8 Juicy Offscreen Moments From Hallmark Stars In 2023

We've come to know Hallmark as the network of everything wholesome. It's the channel you flip to when you want a dose of sugar, spice, and everything nice, with most of its offerings revolving around cheesy Christmas romances, lighthearted family sagas, and just generally uplifting stories that put a pep in your step after watching. Call it televised comfort food, if you will. Whenever you need a pick-me-upper, it's sure to provide you with your fix.

While Hallmark sure does have its shady side, the feel-good content it consistently delivers to its viewers is enough to offset whatever eyebrow-raising controversies are happening behind the scenes. But where's the fun in that? While we do love to curl up and indulge in a Hallmark flick, we also delight in unpacking all the juicy drama among the network's brightest stars. 2023 definitely didn't have a shortage of intrigue, from the unforeseen divorce of two of its biggest couples to a polarizing figure's potential return. Let's dive in!

As it turns out, it doesn't matter how many extravagant weddings you have — it can all still lead to heartbreak. In April 2023, fans were shocked when news surfaced that the Hallmark couple Victor Webster and Shantel VanSanten were divorcing after just two years of marriage. The pair notably dated for four years before tying the knot, and when they did it, they had three separate weddings! What's more, it was Webster who reportedly initiated the divorce in January, citing "irreconcilable differences" as the primary reason. Meanwhile, some fans on Reddit are claiming that there had been cheating involved, but of course, we can't verify until the former lovebirds speak up. It may take some time until we get any update now that VanSanten is still nowhere to be found on social media.

It ain't over 'til it's over! Just when you thought that Hallmark's metaphorical bleeding of its stars had ceased, more actors have ditched the network for greener pastures, aka Great American Family. Following in the footsteps of Candace Cameron Bure, who made headlines with her switch in 2022, many of Hallmark's actors transferred over to the newly established GAC Family, with Jill Wagner appearing to be the latest to join the trend. While she's not exactly a stranger to GAC Family projects, it looks like she's switching sides for good after the cancelation of fan-favorite "Murder Mystery 101." On the flip side, fans think that the project was canceled because Wagner decided to switch allegiances, and true enough, months after, it was announced that the actor had signed up for a GAC Family Christmas special! Coincidence? We think not!

In a July 2023 episode of the podcast "Drama Queens," Bethany Joy Lenz made the shocking revelation: she was a member of a cult for an entire decade. While she skirted around the specifics for fear of running into any legal snafu, she teased plans for releasing a bombshell book someday, saying, "That would be a really valuable experience to write about, and the recovery — you know, 10 years of recovery after that. So there's a lot to tell." Plus, apart from finding the focus to sit and write, the "One Tree Hill" alum shared that there are a lot of considerations to take into account to tell her story as accurately as possible. "But the pressure of getting it right and everything having to be exactly real, and all the people that are involved," she explained. "Also, I don't know how much I can say because there are still people and legal things in place that make it more complicated for the timing of that." Guess we'll have to wait 'til we get our hands on what is sure to be a page-turner!

Another "One Tree Hill" alum turned "Hallmark" star who made waves in 2023 was Chad Michael Murray, who finally responded to the longstanding cheating accusations leveled against him. For years, many have speculated that Murray was a serial cheater due to a rumor that he had cheated on his ex-wife, Sophia Bush, with Paris Hilton. Fueling the fire is another one of his exes, Erin Foster, who claimed on a "The World's First Podcast" episode that the actor cheated on her with Bush "in a pretty egregious way... while we were living together." Yikes! As for Murray, he did not outright deny the claims, but he did refuse to discuss it any further. "It's not one of those things that I want to go down the road of because there's just never a winner," he told E! News. "I have more regrets in my life than I care to think about, but I don't live in the past."

If you're wondering where Marcus Rosner was all this time, the actor shared in a series of Instagram posts that he had been out of commission for months due to a significant leg injury that dates back to 2021, which was initially misdiagnosed. He explained that later on, an MRI scan exposed the severity of his condition, leading to a period where surgeons were hesitant to operate due to the likelihood of permanent damage. Luckily, he was able to recover thanks to a doctor who took a chance on him, but Rosner admitted that he was afraid that he would lose everything. "There were times when I wasn't sure if I'd ever be able to walk right again I was afraid to draw attention to this for fear of being seen as damaged goods by our industry," he wrote on Instagram. Fast forward to the end of the year, the actor is back in action, even managing to produce a film called "Coupled Up for Christmas."

In more disheartening news, Shannen Doherty revealed that her cancer condition has worsened. The "Growing the Big One" star had first been diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015 and celebrated remission in 2017. Unfortunately, it returned in 2020, and in June 2023, she disclosed that she had undergone surgery to remove a tumor from her brain. Nearly half a year later, the star has revealed that the cancer has spread to her bones. Despite it all, Doherty remains optimistic about her future, telling People that her best days are still ahead of her. "I'm not done with living. I'm not done with loving. I'm not done with creating. I'm not done with hopefully changing things for the better," she said. "I'm just not — I'm not done."

Remember when Hallmark disassociated themselves from Lori Loughlin after her involvement in the infamous 2019 Varsity Blues scandal, where it was discovered that she and her husband had paid USC half a million dollars in exchange for their daughters' admission to the university? Hallmark didn't hesitate to remove her shows and movies from the platform then, but years later, it appears that they had changed their tune! In 2022, her "Garage Sale Mysteries" made it back to circulation, and a year later, Brian Bird, the co-creator of "When Calls the Heart," hinted at Loughlin's big comeback. "Our attitude always has been, as the producing team around the writing team around When Calls the Heart, that what better place for second chances than Hope Valley?" he said on the "Heart to Hearties" podcast. "So, in theory, it should work, right? But again, can't fully promise it, but we're working on it."

Let's conclude this list on a lighthearted note, shall we? We always love it when our favorite Hallmark stars get together in real life, and Katie Cassidy and Stephen Huszar did not disappoint. The two crossed paths on the set of "A Royal Christmas Crush," hit it off, and had been attached at the hip since. "When we first met, he didn't know who I was," Cassidy told ET. "I didn't know who he was. It was all very genuine and real and we took each other at face value. This may sound a little cheesy, but when you know, you know. Or it's meant to be. It's the universe. And timing is everything."