10 Sexiest Lesbian TV Scenes That Got Everybody Wet (Because Pools)

by heather & riese

10 Sexiest Lesbian TV Scenes That Happened In Pools or Lakes

In 1998, Denise Richards and Neve Campbell locked lips in a pool in Wild Things, and fictional lesbians have been making out in and around bodies of water ever since, especially on TV. Some of the waterside hookups have ended in heartache. Some of them have ended in eternal love. All of them have proven Regina George’s worst nightmare to be true: You invite a lesbian to a pool party, and it’s gonna get gay. Here are Riese and Heather’s top ten sexiest lesbian TV scenes that happened in pools and lakes.

Shane and Cherie Jaffe, The L Word, Episode 305

l_word_the_3x05_lifeline_57
Certifiably one of The L Word‘s hottest sex scenes, even if it did the unthinkable: gave Shane an opportunity to cheat on Carmen De La Pica Morales. I mean, when you show up at your ex’s house wearing a strap-on under those jeans and a white shirt and she’s gotta get out of bed to let you in — but she doesn’t let you in right away, not just yet — not until they’ve had a brief dip in the pool and gotten completely naked. Except for the harness. That stays on. (-Riese)

Amy and Karma, Faking It, Episode 219

EP. 219 AMY AND KARMA

In this moment, Karma, drunk and distraught, betrayed herself and maybe Amy, too, when she went for the kiss, and then another, without any concept of where she was or who was watching. Who was watching, by the way? EVERYBODY. But the only person who couldn’t remember what happened the next day was Karma herself. (-Riese)

Naomi & Emily, Skins, Episode 306

pool-naomily

Look, Naomi’s straight, okay? She only kissed Emily that one time because they were hopped on MDMA. She only let Emily sleep over that night because they were drunk. She only reached for Emily first thing the next morning because — um, she was hungover? Yeah, that’s it. Hungover. Naomi was all denial and a caged heart, until Emily took her swimming at her favorite pond. (“It’s lovely. It’s a lovely place.”) They stripped down, they jumped in, they splashed around. And when night closed in on them and no one was around and the fire crackled and the waterfall trickled, Naomi ran out of excuses and crashed into Emily once and for all. She hadn’t summoned her full courage yet, but that was moment she began to Be Brave. (-Heather)

Paige & Emily, Pretty Little Liars, Episode 308

pool-paily

The pool is where it always happened with Emily and Paige. The day Paige’s internalized homophobia got the best of her and she shoved Emily’s head underwater. The day Paige started her penance and came to cheer on Emily anchoring the relay team. Early mornings and late nights and poisoned sports cream. The pool is where they fell apart and came together (and together again), most especially after Emily began to heal from losing Maya and opened up her heart to Paige once more. She couldn’t stop talking, you know that girl, but Emily told her two things: Listen. Don’t look away. “I was looking for something. I was looking for somebody. And I came here,” Emily said, and they kissed and they kissed and they kissed. And then they swam, but as a metaphor. (-Heather)

Luisa & Rose, Jane the Virgin, Episode 114

pool-roisa

Ah, Rose. Luisa’s stepmother, who also was the step-daughter of Luisa’s first step-mother, and a crime lord (and the step-daughter of a crime lord). It was complicated. Also, though, it was pretty simple. Luisa and Rose were hardcore into each other, couldn’t keep their hands off each other, and sometimes when they were in the throes of forbidden passion — like this time in the pool at the Marbella — even the sky would light itself up with fireworks because the air couldn’t contain the intensity of their spark. (-Heather)

Rebecca & Marlene, Verbotene Liebe

pool-verbot

Their love affair started, as these things always do, when Rebecca was hired to design a Wet Fantasy swimsuit line and needed someone to model with her for a photoshoot. She convinced Marlene to give it a try, and they had so much fun posing for the camera together, finally falling into the pool and hugging and not even worrying about their makeup. Rebecca tried to convince everyone in her life it was just a job, but the pictures didn’t lie. “Look at your expression!” her friend told her. “That’s not professional, that’s real!” Rebecca went home and daydreamed about their photoshoot taking a NSFW turn, and then she went kissed Marlene for real, in real life.

Stef & Lena, The Fosters, Episode 313

pool-steflena

It’s hard to find alone time when you live in a house with half a dozen teenagers, so after Stef’s breast cancer diagnosis, when what she needed most was to just be with her wife, Lena broke into their neighbor’s backyard to take Stef swimming. Stef was worried; she is a cop, after all — but she doesn’t always mind breaking the rules, and when Lena shouted, “Last one in has to be on top tonight!” it was a race to nakedness. Here’s to lesbian moms making time for themselves, and to two full-on bottoms making it work. (-Heather)

Maya & Emily, Pretty Little Liars, Episode 218

pool-emaya

Maya and Emily didn’t technically rekindle their romance in a pool or a lake, but Maya did decorate her bedroom like the ocean so they could scissor under the sea. (And anyway, cut Maya some slack; she’s had it hard enough without you getting pedantic about what constitutes the ocean!) “If the Sharks won’t let you back in the water,” Maya told Emily, after leading her into the sea with her eyes closed, “I’ll bring the water to you.” They confessed their love to each other that night and sank down onto Maya’s bed to make it official. (-Heather)

Soso/Poussey & Suzanne/Maureen, Orange is the New Black, Episode 313

Screenshot 2016-02-18 15.16.28

The last episode of Season Three of Orange is the New Black is one of my favorite episodes of television, ever. It comments on the prison-industrial complex as new prisoners are unloaded to inhabit the building (scenes which recalled, to me, the final scenes of Battlestar Galactica) AND gifts us with ecstatic scenes of love and friendship enabled by a temporary jailbreak towards a nearby lake. In the lake, Suzanne lets her guard down to accept Maureen’s long-standing crush on her, and Poussey and Soso literally drift towards each other, starfishing and hand-holding, maybe finding the companionship they’ve been lacking in each other. It’s maybe the happiest we’ve seen any of the inmates since they arrived at Litchfield. (-Riese)

Tina & Helena, The L Word, Episode 206

Screenshot 2016-02-18 15.57.52

The L Word really committed to showing us types of sex we didn’t normally see on television, and one of Helena and Tina’s earliest hookups in Season Two was no exception. Helena lures Tina away from a boring business dinner for a dip in her private pool. “I don’t have a bathing suit,” Tina protests. “And?” Helena responds. Tina’s timid about showing her very pregnant body, but Helena insists, “This is what I find most beautiful.” (-Riese)

Before you go! Autostraddle runs on the reader support of our AF+ Members. If this article meant something to you today — if it informed you or made you smile or feel seen, will you consider joining AF and supporting the people who make this queer media site possible?

Join AF+!
Related:

Heather Hogan

Heather Hogan is an Autostraddle senior editor who lives in New York City with her wife, Stacy, and their cackle of rescued pets. She's a member of the Television Critics Association, GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics, and a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer critic. You can also find her on Twitter and Instagram.

Heather has written 1718 articles for us.

43 Comments

  2. Now I’m racking my brains to think if Lost Girl did anything in a pool or lake, and this seems like a huge omission for the show. (All I can remember is people in bath robes lining up for the offscreen tentacle beast orgy?)
    They had the car wash montage. Close enough for water purposes?

  3. Yep, that Cherie/Shane scene is why I own the Season 3 box set and I am still unashamed.

    I’m always so envious that people on TV/movies have privacy in bodies of water, dammit!

  4. Here’s the thing, I clicked the hyperlink on the Maya/Emily scene and it brought me to Riese’s old recaps of that PLL episode, from either season 1 or season 2. I ended up reading the whole thing and I’m super nostalgic for what Pretty Little Liars used to be and super disappointed in what it has devolved into all over again!! WHY CAN’T WE HAVE NICE THINGS!!!! Waaah Waah Waah :(

    (Also also, this is probably silly of me, but I never noticed the lesbians and water tv trope before! Thanks for bringing it to my attention)

  7. My tiny closeted self watched the Tina/Helena ep of the L Word on the living room TV at home when I was certain no one was going to be home, only to be greeted by my father (home early!) who walked in right during the pool scene.

    And that’s how I came out to my dad.

  8. That Naomi and Emily scene by the lake is probably one of my favourite scenes ever. I must have watched it a thousand times and it still makes my heart race.

  9. God i love that Helena/Tina scene. Oh the days before we realised they were both crazy. At least Helena came back from the brink.

  10. I strongly approve of this list!
    I do hope this is going to turn into a series and that “kisses in the pouring rain” is going to be its next installment.
    I volunteer as tribute for a “Best Songs accompanying Pivotal/Love scenes” list, btw.

  11. I really like that I’ve seen all but two of these scenes. Is Verbotene Liebe a show I should be watching?

    • And there will be multiple people with cameras and phones(maybe some with one that can go in the water too).

  13. Just don’t get chorline in your eyes when you recreate one of these scenes in real life! It kills the mood. :p

  14. I’m torn between enjoying this trip down memory lane and crying cause I miss some of these characters and everything sucks. #Paily #Naomily

  15. All I can think about looking back at that Shane and Cherie scene is how incredibly uncomfortable it would be to LAY ON YOUR BACK ON CONCRETE WHILE ANOTHER HUMAN GRINDS AGAINST YOU.

    • Depends one the smoothness of that concrete. Hardness of a surface can be forgotten in a moment of passion, but na roughness.

      I would know, I’ve been the mortar of a sex grind sammich.
      FYI, yes my back was quite grumpy after the adrenaline, endorphins, et cetera wore off.

        • If it’s all an trans woman band that would be a punk level of cheekiness/gonadal fortitude that would explode TERF brains like a shotgun to the skull.

          DOITGRRLDOITTTTTT!

  20. Did anyone ever watch Greek? Rebecca Logan (so cruelly ripped away from being bisexual) and Casey Cartwright’s kiss at the car wash fundraiser was probably the closest they ever got to a pool, but damn, that was good television.

Comments are closed.