Emma Scorpio-Drake and Gio Palmieri took their romance to the next level on the Thursday, January 15 episode of General Hospital by making love for the first time. The actors who play the darling duo, Braedyn Bruner and Giovanni Mazza, opened up about the milestone moment in a new interview with Swooon.
Let’s Get Physical
Gio and Emma started out as friends when they first met in December 2024, with their bond deepening as Emma supported Gio through the heartache that ensued after he discovered that his birth parents were Dante Falconeri and Brook Lynn Quartermaine and that he’d been lied to about his lineage his entire life. Tender feelings began to emerge, and in September 2025, they shared their first kiss. Now, nearly four months later, they’ve become lovers.
Bruner said that she appreciated that the show took its time having the two become sexually intimate. “I wouldn’t change anything about it,” she declared, “because I think it really resonates with the audience that we’re not rushing anything.”
And if “Gemma” fans liked their first love scene, Bruner teased that they’re in for a real treat when Gio and Emma discuss this major turn in their relationship after waking up in bed together. “I love the conversations that we have the morning after,” she enthused. “I think those are some of my favorite scenes that we’ve done so far.”
Neither Bruner and Mazza had done a love scene before in their careers. Mazza reported of filming the scenes, “It was really private. Everyone cultivated a very nice environment and silence on set. Everyone was very conscious of the fact that this was very intimate for us, and they were very respectful.”
Luckily, the pair is close off-camera, as well, which helped make the scenes more comfortable to undertake. “We feel very safe with one another,” is how Bruner put it. The actress noted that “if we didn’t hang out outside the show or we weren’t as close, I feel like doing any sort of intimacy, whether that’s kissing or more, might feel much more terrifying or intimidating or uncomfortable.”
Of course, this being a soap, just because Gio and Emma are now closer than ever doesn’t mean that it’ll be smooth sailing in the months ahead. Mazza revealed that Emma, in particular, is going to have a bumpy year — and she’ll need Gio’s love and support more than ever to navigate it. “I think it was necessary to solidify their relationship so that she has this rock that she can always come to,” he stated, “because I think she’s just going to go to new heights, on a journey of ups and downs, and hopefully he will be there every step of the way.”
