Heavy/Hallmark Alexa and Carlos PenaVega in Hallmark's "Love in the Limelight"
As real-life Hallmark couple Carlos and Alexa PenaVega await the arrival of their fourth child, they’ve had a sudden change of heart about where they want to live. The inspiration to relocate came on so suddenly that they moved on a whim in the middle of the night, the PenaVegas revealed in an Instagram post on March 15, 2024.
In between co-starring in Hallmark movies like 2023’s “Never Too Late to Celebrate” and Carlos’ tours and appearances with Big Time Rush, the PenaVegas have divided their time between a home in Hawaii and a catamaran they’ve been fixing up off the coast of Florida. But two nights before ringing in the new year on their houseboat, they both felt inexplicably inspired to pack up their family and immediately drive 12 hours to Tennessee.
“We both (separately) felt God calling us to take a trip to Tennessee,” they wrote. “Had no idea why…It was 8 o’clock at night and we decided to take a leap of faith. We loaded the kids into the car and drove 12 hours.”
Once the PenaVega family arrived — including sons Ocean, 7, and Kingston, 4, and daughter Rio, almost 3 — and details fell into place, they said they knew they were meant to stay.
Alexa PenaVega Says Her Family Was ‘Welcomed With Open Arms’ to Tennessee
After sharing multiple social media posts from an unfurnished home their fans had never seen before, Alexa recently told curious followers in her Instagram Stories that she and Carlos wanted to tell their news together. So, in their joint post, they shared video footage from their new house — with New Kids on the Block’s song “Kids” playing in the background — and shared the details of what happened.
They wrote, “Here’s what’s up: 2 days before New Year’s Eve we both (separately) felt God calling us to take a trip to Tennessee. Had no idea why.”
“As God would have it, some friends of ours who moved from Maui were living there and their parents house just happened to be available last minute,” the PenaVegas wrote. “We were welcomed with open arms and a gorgeous place to stay. We spent the week exploring and one by one the pieces started to fall in place easier than ever.”
This is not the first time the PenaVegas took a leap of faith on moving. In 2017, they left Los Angeles for Hawaii and built a life there far away from the spotlight and pressures of Hollywood, they told People.
But after wildfires destroyed much of their town of Lahaina last August, the PenaVegas have stayed on their boat with plans to set sail with their kids soon. Moving inland, especially to Tennessee, was never part of their plans.
They said in their joint Instagram post that feeling called to Tennessee was confusing and surprising.
“What was happening? We were so confused,” they wrote. “We can’t just move to Tennessee! We had just spent the last 2 years living on and fixing this boat for our family to sail the world. But believe or not every time we were ready to leave the dock, something would break.”
“We felt such a strange pull to move inland to Tennessee, they continued. “Well.. here we are, two months later. The boat is about to be listed for sale and we are in a house, with no furniture and honestly no real idea why God has us here.”
Alexa PenaVega Says She’s Been Relieved to Be in Tennessee During the Last Months of Her Pregnancy
The PenaVegas said in their post that they’ve already noticed benefits to settling down in Tennessee, particularly with Alexa expecting another baby, which they announced last November.
“We’ve had a few pregnancy scares since we’ve been here and I am so grateful with Gods timing on getting us off the boat and into a home,” she wrote in the joint post.
Alexa had an especially difficult pregnancy with their youngest, Rio, she shared in a recent vlog on their YouTube channel.
“Between the varicose veins, between Rio being born early, there were a lot more pains throughout that whole pregnancy, random scares, there was even some crazy bleeding where I thought I lost Rio in the middle of the pregnancy, just a lot of ups and downs,” she explained.
That experienced led Alexa to feel more nervous about each speed bump she’s encountered in her current pregnancy. But the couple said in their joint Instagram post that they’re leaning into their faith in God as they take on each new unexpected adventure.
“To be honest, He pulled us out of our comfort zone and now more than ever we have to trust and rely on him with everything,” they wrote. “BUT, even in the confusion and with so many questions… we cannot wait for this new season with our growing familia.”
Though Alexa thinks a family of six will be plenty to handle once the baby is born, she said in her Instagram Stories on March 14 that she also has faith that God will determine whether that’s the case.
“To be honest, after this pregnancy we feel like this is it,” she wrote. “Obviously if God has other plans… but we are okay with this being the final pregnancy.”
It’s not clear yet whether the whole family will travel with Carlos when Big Time Rush kicks off a European tour in June.