actually had one scene where I talked about comparing Rafe to coffee!  It was very funny.  (Laughs)

GALEN:

What exactly was that all about? (Laughs)

LAUREN:

Courtesy/NBC

It was one of those flashbacks of us.   Sonny comes up to Kate and goes, “What are you thinking about?”  And she says, “Well, I just tried some decaf coffee.”  It was so hysterical!  I did it and I thought, “Are you kidding me?”  People were so responsive and they loved it.  Now there are all these coffee cups!

GALEN:

I get 150 tweets a day on that alone!  It’s insane!

LAUREN:

It’s really cool when fans do embrace it like that and have fun with it, because that is the whole point … to have fun!   I don’t know where any of this goes, but at this point we should have fun and enjoy it, even if it’s provoking people.  Now some people may hate it.  It is something different.  As Galen said before, it is a different kind of relationship.  I think it is a more contemporary relationship for DAYS.  You see it all the time on nighttime cable show dramatic series.  I think this is real and believable.

MICHAEL:

I understand now that Alison Sweeney and James Scott were the ones to tell both of you that your characters would be sleeping together in Salem.  What though was their reaction to the twist?

GALEN:

They were all shocked.  I don’t think anyone saw it coming much like the viewers.  I think that is part of the fun.  The surprise to me is the immense positive reaction. Obviously, some people are up in arms and just want Sami and Rafe to be together forever.  I have to deal with the EJami and SAFE fans. (Laughs)  It is great, because they are all insane in a good way!  (Laughs)  They believe in these characters so much that they want to see their favorite couple, no matter what side it is, together.  And ultimately, I think that is good for our show.  When people stop caring, they stop watching.

MICHAEL:

Courtesy/NBC

What also makes this pairing even more intriguing is that you have Kate’s grandson, Will, and Rafe’s sister, Gabi, in major baby drama.  It will be interesting to see just how far they will go to work together for the good of everyone involved. However, there could come a point where they will be pulled on different sides of the custody issue.

LAUREN:

We have great story coming up with this!  It is really cool Michael, the way they have integrated the story.  I think there is a lot there for everybody.

GALEN:

In fact, that was one of my favorite facets to it.  This is complex and there is a lot here.   It’s not only Kate and Rafe who don’t want people to know now that they are sort of together, but they are sort of this unified front trying to protect Rafe’s sister, Gabi.

MICHAEL:

Rafe is always defending Gabi, even though she has done some rotten or questionable things along the way, while he seemed to be harsh on Will.  This was in particular when Rafe first found out that Will was the father of his sister’s baby.  Do you think we will see Rafe soften his stance with Will?

GALEN:

Photo Credit: Adam Campbell

Rafe loves Will and genuinely cares about him.  If he is ever hard on him, it’s much in the same way a parent is hard on their kid. He wants him to make the right choices, especially when it comes to his sister.  I don’t think he is super hard on him.  Rafe wants what is best for him and you will see that as a viewer.

MICHAEL:

So for now, Kate and Rafe are working together to deduce what exactly happened with Nick in prison, and how that will impact Gabi, the baby, and Sonny and Will.  What do the both of you think of Blake Berris’ performance as Nick?

LAUREN:

First, both Kate and Rafe have a vested interest in working out the situation to benefit their families. The love and loyalty for their families is important, and Gabi, Will, and the new baby will always come first.  Blake’s performance as Nick is fantastic. It’s very difficult to play a hated character, and Blake does it well. An understanding of why Nick is the way he is, is coming up.  Characters like Nick have a lot of layers and Blake does an excellent job portraying those layers.

GALEN:

I love working with Blake he’s phenomenal.  When I first came on he had just left the show and I hadn’t had a chance to work with him and I was bummed out.  He’s an amazing actor–very smart and always present.  He takes chances and picks his moments.

MICHAEL:

Courtesy/NBC

Lauren, the blue streak in your hair is gone, and now we see blonde streaks.  When you made the change, did it have anything to do with the fact that soon Kate would jump into bed with Rafe?

LAUREN:

The blue has been gone for awhile now.  You know, I am always playing with my hair!  I can’t help it.  For all the people that complained about the blue streak they should be happy! (Laughs)  I did not change it because Kate was hopping in bed with Rafe.  I did not know Kate was hopping in bed with Rafe when I changed it.  I like to tie-in the hair color changes with Kate’s life.  People who watch the show for a long time can track that it’s darker hair during darker times, etc. (Laughs)

MICHAEL:

So, do you think this relationship between Kate and Rafe has some legs to it?  Or, do you think it will end up being a blip on the DAYS radar?

GALEN:

We will see.  It definitely has some legs, as to how far it will go, we shall see.  I think these two, no matter what ends up happening their relationship and how they react to one another on the DAYS canvas, will be forever changed.  So even if they are not together, there will always be something between them.  I think it makes it unique and cool. 

MICHAEL:

Courtesy/NBC

When you look on the DAYS canvas, so many men and women have been tossed around and paired with everyone else!  Do you think the decision to put Kate and Rafe together originally stemmed from the notion, “Now what are we going to do with these two?” (Laughs)

LAUREN:

I think it was creative of the writers to do this and that was supported by the audience’s reaction to it.  No one expected it.  When there was a little spoiler that came out before it actually aired, people were speculating on all sorts of things and not too many people came up with it.  Looking back, I could see something like this happening.  I think it was very clever and they weren’t looking at the usual pairing.

GALEN:

It is kind of fun.

LAUREN:

I think it is! Victor Newman (played by Eric Braeden) has been married 14 times on The Young and the Restless!  So tell me?  There are people married many times over in all of these soap opera towns! (Laughs)  Obviously, pairings are limited on the soaps.  People break up, they get back together, they break-up, there is a new person introduced to the mix, and it’s all part of keeping the show going.

MICHAEL:

What is it like for both of you, now veterans of Days of our Lives, in the trenches every day?  How is the show holding up?  You have the task as actors of not much time to rehearse anything, having to hit the set, and perform a scene in one take, brilliantly!

LAUREN:

Photo Credit: Kathy Hutchins

From my perspective, it is really fast.  I think we have all adjusted to it now.  One of the good parts of it is; there is an enormous energy that surrounds that show.  From the time we get to the studio, there is so much that we have to get done. Everyone is super prepared, because as you know a lot of times you have to go directly to tape.  I think the scripts and the writing are really good.  They are shorter and the dialog is funny, and there is humor in it.  I think it’s positive.

GALEN:

I like working fast, usually, that is if I have a chance to work the scenes beforehand.   Primarily, if you are first up in the day for me it’s slightly problematic, because you don’t usually get that time to rehearse with someone.  You don’t have the advantage of running the scene with someone, unless you were able to do that the day before.  By the time you get to work, get to wardrobe, hair and make up, and dry block, you are out on set shooting so you don’t have that chance.  If you are starting at item 10, it’s a little bit better.   I prefer that and I think every actor does.   But sometimes you have to take one for the team.  It’s better to have some scenes rushed then to have no show at all, and the show won’t be there.  So you have to take the good with the bad.  I love the fact that we get to shoot this way.  I like that we get more time off now.  It was very difficult for me when I worked on Passions, because I worked so much.  You kind of had no life as we worked 52 weeks a years, and on Passions I worked most of those.  So it’s been nice.

MICHAEL:

Galen, do you think Rafe and Sami are truly over?  That is one of the million dollar questions for DAYS fans.

GALEN:

Courtesy/NBC

I have no idea, I truly mean that.  I know those two certainly have a connection.  I know it will be interesting to see what they do with the story and Sami and EJ.  Clearly, that is the direction of the story they are going in right now, much in the same way that they went in the Rafe/Sami direction a few years ago.  I would say this Michael, that despite that fact that Sami and Rafe were together, EJ was always around, and the bane of their existence and being the foil in the storyline.  I know it remains to be seen, but obviously Sami and Rafe still care about each other, whether they are together or not right now.  So potentially now, it’s Rafe’s turn to be the thorn in EJ’s side, if you will.  I think Sami and Rafe have a special connection that doesn’t just away.

MICHAEL:

Lauren, do you think Kate has really gotten Stefano out of her system?  Is there still a future for them?

LAUREN:

It’s definitely never over, till it’s over. That is a relationship for her that has always been there, and is still there.  It’s just there for her right now in another way.  It remains to be seen what will happen between her and Stefano.  I can certainly tell you it will play a part in what you are currently seeing right now.  There is more to come with that.  A lot of people love the dynamic of Stefano and Kate together!  That is where I am excited about the writing with this show right now, because they don’t lose track and none of that is lost.  It may not be on screen for awhile, but it may be worked back in.  If you like the show, you just have to trust that the writers have a game plan with it.  When you are a fan of any show, you sort of go with that.   That does not mean you can’t love things and hate things about them.  I think it’s always best to hang in there.

Courtesy/NBC

MICHAEL:

What do both of you think when you hear, or read tweets that say, “RATE is a sexy, hot couple?”

LAUREN:

I think that’s great!

GALEN:

Hell, yeah!  I had no idea that was coming either!

MICHAEL:

I think they are hot and I am old man! (Laughs)  But all and all, you have been happy with the bedroom romp scenes?

LAUREN:

I was very happy.  You can’t tape those bedroom scenes while at the studio, because those get blacked out, so we don’t ever really see it until it airs, and you have to sort of trust it.

GALEN:

Courtesy/NBC

We did have a lot of the same sort of scene to play.  My bedroom set is the size of a stamp. (Laughs)  Lauren and I would say to each other, “Oh my God!  How are we going to make this scene different than the other ones?”  We tried to spice it up and make it unique for them.

MICHAEL:

So here we go … the toughest part of the interview! Galen, describe working with Lauren in three words.

GALEN:

She is warm, phenomenal, and she is super stylish to the point I am always waiting to see what outfit she is going to come out to set in!  I am serious.  She is so creative in that regards.

MICHAEL:

Lauren, your turn!  Three words to describe working with Galen as we wrap-up.

Photo Credit: Kathy Hutchins

LAUREN:

I have to start with the first one for all of the women and men in the audience, Galen is very hot.  He is very funny, but also very serious.  I did not know how serious he is about the work, and that is great.  One of the coolest things about Galen is that he really listens.  He is a real listener, which women find extraordinarily sexy, too.

GALEN:

She has better adjectives!  I need to start over! (Laughs)  It’s been a lot of fun, I will say that.