'You took advantage of that': Baywatch star addresses fake relationship years later

A new Baywatch docuseries is taking fans behind the scenes of one of the biggest shows of the '90s.

The original ran from 1989 until 2001 and people around the world tuned in each week to watch Mitch Buchanan and his team of sexy lifeguards running down the beach in slow motion to save the day.

But behind the scenes, the cast were dealing with drama of their own, including relentless hounding by the paparazzi desperate to expose every last detail of their private lives.

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Aussie actor Jaason Simmons joined the cast in 1994 and he told Today being thrust onto the world stage in his early 20s and being exposed to that kind of obsession by the media was a lot to take on.

"From being a gay kid growing up in Tasmania and coming to LA, then being thrust onto this stage, it was just too much too soon," he told Today Extra.

Jaason's character, Logan Fowler, was a bit of a ladies man and if the media found out he was homosexual, he feared his career would be over.

This is why his co-star, Alexandra Paul, took him under her wing and actually faked being in a relationship with him to ward off any suspicion.

"Being a gay actor in the '90s, especially a leading man actor, was not accepted at all," she said.

"And Jaason was playing a lothario, a very straight man on the show, which shows you what a good actor he is, but it was important that we not let the press, who were on us all the time, know this secret, because it could have really affected his career."

So since they were already good friends, they decided to let the paparazzi do what they were going to do and photograph them out together and make their own assumptions.

"We hung out a lot, we were very affectionate and we just let the press think what they thought," Alexandra said.

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Jaason pointed out Alexandra wanted to kiss him every chance she could - all to keep up appearances.

''You took advantage of that, didn't you?" he joked.

While it has since been revealed some cast were uncomfortable with how they were portrayed on the show, Alexandra said it was an important platform for female actors.

"If you think about it in the '90s, most television shows didn't really give women very strong roles, especially movies," she said.

'You're always just the girlfriend, but in Baywatch the female actors did as many rescues, drove as many boats, dove off high platforms, ran out of burning buildings - we did just the same as the men and that, I think, is a very empowering thing that people love to gloss over because of what we wore.

"We were in bathing suits because we were lifeguards."

After Baywatch: Moment in the Sun is streaming on Disney Plus now