Unwrapping the Mint Mystery: Why the Cast of The Hunting Wives Got Sick

1. The Unexpected Mint Episode
When actress Brittany Snow sat down on a podcast to reflect on working in the Netflix series The Hunting Wives, one quirky behind-the-scenes detail stole the spotlight: she and her co-star Malin Åkerman ended up feeling ill during an intimate scene because… they had eaten too many mints. Snow admitted that she “had like an entire tub one day.”

The scenario is surprising: a sexy, tense, adult thriller set in East Texas and filmed with seasoned actors, and yet the culprit of a sickness outbreak on set was a mint-fever. Brittany Snow explained that because their scene was between two women, the atmosphere was unusually considerate—lots of checking in on comfort, lots of mints passed around to keep things fresh. “As women, you’re so mindful of each other. Guys … sometimes don’t care. There’s not a mint in their mouth,” she commented.

What makes this more than just a funny anecdote is how it sheds light on production culture, intimacy coordination, and the small but real ways actors protect themselves and each other. That tub of mints that turned into nausea? It became a metaphor for how much goes on behind the glam-and-glare of filming.

2. Intimacy, Vulnerability & Comfort on Set
The mint incident opens a window into how filming intimate scenes—especially between women—can shift the dynamic on set. Snow emphasized how Åkerman was “really, really attuned” to comfort and boundaries. She quoted Åkerman asking things like, “Do you want me to put my body here, so you don’t have to show this part of yourself?”

In an industry where nudity, sexuality, and power often intersect with discomfort, this kind of mutual care stands out. Snow further noted that because both were women, checking in was natural: “Are you OK? Can I put my hand here?” rather than some of the more cavalier attitudes sometimes reported in male-female scenes.

This suggests that the production of The Hunting Wives took intimacy coordination seriously—acknowledging that physical exposure isn’t just a wardrobe or camera decision, but a deeply personal emotional and physical one. Brittany Snow felt empowered to embrace nudity in a way that felt authentic rather than exploitative. She commented on her own age, noting that approaching 40, Brittany Snow wanted to do nudity more, as Brittany Snow believes Hollywood wrongly assumes women over 40 stop being sexual beings.

So the mint-overload incident becomes more than a funny side note—it underscores a set environment where comfort, consent, and co-awareness were given prominence.

3. Age, Sexuality, and Representation
Brittany Snow used the moment to also speak candidly about age and sensuality in Hollywood. She remarked: “There’s a stigma in Hollywood that, once you’re 40, you’re no longer seen as a sexual being, which is completely false.”

In The Hunting Wives, she plays Sophie—a woman who relocates from Boston to Texas, enters a seductive and dangerous social circle, and explores her own sexuality and power. The show challenges conventional narratives about middle-aged women: instead of erasure, she’s front and center in sexual, emotional, and violent threads.

On the podcast, she leveraged the mint story to underline how this role felt different: comfortable nudity, female-led intimacy, and no apology for being sexy or flawed at her age. It’s a statement: “Yes, women over 40 can be sexual; they should be sexual; they are sexual—and it deserves to be on screen.”

By combining the mint anecdote with such themes, Snow made a broader commentary: behind the fun and oddness of “we got sick from too many mints,” there’s a production choice to normalize mature female sexuality and prioritize actor well-being.

4. The Bigger Picture: Production, Novel Adaptation & Tone
Beyond the mint story and age/sexuality issues, the production of The Hunting Wives had other interesting facets. Based on the novel by May Cobb, the show stars Brittany Snow as Sophie and Åkerman as Margo, along with Dermot Mulroney, Chrissy Metz, and Katie Lowes.

The creative team made deliberate shifts from the source material to bring fresh twists and a sharper tone. According to interviews, the show isn’t just “red-state content,” as the creator dismissed ideological labels, emphasizing it was made “for horny middle-aged women.”

The result: a soapy, sexy, murder-thriller that blends camp and darkness, glamour and grit. Within that environment, that mint-scene becomes more understandable: onscreen intimacy, offscreen vulnerability, and mutual care. The choice to create a safe space for actors—especially for intense or sensual scenes—shows the evolution of production norms.

In that light, the mint incident is actually a small but meaningful signal: the actors were given agency, considered comfort, and even something as trivial-seeming as pucker-fresh breath turned into an “incident” that made news. It shows commitment to authenticity, preparedness, and taking care of each other.

5. Why the Mint Saga Resonated

• Humanizing Celebrity: It’s charming and disarming to hear about a professional production winding up sick from mints. It makes big-budget, high-drama TV feel relatable.
• Highlighting Set Culture: The incident underscores that intimate scenes aren’t just about cameras and choreography—they’re about real bodies, real breath, real discomfort. The fact they munched tub after tub of mints points to a layered reality: trying to keep things fresh, prepared, comfortable.
• Championing Female Agency: That two women are checking on each other, negotiating physical space, snack-stocking for freshness—this is different from the stereotypical male-led sets. Snow’s reflection ties it to age and representation: mature female sexuality, taking its place.
• Tap for Media Attention: In a sea of celebrity interviews, the oddball “we got sick from mints before filming love scenes” is quirky, memorable, and spreads. But beneath the quirk is the more serious message: actor welfare, intimacy coordination, and changes in representation.
• Cultural Moment: With audiences more vocal about consent, safe sets, ageism, and representation in Hollywood, this story rings as a micro-example of larger shifts. The mint incident becomes shorthand for “we are paying attention.”

In short: the tale of too many mints before an intimate scene may seem frivolous—but it reflects meaningful angles in how adult TV is made, who it’s made for, and how actors navigate exposure and authenticity. It spotlights the quieter, often unseen side of production: how comfort, communication, and camaraderie matter.

From: Candourroyaltees