I thought the biggest story to come out of the When Calls The Heart universe this year would be whether or not the show ultimately gets renewed for Season 10 after moving beyond the on-screen love triangle headlines that dominated in previous seasons. As it turns out, however, a surprise announcement came out this week after When Calls The Heart star Chris McNally had a baby with another Hallmark star.
The Hallmark star in question would be Julie Gonzalo, who starred with Chris McNally in another Hallmark movie, The Sweetest Heart. That television film aired on the network in 2018 and apparently the two got together at some point in the time after, though neither of them had noted they were expecting a baby on social media. Instead, fans simply got the adorable announcement after the fact.
Surprise! Really, though, this shouldn’t be a huge shock to any hearties. Chris McNally has a great social media presence, but it rarely features anything personal. Well, anything personal outside of his adorable dogs. Instead, he often chooses to push out photos of himself, Erin Krakow and the rest of the When Calls the Heart cast on set. Even when Gonzolo made the birth announcement, his social media was quiet.
Though there was seemingly no hint the two would be having a baby together, eagle-eyed fans had spotted a post a while back in which Julie Gonzalo had also shared posts with the aforementioned Instagram-famous pups.
Fans have caught on, often commenting things like, “Those 2 look familiar. Loved The Sweetest Heart you two are cute together” and “Ahhhhh I recognize those babies!!!”
The baby announcement was welcomed by some famous names, including Julie Gonzalo’s other Hallmark co-star, Ryan McPartlin, who appeared opposite her in the 2022 TV release Cut, Color, Murder, also responded with some heart emojis. And if you are familiar with Gonzalo's work outside of Hallmark, you may remember she played a pregnant character in Dodgeball years ago. Her co-star from that movie, Justin Long, also joked:
Whaaaaaat??? Julie!!! You had a REAL baby! (I hope our movie baby doesn’t get jealous). Congratulations.
Outside of having a super secretive baby, Julie Gonzalo is known for roles on Supergirl and Veronica Mars, along with her Hallmark work. Her partner Chris McNally currently stars on When Calls The Heart and was famously 1/3 of its major love triangle, ultimately (and controversially) winning Elizabeth Thorne's heart. We'll be sure to keep you updated on what's next for the two new parents (and stars).
