Getty Alexa and Carlos PenaVega welcomed their third child in 2021.
It was another great year for the Hallmark Channel.
From Spring Fling to Summer Nights to Fall Harvest to the much-anticipated Countdown to Christmas, 2021 brought plenty of movie magic. The beloved series “The Good Witch” had its finale and Alison Sweeney played Hanah Swensen for the first time in four years. Stars such as Aly Michalka and Corbin Bleu starred in their first-ever Hallmark films.
It was also a great year for Hallmark actors, as many fan-favorites got married or welcomed new children. Here are the Hallmark stars who had babies or said “I do” in 2021.
Alexa & Carlos PenaVega
33-year-old Alexa and 32-year-old Carlos Penavega are truly a Hallmark couple! They’ve even starred in a Hallmark series together, “Picture Perfect Mysteries.” The PenaVegas welcomed their third child and first daughter, Rio, on May 7, 2021.
Baby Rio spent some time in the intensive care unit as she was born quite early. On April 27th, Alexa captioned an Instagram post, “see you in 7 weeks baby girl!” She gave birth just 10 days later.
Rio is now healthy and was seen smiling with her siblings and two older brothers, 5-year-old Ocean and 2-year-old Kingston, in an Instagram post.
Paul Greene
Paul Greene, who starred in the 2021 Hallmark film “Christmas CEO,” welcomed his second child on December 12, 2021. “Our little guy Austin is born!” Greene told PEOPLE. “We are tired but beyond happy.”
Austin is 47-year-old Greene’s first child with his 41-year-old fiance Kate Austin, an actress and life strategist. He also has an 18-year-old son, Oliver, with his ex-wife Angi Greene Fletcher.
Greene said of Baby Austin on Instagram, “He’s such a good kid. We are in a baby bliss bubble of love, christmas meals and naps.” He also praised his fiance for being “such a natural mama” and revealed that she was in labor for “a whopping 4 days… it was intense and so worth it.”
Jill Wagner
42-year-old Jill Wagner’s Hallmark credits include “The Angel Tree” and the “Mystery 101” series. On August 19, 2021, she gave birth to a daughter, Daisy Roberta Lemanowicz. Both Wagner and baby Daisy experienced complications after the birth. In an Instagram post, she thanked her husband, former pro hockey player David Lemanowicz, for being her rock during an uncertain time.
“When I had complications after labor I know it was scary for you. How did you hold it all in? You never broke. You were a rock. My rock. You made me feel safe, although my situation was not. I watched you care for our newest daughter during that time (while I could not ) and I know she also felt safe in daddy‘s arms,” Wagner wrote.
Wagner and Lemanowicz have another daughter, Army Gray, who was born on April 17, 2020.
Victor Webster & Shantel VanSanten
It was a romantic year for Victor Webster of “Matchmaker Mysteries.” The 48-year-old actor got engaged and married to fellow actor, 36-year-old Shantel VanSanten. Webster and VanSanten met while filming the Hallmark movie “Love Blossoms.”
The happy couple got engaged in February 2021. “Well she didn’t say yes…at first, first her legs buckled and she had to sit down, then she started crying and shaking and asking if this was real, then she started kissing me a whole bunch, then crying some more, then asking if it’s real and if I’m playing a practical joke, then… I had to ask if that was a yes and THEN finally she said yes,” Webster captioned an Instagram photo.
According to PEOPLE, Webster and VanSanten actually had three different wedding ceremonies this year: a small one at City Hall in August, a second bigger one in Napa in October, and a third in Vansenten’s Minnesota hometown so her elderly relatives could attend.
Jen Lilley
There’s at least one baby joining the Hallmark family in 2022! Jen Lilley from “USS Christmas” and “A Little Daytime Drama” is expecting a fourth child with her husband Jason Wayne next year.
Lilley and Wayne have two sons whom they adopted from foster care, 5-year-old Kayden and 3-year-old Jeffrey. They also have a daughter, 2-year-old Julie. “Julie was planned, but this was definitely a surprise,” Lilley told PEOPLE of their exciting news.
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