Actor Jack Wagner has kissed his fair share of actresses over the years, from locking lips on “Melrose Place” with Lisa Rinna and Heather Locklear to sweet smooches with Josie Bissett in their “Wedding March” movies on Hallmark Channel.
So when the script for season 12 of “When Calls The Heart” called for his character, Bill Avery, to kiss newcomer Melissa Gilbert’s character, Georgie McGill, he wasn’t shy about making sparks fly.
On March 20, 2025, during a Facebook Live session with WCTH castmates, including Erin Krakow and Kevin McGarry, some were so caught off guard by how Wagner described their passionate kiss, they couldn’t help but crumple into laughter.
“I haven’t had a chance to kiss somebody on this show for a long time,” Wagner reminded them, to which McGarry quipped, “We could tell!”
Jack Wagner Says He & Melissa Gilbert Had a ‘Good Time’ Prepping for Their Kissing Scene
The passionate kiss between Wagner, 65, and Gilbert, 60, occurred in the season’s 10th episode, which first aired on March 9. As their characters stood outside Hope Valley’s saloon, Georgie told Bill that she’d initially been smitten with him years before, in part, because he’d “always treated women with such respect.” When she admitted she still had feelings for him, he reciprocated and pulled her close for a lengthy kiss.
Though the kiss may have seemed “out of the blue” to some viewers, Wagner said, he intended for it to happen that way.
“I’d really worked with the writers on this scene because I felt it was a little overwritten,” Wagner said on the Facebook Live session, “so I really wanted to cut quite a bit of the dialogue. They trusted me. I asked Melissa’s input. She agreed with me, so we were able to let moments play (out) — the unspoken moments.”
During rehearsal, Wagner asked Gilbert “as a courtesy” if she wanted to practice their onscreen kiss.
“She goes, ‘Oh my god. Thank you so much for asking!'” he recalled. “She goes, ‘I think so, yeah. Let’s rehearse it.’ So we were able to be on kind of a very collaborative, professional level.”
“And then I just let her have it,” Wagner said, causing his castmates to burst into laughter, especially when McGarry sarcastically quipped, “That’s really sweet of you!”
As everyone continued to giggle, Wagner smiled, “I’m glad that I asked her (to practice). You know, she appreciated that. And so, we were kind of like, you know, really friendly and professional about it, but I think we both had a good time!”
He also joked that he’d had a deleted kissing scene with a pony named Pal who also appeared in episode, which made the cast laugh even harder.
Hearties Are Hoping Jack Wagner & Melissa Gilbert’s Romance Blooms, But There’s No Word Yet on a Season 13
WCTH had not officially been renewed for a 13th season at the time of publication, but Wagner said during the Facebook Live session that he’d love to see the romance between Bill and Georgie continue.
“I was really happy,” Wagner said of the moment between his and Gilbert’s characters. “I think it was great for the character, Bill, to have, you know, that spark, and then Pascale — or Rosemary — sees it and then fills Elizabeth in, and so it just becomes a thing.”
He added, “I think it also just gives us a little bit of, you know, somewhere to go if Melissa comes back for season 13, and I couldn’t be happier to maybe have a love interest for Bill Avery.”
He’s not alone. Hearties have been vocal on social media about wanting to see their romance blossom, too.
“Love,” one wrote on an Instagram post with a photo of Georgie looking up at Bill. “Please keep Georgie and Bills story going!”
Another expressed a wish that Gilbert will become “a new citizen of Hope Valley next season, I hope…what a kiss!”
“I sure hope she comes back,” someone else commented. “Bill needs someone special in his life.”
Hallmark Channel’s season 12 finale of “When Calls The Heart” airs on March 23 at 9 p.m. Eastern time.
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Jack Wagner’s Hilarious Description of Kissing Scene With Melissa Gilbert Cracks Up Cast