Virgin River star Alexandra Breckenridge from NCIS family connection to musician husband

Alexandra Breckenridge, the star of Virgin River, is once again stepping into the shoes of Mel Monroe but what do we know about her life off-screen?

Virgin River season six was released on Netflix on Thursday, December 19, with all ten episodes available for fans to binge-watch over the coming days.

This season's main storyline revolves around the wedding of Jack Sheridan (played by Martin Henderson) and Mel Monroe (Alexandra Breckenridge), a plot that has been brewing since the fourth season.

But will everything go smoothly, or will the couple face more hurdles on their way to the altar?

As fans gear up to dive into the sixth series, let's delve into actress Alexandra Breckenridge's life outside of Virgin River.

NCIS family connection

Breckenridge was born in May 1982 in Darien, Connecticut, and moved to California with her parents when she was 12.

While her mother worked as a house cleaner, her father was the director of operations for the engineering department at Foxwoods Casino.

Although her parents aren't famous, Breckenridge's uncle and godfather is none other than Michael Weatherly, who played Tony DiNozzo in NCIS.

The brother of the Virgin River actress' mother, she previously appeared on his YouTube show Pulling The Thread With Weatherly and even featured in an episode of JAG, from which NCIS is a spin-off, in 2004.

Discussing her renowned uncle with Connecticut Magazine in 2008, she expressed: "He can commiserate with me about whatever difficulties I'm going through, and he tends to have a lot of really good advice.

"It's wonderful to have a family member who's so close, who's also my godfather."

Musical husband

Her spouse Casey Hooper is lead guitarist for pop sensation Katy Perry and has toured the globe with the star, even appearing in her 2012 documentary 'Katy Perry: Part Of Me'.

Before his gig with the 'California Girls' singer, he tried out for other artists like Avril Lavigne, Selena Gomez, and Adam Lambert but didn't make the cut.

The romance between Breckenridge and Hooper began at the Grammys afterparty in 2012 following his performance with Perry at the awards show.

The couple enjoyed two years of dating before they decided to tie the knot in 2014, culminating in a beautiful wedding in September 2015 at Dunton Hot Springs, Colorado.

They are proud parents to two children: their seven year old son Jack and six year old daughter Billie.

Labour regrets

On The Kelly Clarkson Show, the 'American Horror Story' actress recounted her experience with water birth when she had her "humungous" son Jack.

She humorously remarked: "I feel like the hippies lied to me, because I was watching these documentaries about these water births and I was like, 'Wow, I can do that. I can do that! I wanna do a water birth.'"

However, the reality of her water breaking was far from the peaceful event she had envisioned.

"I push for two hours out of the birthing tub screaming bloody murder, and I was like, 'He's stuck! He's stuck!'

"I was waiting for someone to be like, 'Oh, we have to take him out of you via emergency C-section! ' But I was like, 'Nobody's coming, and I'm still pushing.'"

She didn't repeat her previous experience when it came to her daughter's birth, opting for an epidural this time.

"It was a beautiful experience, magical. I should have listened to my two friends; two of my best friends had babies and they were like, 'Girl, get the epidural.'"

Loss

The Walking Dead actress Alexandra Breckenridge took to Instagram Stories to share the heart-wrenching news of her friend's passing while also acknowledging Mental Health Awareness Month.

Without revealing the cause, Breckenridge expressed that her friend had faced significant mental health challenges.

In a candid video, Breckenridge disclosed: "I feel like this is probably not advisable to talk about but I just found out that I lost one of my closest friends in my life.

"She was like my sister. For a really long time she was my sister.

"I just wanted to acknowledge that this happened and I don't know why on Instagram but everything is so happy and perky all the time and we don't always take the time.

"Part of the reason, I think, that I felt compelled to say anything was because I saw that May is Mental Health Awareness Month and my dearly departed friend really struggled with mental health and depression.

"These are real things that happen to people and when something happens in your life that is catastrophic like this and you want to reach out and be there for someone, it's always a good reminder to reach out.

"You might not think that someone wants you to reach out, maybe they don't, but maybe they needed it."

Virgin River is available to watch on Netflix.