Crown Media Jack on When Calls the Heart
Daniel Lissing has finally revealed more about his feelings about leaving When Calls the Heart and what happened. There’s still a lot of mystery, but according to Lissing, Jack’s departure from the Hallmark show was all for a greater purpose.
This article has spoilers for When Calls the Heart leading up to Jack’s departure.
Lissing Said He Left the Show for ‘Very Personal’ Reasons
In a Facebook Live, Lissing revealed that he had to leave the show for very personal reasons, Deseret News reported. Lissing said:
Circumstances arose for me where I needed to leave ‘When Calls the Heart’ for reasons that are very personal to me I went to Hallmark and they were nothing but supportive of me. I went to the girls and they were nothing but supportive of me.
We love you #hearties @erinkrakow @LoriLoughlin
Lissing chose to move on from the show while contracts were being renegotiated, which meant that Canadian Mountie Jack Thornton had to leave too, ET shared. The showrunners considered hiring a new actor to play Jack, but realized Elizabeth and Jack’s chemistry was just too good to replace Jack. They also thought about having Jack and Elizabeth break up, but that would be too out of character for them. Ultimately, the only solution was to let Jack die.
Lissing told ET Online that there are still some things he misses about playing Jack. He said: “Sometimes, I really miss living in Vancouver, getting picked up by my driver, Uncle Gary. It is a family, and that aspect of things I really miss. I love all the cast and the people at Hallmark. My time with Hallmark was nothing but positive and I’m truly grateful to be a part of it.”
He Said He Would Never Have Met His Wife If He Hadn’t Left
In an interview with ET Online, Lissing dished on how well his departure ended up turning out for him.
It’s funny the way the world works. If I had stayed on the show, and been there during season 6 and shot and all that kind of stuff, then I wouldn’t have met (my fiancee) Nadia, you know? And I wouldn’t be getting married and I wouldn’t be at this place in my life where I feel really in line with what I’m meant to be doing personally and professionally, so no regrets at all. How can I look at my future wife and say, ‘Oh, I should’ve stayed on this job?’ She’s my life, you know? That’s my personal life and that’s exponentially more important to me than a job.”
In October 2019, Lissing got engaged to the love of his life, Nadia, ET reported. He said he asked her at their home on her birthday, speaking from his heart. He said he simply “knew” that she was the one for him, and it was really quite easy. In February 2020, Lissing told ET that they’d be getting married at the end of the summer in Bali, Indonesia. His Instagram from late October revealed that they are now married. He planned to serve authentic Bali cuisine at the wedding, and was going to keep the guest list small to his closest family and friends.
In July, Nadia shared a photo and announced that they were “Mr. and Mrs.”
So all in all, it looks like leaving the show was a really good thing for Lissing.