TV & Movies

How old is Jack in Virgin River?

Daisy Phillipson
Jack played by Martin Henderson in Virgin River Season 5Netflix

Jack Sheridan, played by Martin Henderson, is one of the main characters of Virgin River, and he’s been on quite the journey already – but how old is he?

The age of the characters in Virgin River can be ambiguous at times, especially for readers of Robyn Carr’s books, given that changes have been made in Netflix’s adaptation.

Lizzie, for example, is only 14 years old in the novels, whereas she moves to the titular town in the series when she’s 19, allowing for more mature storylines for her character – including an unexpected pregnancy in Season 5. 

But what about Jack? By the time he meets his significant other, Mel Monroe (Alexandra Breckenridge), he’s already been around the block of life. Here’s what you need to know about how old he is, as well as his age gap with Mel in Virgin River. 

How old is Jack in Virgin River?

In the first Virgin River book, Carr confirms on her site that Jack is 40, while Mel is 32. And given this title serves as the basis for Season 1, and the timeline matches up, it makes sense that the characters are these ages at the start of the Netflix series. 

As per Jack’s character description, he is a “40-year-old retired, decorated Marine who fought in four combat zones and now owns Jack’s Bar, the center of social life in Virgin River. There he meets Mel Monroe.”

Martin Henderson as Jack Sheridan and Alexandra Breckenridge as Mel Monroe in Virgin RiverNetflix

Meanwhile, Mel’s states: “Nine months after losing her ER doctor husband in a violent, big-city crime, this burned-out RN, certified nurse midwife and nurse practitioner, age 32, comes to Virgin River, answering an ad to assist the local country doctor.”

Although we’re already on Season 5, not a lot of time has passed since the start of the series – it’s only been around six months from Mel arriving in Virgin River to the latest installment. Which explains why it felt like Charmaine had been pregnant since the dawn of time. 

Mel had her birthday in Season 3, which means we can assume she’s now 33, but Jack hasn’t celebrated his yet. Unless his birthday was off-screen, that would mean Jack is still 40 years old. 

As for the actors who play them, Alexandra Breckenridge is 41 in real life, while Martin Henderson is 49 – and we can’t imagine anyone else playing our favorite duo. 

Virgin River Seasons 1-5 are streaming on Netflix now. Check out our other coverage below:

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