Heavy/Hallmark Heavy's 5 Fast Facts on Chris McNally and Julie Gonzalo
Actors Chris McNally and Julie Gonzalo are among the real-life Hallmark couples who fell in love while filming a love story for the network, but they’ve keep their relationship and family life mostly private. With a new movie — “3 Bed, 2 Bath, 1 Ghost” — premiering on October 7, 2023, there’s renewed curiosity about the talented duo and the life they’re creating together.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Chris McNally Paid His Dues With Lots of Small Parts Before Becoming a Hallmark Star
HallmarkChris McNally as Lucas Brouchard in “When Calls The Heart” season 9
McNally, 34, and Gonzolo, 42, grew up far apart from each other, but both knew they wanted to become performers.
A native Canadian, McNally was born and raised in North Vancouver, British Columbia, and is fulfilling his childhood dream of becoming actor, he told Elevated magazine, adding that he’d have likely followed in his parents’ footsteps and pursued interior design if acting didn’t work out.
“I’ve fulfilled the goal that I’ve always wanted since I was a kid,” he told the outlet. “I wanted to work in the business and I wanted to be an actor. To be immersed in stories and play different characters, and have people enjoy the products that I’m a part of. It feels like a personal victory, and then also I love what I do so I’m very happy in my own life.”
McNally landed lots of small parts in TV series and feature films during the first decade of his career, including appearing in his first Hallmark movie in 2016 with a small role in “Hearts of Christmas” starring Kristoffer Polaha and Emilie Ullerup. He got a larger role the next year in Polaha’s “Rocky Mountain Christmas,” and then his career began picking up steam after he landed a recurring role on the Netflix series “Altered Carbon.”
McNally began landing starring roles in Hallmark movies beginning with 2018’s “The Sweetest Heart” and in 2019, he joined the cast of Hallmark’s hit series “When Calls The Heart” as businessman Lucas Bouchard, who got engaged to Erin Krakow‘s character, Elizabeth Thornton in season 9 of the series.
Meanwhile, McNally also took on roles in two other high-profile series in 2022, per Deadline. He appeared in the “Grease” prequel “Rise of the Pink Ladies” on Paramount+, but the streaming service canceled the show and removed it from its platform last spring. In July 2023, however, it was given new life as a video-on-demand series available through outlets like Amazon and Apple’s iTunes, Deadline reported. McNally also appeared in the second season of Netflix’s “Firefly Lane” opposite Katharine Heigl and Sarah Chalke.
2. Julie Gonzalo Landed the First Film Role She Auditioned For
HallmarkJulie Gonzalo in the 2020 Hallmark movie “Jingle Bell Bride”
Gonzalo was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and moved with her family to Miami, Florida, when she was eight, according to her IMDb profile. Growing up, Gonzalo gravitated to performing, working as a model and studying acting and dance. After she moved to Los Angeles in 2002, she nailed her first-ever film audition, according to Apple TV+, landing a role in “I’m With Lucy.”
From there, Gonzalo appeared in other high-profile comedies including “Freaky Friday,” “Dodgeball” and “Christmas With the Kranks,” in which she played Jamie Lee Curtis and Tim Allen’s daughter.
On TV, she appeared in the last season of “Veronica Mars” and in 2012, she landed a recurring role on the reboot of “Dallas.” In 2019, she joined the cast of “Supergirl,” according to Heroic Hollywood, playing Andrea Rojas through the series’ end in 2021.
Gonzalo’s first Hallmark movie was 2016’s “Pumpkin Pie Wars,” in which she starred opposite Eric Aragon. “3 Bed, 2 Bath, 1 Ghost” will be her sixth movie for the network.
3. ‘The Sweetest Heart’ Set is Where Chris McNally & Julie Gonzalo First Met
McNally and Gonzalo met when they co-starred in the 2018 Hallmark movie “The Sweetest Heart,” though they didn’t even confirm they were a couple until years later. In a TikTok video shared by Hallmark, the couple — who is rarely seen together beyond their on-screen roles — played a guessing game with their new co-star Madeleine Arthur, during which they confirmed they met on the set of “The Sweetest Heart.”
While promoting that life-changing movie, McNally told TrunkSpace that he tried commuting from his home in Vancouver to Langley for filming. But the nearly one-hour drive proved to be too long day after day, so for the second and third weeks of filming, he stayed in town like Gonzalo did, allowing for them to connect and rehearse in their downtime. They also met before production began, he told the outlet.
“Julie and I met up prior to shooting to spend some time together and get to know one another, just to try and get a little bit of history and backstory between ourselves as people that we could relay into the story with our characters,” he said, though he didn’t hint at any sparks between them at the time.
However, Gonzalo told Starry Magazine at the time that getting comfortable with McNally came easily.
“Once filming started we were able to spend time together to work on scenes and know more about each other,” she said. “Chris is a wonderful person so it wasn’t hard to get comfortable with him quickly.”
4. Hallmark Fans Noticed Julie Gonzalo & Chris McNally Adopted Dogs Together in 2018, Signaling Their Romance
Though the couple didn’t confirm their romance early on, eagle-eyed Hallmarkies knew something was up when both actors started sharing social media photos of the same two rescue pups, Charley and Bowie, adopted in September 2018.
McNally inadvertently confirmed their suspicions in January 2019 when he told My Devotional Thoughts, “My girlfriend and I each adopted a puppy, so I’m looking forward to being home with them when I can.”
Without identifying Gonzalo, McNally continued to mention his girlfriend in interviews, including one in which he talked about learning to dance for the 2019 Hallmark movie “A Winter Princess” and showing his moves to his partner at home.
“I waltzed her around the living room,” he told North Shore News. “But she’s South American so now she wants me to learn to Salsa.”
McNally also talked about his love of camping with his girlfriend in a Los Angeles Times profile that year, giving the paper a look at his 2005 Toyota 4Runner, decked out with a $3,900 Skycamp 2.0 camper featuring a mattress that slept four for “the couple plus their two Pitskies (pit bull-husky mix puppies),” the LA Times wrote.
McNally said, “I can go almost anywhere with it. When it’s raining we can come inside and play cards. We have twinkle lights all over; it’s really cute at night and more than enough to give a sufficient glow to see. Great mood lighting.”
5. Chris McNally & Julie Gonzalo Confirmed Their Relationship by Announcing They’d Had a Baby
Gonzalo officially confirmed her relationship with McNally in an Instagram post announcing the surprise arrival of their baby on June 5, 2022, prompting lots of celebratory comments from their Hallmark colleagues.
Captioning a photo of their little one’s fingers wrapped around theirs, Gonzalo tagged McNally and wrote, “Our hearts are full…Welcome baby M”
Rachael Leigh Cook wrote, “Eeeeeeeee!!! Congratulations!!!”
Andrea Brooks of “When Calls The Heart,” left a series of pink heart emoji on the post.
On January 1, 2023, Gonzalo shared a brief recap of their year, beginning with a photo of her cradling her baby bump.
“Grateful for 2022,” she wrote. “Happy New Years 🎉 How it started —-> How its going ❤️”
The second photo featured Gonzalo holding their toddler, wearing a flower in her hair at a pumpkin patch, and a flower illustration covering her face.
In March 2023, McNally gushed to Entertainment Tonight about becoming a dad to his little girl.
He said, “Fatherhood is fantastic. It’s my favorite job. It’s a job I’ve always wanted to do and I’m really, really grateful that right now, at least.”
He also said he’s grateful for the “When Calls The Heart” filming schedule because it allows him to be present for his family.
He explained, “We film four and a half months, the hours are not crazy, we don’t really have a lot of night shoots so I can be really present with her…and then I get the rest of the year, which is like, it’s just such a blessing. So, since wrapping in mid-November I’ve just been on dad mode and it’s fantastic.”
For Father’s Day on June 19, Gonzalo posted a photo of McNally at the beach, playing with their daughter in the ocean waves.
She wrote, “Happy Father’s Day love… she’s a lucky little lady 🧜🏼♀️💖 #happyfathersday to all.”
Chris McNally & Julie Gonzalo’s Newest Hallmark Movie Has Them Playing a Former Couple Rekindling Romance
HallmarkChris McNally and Julie Gonzalo in “3 Bed, 2 Bath, 1 Ghost”
In their new movie together, “3 Bed, 2 Bath, 1 Ghost,” Gonzalo plays a realtor named Anna who lists her first home, sure that it will sell quickly — until she runs into the ghost of a 1920s flapper named Ruby, played by Arthur. Ruby claims that she can’t leave the home and “pass over” until Anna gets back together with her ex Elliot, played by McNally.
It turns out, according to Hallmark’s synopsis, that both Anna and Ruby left their fiancés at the altar.
The synopsis reads, “Ruby was in love with her driver Charlie (Thomas Darya of ‘The Wedding Veil’), but called it off due to her father’s disapproval. Although she continued to harbor feelings for Charlie, she met an untimely death and was never able to complete her love
story. Meanwhile, Anna had relationship troubles with her ex-fiancé Elliot, and
ultimately called it quits when their renovation business failed.”
By helping Anna rekindle her love with Elliot, the synopsis says Ruby “hopes to gain the closure she needs to finally move on.”
Meanwhile, McNally continues to appear in “When Calls The Heart,” which is midway through filming its 11th season.