Virgin River‘s Benjamin Hollingsworth, Zibby Allen and Marco Grazzini addressed the twists, turns and surprising outcome to the Brady, Brie and Mike love triangle.
During season 7, which premiered on Thursday, March 12, Brie (Allen) found herself caught between Brady (Hollingsworth) and Mike (Grazzini). She declined Mike’s proposal but didn’t get back together with Brady either while considering her future throughout the season.
As Brie worked with Mike on a case and spent time with Brady as a friend, she realized she couldn’t be without the latter. Brie ultimately reconciled with Brady — who ended up in a brutal motorcycle accident — while Mike moved on with someone from his past.
In separate interviews with Us Weekly, the trio broke down the biggest moments while teasing what could come next in season 8. Grazzini, for his part, later confirmed that Mike wouldn’t be appearing in new episodes of the hit Netflix series.
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“Character departures are very common in this business — especially on a long-running and beloved series like Virgin River,” the actor, who has been on the show since season 2, shared in a statement. “It’s been a wonderful opportunity to play Mike for six seasons.”
Grazzini said he has “nothing but love for the cast, crew and especially the phenomenal fans who make the show so special,” adding, “I’m excited for this new chapter in my career.”
Keep scrolling for the biggest revelations about the Brady, Brie and Mike love triangle:
Did the Actors Always Know the Outcome?
For Zibby Allen, Brie and Brady’s future was “undeniable,” with her telling Us, “You’re rooting for these people who have this instinctive and electric thing. So I’ve always known they wouldn’t be able to quit each other. But I’m still nervous for them in a really practical sense. Can they build a life together as an actual couple that’s out and not living in the shadows of Virgin River?”
Benjamin Hollingsworth, however, was “shocked” when Mike entered the picture.
“ I did question it a bit. I talked to the showrunner, and I was like, ‘What? What are we doing here? What’s the endgame?’ They hold their cards close to their chest, but they’re also very strategic and mapped it all out,” he noted. “They wanted to earn that with them reuniting. She took the time to find herself and Brady took the time to find himself, and them reuniting felt way more earned and organic. That’s all credit to the writers.”
Marco Grazzini was just as in the dark about the direction of the love triangle.
“In Robyn Carr’s books, there is a novel entirely based on the Mike and Brie characters, and it is a very romantic and heart-wrenching story line. However, in the series, Brady is introduced before Mike,” he explained. “Obviously have to go with what you know the audience is gravitating towards and obviously we — the show — owed a lot to the fans of the novel series and the canon that it created.”
He continued: “Everybody loves a juicy love triangle. I knew of the relationship between Mike and Brie, but when I first signed on, I had no idea of a love triangle. I was just the cop trying to help solve all these crimes in this small town of Virgin River.”
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Zibby Allen sounded certain that Brie and Brady are “out of the triangle,” telling Us, “They’ve chosen each other, and that’s really important. They needed to get there — as audiences have made very clear. It’s another tone to their relationship. Can they be — in a very practical sense — in a day-to-day relationship? I’m nervous but I’m hopeful for them.”
Ben Hollingsworth, meanwhile, acknowledged the “intense” love triangle.
“I feel like there’s so many obstacles in real life that relationships can go through. There’s a lot of opportunity for exploration of where their relationship goes next,” he noted. “It won’t be all smooth sailing but it’s just nice to see them together.”
Grazzini had a fun response about Mike reentering the picture in the future, quipping, “Never say never. But it’s one of those things where it’s a small town. How many options have you got? Brady is bound to mess up sooner or later. For now, though, as far as my answer goes, I think Brie and Mike are done.”
Where Should Brie and Brady Go on Their Eventual Honeymoon?
Since Mel and Jack got to go to Mexico on the show for their honeymoon, Zibby Allen and Ben Hollingsworth had their own ideas for Brie and Brady. Allen mentioned Fiji or Hawaii or a “really sexy European situation,” joking, “They can make out effectively anywhere — as we’ve seen — so give us any backdrop.”
Hollingsworth, meanwhile, pitched a safari in South Africa, trip to Tuscany or an adventure in Tokyo.
How Worried Should Fans Be About Brady’s Future?
After Brady fell off his bike in the season 7 finale, Zibby Allen and Ben Hollingsworth got brutally honest about the future.
“We’ve speculated a lot about, what’s it going to be? Is he going to be OK?” Allen exclusively told Us. “It’s so unfortunate that things never seem to go totally right with Brady.”
Allen confirmed she didn’t know what the plan was, adding, “I’m not going to lie, I’m a bit worried. I want them to have a moment or longer than just a moment — because they had one moment on the motorcycle before his accident. I want to give him a chance [at happiness with Brie], so we’ll see what happens.”
In a separate interview, Hollingsworth poked fun at Brady never winning in his professional or personal life. “That’s pretty much on par for Brady’s luck,” Hollingsworth quipped to Us. “I guess I just can’t have nice things. I guess Brady just can’t have nice things.”
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What Would They Like to See Happen for Brie and Brady?
While Ben Hollingsworth hinted that he knows where Brady will end up in season 8. Zibby Allen, however, argued that the cast would need to wait until the show goes into production to get the full picture.
“I know as much as Ben — and it’s not as much as he’s letting on,” she joked. “The writers always let us give us a pitch of what the character arc is going to be for the upcoming season. But that’s when they’re beginning to write the new season. So things often — and always do — actually change and shift. It’s always a bit of a mystery to us until we get the actual scripts.”
Allen, who has been on the show since season 3, has high hopes for more seasons.
“Brie is excited to be an auntie. She’s finally doubled down on Brady and she’s had this real personal win with finding Charmaine,” she recalled. “I can’t obviously give much away, but I really hope that those pieces give her a chance to settle into Virgin River and into herself in a way that she just hasn’t been. She’s been on her back foot. She’s barely been reacting to life, and so I’m excited to see what they do with her.”
Did Mike Find His Person With Victoria?
“I think that Mike falls into the same patterns that he’s always been in. Victoria is somebody that he’s worked with in the past and she’s been in law enforcement,” Marco Grazzini told Us about Victoria’s (Sara Canning) introduction while noting that Mike “definitely has a type.”
“Mike definitely falls hard and he falls fast. He’s a romantic at heart and he just wants to find love,” he added. “But maybe he needs to exercise a little bit more [caution]. Just wait and see. But obviously he’s taken by Victoria.”
Grazzini acknowledged that things “could definitely work out” with Victoria, adding, “She fits his type. So we’ll just have to wait and see.” He also didn’t rule out Mike finding love with someone else though.
“If things were not to work out with Victoria, it would be a good idea for Mike maybe to get on one of those paid dating apps,” the actor quipped. “Just because his radar right now is in a law enforcement or law enforcement–adjacent radius.”
He concluded: “[Mike could] broaden his horizons and maybe find other interests in common. It would be somebody that could distract him from his work life and bring him more into other parts of himself. His hobbies and his passions. Because you know that that line of work can weigh on you. So when the other person in the relationship is also in that line of work, it can get pretty heavy. As familiar as it is, it would be nice for Mike to step out of his comfort zone.”
