After real-life Hallmark couple Chris McNally and Julie Gonzalo welcomed their second daughter in the spring of 2026, they both had to get back to work filming new rom-coms. McNally’s “Love Finds You” premiered on August 23, while Gonzalo’s “A Knight to Remember” debuts on October 3.
So how did they handle juggling having an infant and a four-year-old with the intense schedule of filming their new Hallmark movies? They “traded” duties, stayed local, and met up at the end of each crazy day!
Chris McNally Says He Took Over For Julie Gonzalo When It Was Her Turn to Film
HallmarkMcNally and Gonzalo, who met on the set of Hallmark’s “The Sweetest Heart” in 2017, announced on June 24 that they’d welcomed their second daughter in the spring. They didn’t provide an exact birthdate or her name. But by the time they announced their little girl’s arrival, McNally had already finished filming “Love Finds You” with Aimee Teegarden in British Columbia. The shoot took place in May, per UBCP/ACTRA.
During an appearance on the Heart to Hearties podcast released on August 19, he said, “I think maybe she was three months old and, yeah, I skipped out of dad duties for three weeks, but then we traded. I stayed home and Julie went and did one for three weeks. We got to trade off, which was nice.”
Shooting their movies in British Columbia, where McNally also films “When Calls The Heart,” was critical for making it work, he said, explaining, “That’s why it worked out. At least you have the nights at home and the weekends at home. I think a destination project would have been a lot more difficult. It just wouldn’t have happened, to be honest.”
And how on earth did he look refreshed on set each day with a newborn at home? He not only revealed that he had to get a spray tan (especially since he wore shorts throughout the movie as a delivery driver), but joked that the producers had “Chris’s special under eye button in post that they push — his little beauty button. No, I don’t know if that’s a thing.”
Chris McNally Was a Doting Dad on the Set of Julie Gonzalo’s Movie
HallmarkIt sounds like when it was McNally’s turn to be a full-time dad, he rocked the role. Bryn Donovan, the author of “A Knight at the Museum,” the romantic novel Gonzalo’s new movie is based on, visited the set in July and wrote about her time in Vancouver via her blog on August 3.
Though she couldn’t yet divulge who the stars of the movie were at the time, Donovan wrote, “The actor playing Emily had just had a baby four months prior; her husband, her adorable little daughter, and her remarkably easygoing baby were on the set.”
Donovan also shared this juicy tidbit: “Her husband is an actor, and a Hallmark regular; he’s also in a scene in the movie.” So maybe we’ll get a McNally cameo in “A Knight to Remember,” which premieres on October 3 at 8 p.m. Eastern time. “Love Finds You,” meanwhile, is now available to stream via Hallmark+.
Chris McNally & Julie Gonzalo Admitted Life Has Been a Blur Since Their 2nd Daughter’s Arrival
On the Hearts to Hearties podcast, McNally admitted “life’s been a blur” since the arrival of his second daughter. That’s the same thing he and Gonzalo told People magazine in June while announcing her birth.
“Our first few weeks were a bit of a blur,” they told the outlet. “Lots of love, very little sleep, and a healthy dose of stress. We seem to have forgotten how small newborns are — it seems impossible our oldest was ever that tiny! There have been plenty of family snuggles, though, which helped make the exhaustion easier to handle.”
During an August 19 appearance on the “Everything About Hallmark” podcast, McNally revealed that the photo People published (above) was actually taken by the couple’s four year old!
“She’s very into photography,” he said. “So, I set up my camera and I put it on sort of rapid fire (mode) and she just had a great time. I showed her the photo (after it was published) and I said, ‘Hey, you took that.’ And and she saw it and she had this really endearing smile.”
McNally also noted that his four-year-old is not nearly as quiet as he is, laughing, “She’s very funny, she’s very confident, very outgoing.”
