December 28th, 1998 - Woman's Day - "Our Hot Love"
In an exclusive interview with Woman's Day, 26-year-old Blair says Katrina, 18, has made
him the happiest man alive. Katrina, better known as Shortland Street's clinic receptionist
Minnie, and Blair, who plays ambulance driver Rangi, moved in together this year.
"When I look at her I know I'm in love," he says. "It's the happiest I've been in years ... I
think this is it!"
With a warm glow in her eye, Katrina looks at Blair and says, "He's so sweet. I love him
very much. He makes me so happy."
The spunky couple can hardly contain their joy as they reminisce about that
fateful day in 1993 when they first met and were matched up as lovers for
an acting workshop. They stayed "just good friends" for the following three
years, but still look back on that day with a smile.
"He thought I had a crush on him, but I didn't," laughs Katrina, who made her debut on
Shortland Street at 14.
"I remember that she couldn't stop staring at me," says former law student Blair. "It turns
out she was scared of me ... now I'm scared of her!"
"We were given these scenarios in which you had to play a piece with another person.
Ours was was about how one person had to go out and the other wasn't happy. I said,
'Let's do it in bed.' I think she was a bit shocked but I obviously didn't mean it that way. In
fact, I didn't think about Katrina in that way for a very, very long time."
That was eight months ago. Today, they're like an old married couple laughing about his
appalling attempts to do the washing and her equally bad attempts at cooking. In fact, she
doesn't cook any more because she's so bad and he is such a whiz!
"I like chicken and rice dishes, stir-fries and spaghetti bolognaise," Blair says of
his kitchen prowess. "I'd also like to learn to cook Chinese food. Perhaps I'll get
a book in the New Year."
He's not perfect, however, on the domestic front. "He puts whites in with the
darks and my clothes in with the towels, which makes them go all fluffy... Most of
my underwear is gray now!" Katrina jokes.
Blair has his own home truth about Katrina: She's obsessive about making the bed, to the
point where she has to iron the wrinkles out of the duvet. But despite their peculiar traits,
they say they've discovered domestic bliss since moving into the apartment, which is about
20 minutes from work. They can be found there most nights curled up on the couch
together watching television. She has even learned to like watching rugby!
As for romance, there's plenty of that around the house, too. "When I was sick with the flu
I felt hideous. I came home to find Blair had put a bunch of roses on the bed with a bottle
of Vicks Vapour Rub next to them," Katrina says. "It's so nice having someone to come
home to, someone who cares."
With such romance gurgling away at home, it's a wonder the two haven't been pitted
together on Shortland Street. It came close - a kissing scene between Minnie and Rangi
ended up on the cutting-room floor because he was sleeping with her mother and the
producers thought it all a bit too saucy!
"It is hard to act together now because we just giggle so much," she says. Blair says that
while many couples might hate working together, it's something he never tires of. "We do
spend a lot of time together but I don't get sick of it. I love it. I love being with her all the
time."
However, it is hard for them to see each other in the arms of someone else on set. "I get
extremely jealous - no, jealous isn't the right word," says Katrina. "I just don't like people
touching him in the way I do ... even though it's his character, it's Blair's lips."
"I don't always want to admit it I feel quite jealous about things," says Blair,
"but those feelings are natural. I know I love Katrina and sheloves me, and
that's all that matters. In any case, nobody else's lips measure up to hers."
Blair and Katrina don't mind who knows about their romance. "All I care about
is her," says Blair. "I'm very proud of Katrina and I don't know who knows. If people want
to judge me they can - it doesn't affect the way I feel about her."
Meanwhile, they would love to do a couple scene on Shortland Street one day if the
producers let them, but they are leaving it up to fate to intervene one more time!
Story by Sandra Roberts
In an exclusive interview with Woman's Day, 26-year-old Blair says Katrina, 18, has made
him the happiest man alive. Katrina, better known as Shortland Street's clinic receptionist
Minnie, and Blair, who plays ambulance driver Rangi, moved in together this year.
"When I look at her I know I'm in love," he says. "It's the happiest I've been in years ... I
think this is it!"
With a warm glow in her eye, Katrina looks at Blair and says, "He's so sweet. I love him
very much. He makes me so happy."
The spunky couple can hardly contain their joy as they reminisce about that
fateful day in 1993 when they first met and were matched up as lovers for
an acting workshop. They stayed "just good friends" for the following three
years, but still look back on that day with a smile.
"He thought I had a crush on him, but I didn't," laughs Katrina, who made her debut on
Shortland Street at 14.
"I remember that she couldn't stop staring at me," says former law student Blair. "It turns
out she was scared of me ... now I'm scared of her!"
"We were given these scenarios in which you had to play a piece with another person.
Ours was was about how one person had to go out and the other wasn't happy. I said,
'Let's do it in bed.' I think she was a bit shocked but I obviously didn't mean it that way. In
fact, I didn't think about Katrina in that way for a very, very long time."
That was eight months ago. Today, they're like an old married couple laughing about his
appalling attempts to do the washing and her equally bad attempts at cooking. In fact, she
doesn't cook any more because she's so bad and he is such a whiz!
"I like chicken and rice dishes, stir-fries and spaghetti bolognaise," Blair says of
his kitchen prowess. "I'd also like to learn to cook Chinese food. Perhaps I'll get
a book in the New Year."
He's not perfect, however, on the domestic front. "He puts whites in with the
darks and my clothes in with the towels, which makes them go all fluffy... Most of
my underwear is gray now!" Katrina jokes.
Blair has his own home truth about Katrina: She's obsessive about making the bed, to the
point where she has to iron the wrinkles out of the duvet. But despite their peculiar traits,
they say they've discovered domestic bliss since moving into the apartment, which is about
20 minutes from work. They can be found there most nights curled up on the couch
together watching television. She has even learned to like watching rugby!
As for romance, there's plenty of that around the house, too. "When I was sick with the flu
I felt hideous. I came home to find Blair had put a bunch of roses on the bed with a bottle
of Vicks Vapour Rub next to them," Katrina says. "It's so nice having someone to come
home to, someone who cares."
With such romance gurgling away at home, it's a wonder the two haven't been pitted
together on Shortland Street. It came close - a kissing scene between Minnie and Rangi
ended up on the cutting-room floor because he was sleeping with her mother and the
producers thought it all a bit too saucy!
"It is hard to act together now because we just giggle so much," she says. Blair says that
while many couples might hate working together, it's something he never tires of. "We do
spend a lot of time together but I don't get sick of it. I love it. I love being with her all the
time."
However, it is hard for them to see each other in the arms of someone else on set. "I get
extremely jealous - no, jealous isn't the right word," says Katrina. "I just don't like people
touching him in the way I do ... even though it's his character, it's Blair's lips."
"I don't always want to admit it I feel quite jealous about things," says Blair,
"but those feelings are natural. I know I love Katrina and sheloves me, and
that's all that matters. In any case, nobody else's lips measure up to hers."
Blair and Katrina don't mind who knows about their romance. "All I care about
is her," says Blair. "I'm very proud of Katrina and I don't know who knows. If people want
to judge me they can - it doesn't affect the way I feel about her."
Meanwhile, they would love to do a couple scene on Shortland Street one day if the
producers let them, but they are leaving it up to fate to intervene one more time!
Story by Sandra Roberts
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| Blair and Katrina are happily in love and the Shortland Street stars don't care who knows. The gorgeous couple at the centre of Shortland Street's hottest romance ever can't keep their feelings for each other secret any longer. Blair Strang and Katrina Devine are head over heels in love and they want the world to know it. |
| In spite of her hectic filming schedule, Katrina also finds time to romance her Romeo. "One day she brought me home a really nice shirt. Because I never go shopping, for someone to do that for me is really, really lovely. "She also knows The Godfather is my favorite movie, and one day she brought me The Godfather trilogy. That was wonderful. She is wonderful. She is very supportive." |
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| A site dedicated to beautiful New Zealand actress Katrina Devine |