Ben Hollingsworth Says Small-Town Life Gives His Kids Freedom Los Angeles Can't
The «Virgin River» actor says raising his three children outside a major city lets them play outside and come home at dusk, a childhood he says is increasingly rare and impossible in Los Angeles.
Ben Hollingsworth says raising his three children in a small town has given them a kind of freedom he believes has largely disappeared from American childhood — and that would be impossible to replicate in Los Angeles.
In an interview tied to his upcoming appearance at Meet Cute Con, the 42-year-old «Virgin River» actor described a family routine in which his kids head out to play and are expected back by dinnertime. «Our kids are actually, we're able to kind of let them go off and be like, be back at five, which I feel like is kind of gone away now,» he said. «It's really, really tricky to do that. You definitely can't do it in major cities, or you'll be arrested as a parent.»
Hollingsworth was blunt about how that would play in Southern California. «Letting your kid run across Ventura Boulevard? In LA, that doesn't fly,» he said. He added that he is «thankful» his children can play outside as long as they are «back by this time when the sun goes down,» and that he is «happy to provide them with some of what I got growing up.»
The move was set in motion by the show itself. While filming the third season of «Virgin River» in British Columbia, his wife became pregnant with their third child, prompting the family to leave a large city for what he called a «very Virgin River-esque town.» He declined to name the location. «We made a decision to put down roots in a smaller place,» he said. «And raising your kids in small town is just, it's a luxury, and we're very happy that we're able to provide that for the kiddos.»
He described the shift away from Los Angeles as something that happened «organically,» and noted he is not alone among screen performers in making that choice, citing Jana Kramer and Bethany Joy Lenz as examples. Hollingsworth also said he and his wife keep the children grounded by keeping them active in sports and in family activities such as hikes, part of an effort to keep them outside the Hollywood bubble.
His professional calendar is pulling him back toward fans. Hollingsworth is set to appear at Meet Cute Con, scheduled for November 6 to 8 at the Loveless Barn and Virgin Hotels Nashville. The «Small Town Swoon»-themed gathering will bring together cast members from «Virgin River,» «One Tree Hill» and «The Way Home,» aiming to recreate in person the warmth, romance and community those shows project on screen.
He said the appeal of the event is its scale and its intimacy. «I think community is the key,» he said. «In today's world, we're losing that sense of community more and more every day, I feel like.» He added that bringing a fan community together with the people they are used to seeing on screen lets them «ask questions that they've been dying to ask.»
It will be the first time the full «Virgin River» cast has appeared together publicly in that format, he said, and the setting helped persuade him. «It's not gonna be this massive convention center,» he said. «It's a small intimate thing. So everyone who comes is gonna be a few feet away from us.»
As for why the series has connected so broadly, Hollingsworth pointed to the part of the country it depicts. He said many streaming shows tell stories set in big cities, but as more communities outside those centers have gained access to streaming, stories with «small town charm» and a «sense of community» have resonated. The show, he said, «really took off during the pandemic» as a comforting watch — «almost like medicine for people,» a «warm fuzzy blanket, or a hug.»
He summed up the formula without apology. «It's apple pie entertainment,» he said. «We're not reinventing the wheel. We're doing something that's been done many times before, but we're making really good apple pie.»
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