Kerry Washington recently opened up about the “awkward” sex scenes she has to shoot for her hit television show Scandal.

Washington plays the part of political crisis management expert Olivia Pope, who is often seen having sexual relations with President Fitzgerald Thomas Grant III, who is played by her co-star Tony Goldwyn.

Washington explained that it was hard for her to portray intimate acts that she would normally only do with her husband Nnamdi Asomugha. On top of that, she said it is even harder to have a room full of people watching you while you do it.

“Sex scenes are always awkward,” she told Allure magazine during a recent interview.

“They’re hard to do. You’re doing things that you’re supposed to do with only certain people in your life,” she continued. “Because this is not your real partner in life, doing that is awkward. And then doing it in a room full of people is awkward.”

November cover star @KerryWashington on her beauty secrets & love of popcorn: http://t.co/B7VH7yTiDD pic.twitter.com/QGSCZGoJ0M

— Allure magazine (@Allure_magazine) October 21, 2014

Because both Washington and Goldwyn are both married, they are sensitive to each other’s significant others and are very aware to not cross any boundaries.

“Particularly with a show like ours, where people are so invested in the chemistry, you just learn to be careful, because people’s real relationships in life are important,” Washington explained. “I so respect and admire his wife and him and their family, and he feels the same way about mine. And so you learn to be careful about how you say things.”