Here's Who Hallmark Star Jen Lilley Is Married To In Real Life
Sure, Jen Lilley sort of betrayed the Hallmark Channel by signing a contract with its star-snatching competitor, the Great American Family Channel (GAC), but when it comes to marriage, she's all about loyalty. When Lilley and Jason Wayne celebrated their 13th wedding anniversary in 2020, she paid tribute to her husband in a sweet Instagram post. "To the man who gives me wind beneath my wings to take on my massive dreams and goals and who anchors my soul when my sassy and constantly fired up self takes on too much at once, I love you," Lilley wrote.
According to Soaps, Lilley and Wayne found each other on an online dating platform in 2004 but, as is the case with all of the Hallmark Channel's best slow-burn romances, they didn't immediately become a happy couple and start planning their wedding right away. "Did you ever fall in love with an unassuming friend? That's how Jason (my real life hubby) and I started," Lilley tweeted in 2019. In an Instagram post, she revealed that Wayne popped the question during a romantic stroll through a garden and the couple tied the knot in 2007.
Unfortunately for the newlyweds, their happily ever after got off to a bumpy start when Lilley graduated from the University of Virginia and decided to move to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career. Wayne didn't have his own Hollywood dream but he backed his bride 100 percent.
Jason Wayne's blue-collar job
In 2020, Jen Lilley and Jason Wayne briefly experimented with filming a YouTube show together called "Coffee Break with Jen and Jay." Many of their conversations were about their marriage. In one episode, Lilley revealed that there was a writers' strike going on when they arrived in L.A., so she could only get extra work at first. Wayne occasionally joined her in getting paid to be living set dressing, but they both had to get other jobs to pay the bills; Lilley worked at The Container Store and Wayne became a door-to-door salesman. "I don't like sales," he said. To make matters worse, the couple lived in a roach-infested, one-bedroom apartment with no heat, and their budget was extremely tight. "We had rice, onions, eggs, $14 worth of chicken, which we probably stretched out over at least three months," said Lilley. Their only splurge was tea and sugar.
Eventually, Lilley started landing lucrative acting work and Wayne found a new job: working as a Frito-Lay delivery driver. "Jason is my blue-collar guy, my rock," Lilley told TV Insider in 2015. "He's the one who keeps me normal, and I really need that. I can't stand it when actors think they're better than others just because we get paid to play dress-up. It's the stupidest thing." In a 2020 YouTube video, Lilley revealed that Wayne was still working for Frito-Lay during the early days of the pandemic when keeping store shelves stocked was a challenge.
Jason Wayne's misconceptions about foster children
One cause near and dear to Jen Lilley's heart is encouraging parents to foster children, and she's practiced what she's preached. After their first experience fostering a baby boy, she and Jason Wayne adopted him in 2019. The following year, they adopted their son Kayden's younger biological brother, Jeffrey, after fostering him. But in a video on Lilley's YouTube channel, Wayne admitted that he didn't initially share his wife's passion for the idea of fostering children. "I just had preconceived ideas ... that foster kids, they're the bad kids. So, I guess the root of the issue is, I don't want to deal with it. I want my nice family," he said. But after attending a panel about foster care with Lilley, Wayne joined his wife as a champion of her cause and decided that he was ready for fatherhood through fostering.
Now, Wayne's Instagram page is filled with photos of his adorable sons and the two daughters that he and Lilley welcomed in 2019 and 2022, Julie and Jackie. In one post, he revealed that he's even become a "Super Nanny" superfan because he's so determined to be a good parent.
Wayne is also a supportive husband who doesn't let his wife's on-screen chemistry with Hallmark's biggest leading men bother him. "Jason is the sweetest, kindest, most secure man I know," Lilley told Parade in 2018. "Jason knows he's had my heart for over 14 years, and it's his forever."