Ashley Park spilled some tea on her bond with Emily in Paris costar, Lily Collins, and recovering from a serious illness during an interview with Harper’s Bazaar UK.

The 33-year-old actress and singer opened up about the huge benefit of sharing the set with Lily. She even revealed that she felt a connection with the star before they’d even met!

Ahead of the premiere of the new season of their Netflix show, Ashley also reflected on getting back to work on the series after being hospitalized when tonsillitis turned into “critical septic shock.”

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On feeling a connection with co-star Lily Collins before they’d formally met: “Lily doesn’t believe me when I tell her this, but a week before the email came in asking me to audition, I’d just started to follow her on Instagram. I normally have a rule that I only follow people I know or have interacted with in some way, but Lily was one of the few I followed because I thought, I like this girl, I like her vibe – she seems really genuine and cool.”

On how her strong friendship with Lilly Collins has helped her navigate her ascent in the showbiz industry: “It would just have been too much of a whirlwind to do on my own. It was my first big on-screen job, so it was amazing to have the guidance of an ‘older sister’ in an environment that became way more high-stakes than we’d anticipated.”

On returning on the set of Emily in Paris after a case of tonsillitis developed into critical septic shock: “Filming was physically taxing in a way I hadn’t previously endured. But I had to stop gaslighting myself and be like, I’m allowed to feel this way. I’ll do the best I can in these stilettos and this latex skirt, and I can be proud when I watch this season and think about the amount of passion and hard work I put in just to be there.”

Part one of Emily in Paris‘ fourth season premieres on August 15 with part 2 following on September 12. Check out a first look!