The Real-Life Partners Of The Cast Of Virgin River
The Netflix hit "Virgin River" is the perfect show to curl up on the couch and cozy up with during the fall. The series' titular fictional town is the creation of author Robyn Carr, who penned the novel on which it's based, per Entertainment Weekly. Virgin River is secluded from any big cities and full of romance, making it a place that fans dream of visiting — if only it were real. Whether you're rooting for Mel and Jack to make things work, wishing for Hope and Doc Vernon to make it through, shipping Lizzie and Ricky, or keeping your fingers crossed that Brady and Brie are meant to be, there's a couple on the show for everyone.
While there's tons of love to go around on-screen, we decided to dig a little bit deeper to see if any of the cast members have had any romantic relationships that imitated their art. Everyone has their unique stories, whether they found love later in life, fell for a rock 'n' roller, or starred in one of the sexiest movies of all time with their partner. So settle in: We're about to tell you everything we know about the real-life partners of the "Virgin River" cast.
Martin Henderson once dated Demi Moore
Virgin River's favorite bartender and restaurateur Jack Sheridan has never wanted for female attention, even before he officially became involved with Mel Monroe (Alexandra Breckenridge). However, his portrayer, New Zealand-born actor Martin Henderson, appears to be single as of this writing. Instead of photos of the star posing with a special someone, his Instagram page is filled with pictures of his dog and videos that show him virtually baking with Breckenridge.
Surprising no one, Henderson hasn't always been single. In fact, he began dating actor Demi Moore in 2012 right after her highly-publicized divorce from Ashton Kutcher, per Life & Style. However, according to a Star report (via Now to Love), the couple called it quits not long after they were first spotted together. In 2014, Henderson commented on how intense Moore's life in the spotlight was at the time. "I feel for her," he said, per The Daily Telegraph. "I feel for anybody who has that level of celebrity where you can't lead a normal life." Henderson added that dating Moore was "not fun" at times because they were constantly being followed by the paparazzi.
More recently, Henderson dated a woman named Aisha Mendez. In a series of January 2021 Instagram posts, the couple revealed that they were quarantining together in New Zealand, per the NZ Herald. But by August, Henderson had reportedly wiped all evidence of their relationship from his Instagram account, indicating that they had broken up.
Alexandra Breckenridge fell in love with a music man
Alexandra Breckenridge plays nurse practitioner Mel Monroe on "Virgin River." After the deaths of her husband and baby, Mel escapes the big city to heal her broken heart. Luckily, the tale of how Breckenridge met her husband Casey Hooper doesn't have a tragic ending like her character's love story — rather, their romance is straight out of Hollywood. Hooper is the lead guitarist for pop star Katy Perry, and he and Breckenridge caught each other's eye at a Grammys after-party in Los Angeles, per Atlanta Magazine.
Breckenridge and Hooper got married in 2015. According to Chowen Photography, the company that photographed their big day, they had an "intimate" ceremony at Dunton Hot Springs Resort in Colorado. The couple welcomed a son named Jack in 2016, and they celebrated the arrival of their daughter Billie in 2017.
When it came time to decide where they wanted to raise their kids, it turns out that Breckenridge has more in common with her "Virgin River" character than meets the eye. The family moved to Atlanta, Georgia, a city that offered a down-home feel. "The rural areas of Georgia have an amazing sense of community we were lacking in L.A.," Breckenridge told Atlanta Magazine. "We wanted our children to grow up in a place where they could play and ride their bikes that didn't feel like a big city."
Tim Matheson found love later in life, just like Doc Mullins
At the end of Season 3 of "Virgin River," everyone's favorite doctor on the show, Vernon "Doc" Mullins, was holding on to hope that he would be able to re-marry his ex-wife Hope McCrea (Annette O'Toole) when she woke up and healed from the head trauma she had suffered in a car accident. The circumstances are different, but the actor who plays Doc, Tim Matheson, also found love later in life.
When he was 70 years old, Matheson married script supervisor Elizabeth Marighetto. She has worked on hit shows including the Amazon Prime Video series "Bosch" and the NBC dramedy "Good Girls." "What a joyous day!" Matheson wrote in the Facebook post he made to share the news of their March 2018 nuptials. A month later, he took to Instagram to share a selfie of the couple enjoying their honeymoon in Japan.
The actor was previously married to actor Jennifer Leak from 1968 to 1971. He then wed actor Megan Murphy Matheson in 1985, and they had three children together: Cooper, Emma, and Molly Matheson. The couple divorced in 2010.
Colin Lawrence and his wife appeared in Fifty Shades Darker together
Colin Lawrence, who plays Preacher on "Virgin River," can boast the longest relationship of anyone included on this list. He first go to know his wife, Lucia Walters, while they were both studying acting in college, per Cosmopolitan. As of this writing, they've been together for about 24 years, and they have two daughters.
The couple occasionally acts together, too. They played two diners who ride a restaurant elevator with Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan) and Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson) in the sexy thriller "Fifty Shades Darker." In one steamy scene, Christian performs a sex act on Ana in an elevator while the other people on it remain oblivious. Walters told Cosmopolitan that Lawrence didn't know what he was getting himself into when they landed the small roles. "I've read the books, I knew exactly what we were going in for," she said. "But my husband didn't have a clue." Walters also appeared on "Virgin River" with her husband — she played a character named Julia in three episodes.
One of the couple's daughters has followed in her parents' footsteps by giving acting a shot. Bianca Lawrence was cast as her dad's on-screen daughter in the 2021 Lifetime movie "Dancing through Christmas," which also stars AnnaLynne McCord. On Instagram, Lawrence said it was "an absolute delight" working with his daughter.
Annette O'Toole and Michael McKean have a love story made for the movies
Annette O'Toole plays the gossipy mayor Hope McCrea on "Virgin River," and much like how her character found love again, the actor got another chance at romance. It came when she met fellow actor Michael McKean after her divorce from actor Bill Geisslinger, with whom she shares two daughters. O'Toole and McKean told Theater Mania that they were acquaintances before becoming friends. Their love story started while they were working together on the 1998 movie "Final Justice." They first struck up a friendship, then McKean eventually worked up the nerve to tell O'Toole that he had feelings for her.
Ahead of their first date, they went shopping for shoes for McKean, who recalled that he was looking for the box with his old shoes inside them when an employee told him, "I gave them to your wife [referring to O'Toole]." O'Toole overheard, and when they left the store, McKean said that she told him, "In case you were wondering, the answer is yes." And this was all before the main event of their first date: a concert featuring Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, and Van Morrison.
By the time Morrison closed the concert, the couple knew that they were meant to be together. "I would've married him that day," said O'Toole. She explained that the fact that they both had kids slowed their courtship down, but they made it to the altar in 1999.
Benjamin Hollingsworth married a lingerie designer in 2012
Benjamin Hollingsworth plays the "bad boy" of "Virgin River," veteran Dan Brady. But in real life, he has a pretty traditional love story with lingerie designer Nila Myers. The couple began dating in 2010 and got married in November 2012, per Us Weekly. "Today is the day. I woke a boy and will go to sleep a man," Hollingsworth tweeted on his wedding day. "I am so lucky to have found the woman I love and I want to grow old with."
Hollingsworth and Myers started a family in 2016 when their son Hemingway was born, followed two years later by the birth of another son they named Gatsby. In October 2020, they welcomed their first daughter, Juniper. "Not a day goes by that I don't feel grateful for the family I have," Hollingsworth told Entertainment Tonight after her birth. "I'm constantly in awe of how quickly our hearts transform and make room. That's certainly what happened to mine the minute I set eyes on my little angel. Almost instantaneously I felt that I couldn't imagine life without her." Hollingsworth said that with the birth of his third child, "My heart tripled."