Hallmark had all the fan favorites out for the epic 25th anniversary celebration in New York City. Jonathan Bennett and Benjamin Ayres were on hand for the festivities. The soap star got emotional as he talked about making Hallmark history and revealed why it was so special to him. It was a touching moment that had Ayres in his feels too.
Jonathan Bennett’s Hallmark First Response Touched Benjamin Ayres
Bennett was part of the first same sex wedding ever to take place on Hallmark in the film “The Groomsmen: Second Chances”. The film was the second in The Groomsmen trilogy that also starred Tyler Hynes and BJ Britt. It focused on Bennett’s character falling in love and getting married in Greece.
The actor got candid with People magazine on the red carpet at the 25th-anniversary event about the importance of that to him, as well as about playing a gay man on Hallmark.
“Getting to play a leading man on Hallmark and a leading man in those roles is gay is such a huge deal because it shows that you can have straight men be leading men and you can have gay men be leading men and they can play straight, they can play gay, there’s so many different ways that you can be a leading man and I think that’s so beautiful about Hallmark Channel,” he shared.
Bennett went on to open up about “The Groomsmen: Second Chances”, where he praised his co-stars Britt and Hynes and his love interest in the film, Alexander Lincoln. Then he got real about making Hallmark history.
“It was just such a huge deal because it was the first ever same sex wedding on Hallmark Channel, and so it was a huge deal for not just me but so many people watching to see a love that looked like theirs on the network that tells love stories. It was really special. Hallmark Channel’s for everyone, just like love is for everyone,” the soap star expressed.
Ayres got emotional as he listened to his friend speak. When Bennett was done, the “Hope Valley: 1874” star replied, “Aw, that was really good. Really good.” It was a sweet moment between the pals.
Hallmark Stars React to Jonathan Bennett’s Latest ‘General Hospital’ Scene
When he’s not playing a leading man on Hallmark, the “Mean Girls” star is playing a detective on “General Hospital”. Bennett made his debut as Joe Fitzpatrick in May and has been getting more scene time lately.
Last week, Bennett had his first shirtless scene thanks to Detective Joe enjoying a swim at the Metro Court pool before being questioned by police commissioner Anna Devane (Finola Hughes). The official Instagram account for “General Hospital” shared the scene, which had some of Bennett’s Hallmark pals hitting up the comment section.
Robert Buckley joked, “Well look who learned how to swim.” Nikki DeLoach had a different take on the shirtless pool scene, saying, “This is what we’ve been waiting for 🔥.” The shirtless scene came a few weeks after Bennett’s husband, Jaymes Vaughan, showed him prepping for shirtless scenes.
One fan got in on the action, too, but was more curious about Bennett’s swim in the Metro Court pool than anything else. “How was the swim Jonathan, was it refreshing?” The actor responded, “It’s surprisingly warm.”
