TV & Movies

How old is Lizzie in Virgin River?

Daisy Phillipson
SARAH DUGDALE as LIZZIE in Virgin RiverNetflix

Lizzie received some big life news in Virgin River Season 5, which has raised the question: how old is she meant to be? Here’s what you need to know about the character’s age in the Netflix series and the books upon which it’s based.

Based on the Robyn Carr books of the same name, Virgin River brings the characters of the titular town to life on the small screen, while making a few narrative edits along the way. In Netflix’s iteration, Lizzie is introduced in Season 2 as a rebellious teenager sent to Virgin River to live with her aunt Connie.

But over time, and with the help of the locals, Lizzie starts to mature and gain a more nuanced understanding of life and responsibility. In Season 5, amid the wildfire, Mayor Hope hires Lizzie as her chief of staff. As for her personal life, she’s in a relationship with Denny – and the pair received some big news in the Part 1 finale. 

Now they’re getting serious about their future, which begs the question: how old is Lizzie, and is she ready for such a huge responsibility? Warning: Spoilers ahead for Virgin River Season 5!

How old is Lizzie in Virgin River?

In Netflix’s iteration of Virgin River, Lizzie (Sarah Dugdale) is said to be 19 years old. And given that only around six months have passed between Season 1 and Season 5, this means she’s either 19 or 20. 

Time moves a lot slower in the TV iteration of the show – hence why it seemed like Charmaine was pregnant forever. And now Lizzie’s pregnant herself, as was revealed at the end of Season 5 Part 1 and discussed in the recent Christmas specials. So, we can expect this to be the focus of her and Denny’s Virgin River journey for quite some time. 

Lizzie’s age has come into question of late amid this plot detail, as it’s been changed quite drastically from the books. In Carr’s novels, Lizzie is just 14 years old, but the writers made her older in the show to allow for more adult themes surrounding the character.

Lizzie and Denny in Virgin RiverNetflix

While it’s been great to see her progress and grow over the course of the five seasons, some viewers were left feeling apprehensive about her pregnancy – especially after Mel and Jack had a miscarriage in Season 5 Part 1.

“There are so many traumatic birth/pregnancy plot lines, I get nervous when new ones pop up,” said one on Reddit. “So glad they didn’t have anything bad happen to Charmaine’s twins (besides the father).”

Another offered a prediction of what might happen, writing: “I’m going to make a prediction – For any number of reasons, some horribly dramatic (Lizzie dies in childbirth) to less dramatic (Lizzie has second thoughts and decides to travel with Denny while his Huntington’s still allows) end result will be that Mel & Jack end up with the baby.”

That’s for the writers to know and us to find out in Season 6 and beyond.

Virgin River Season 5 is available to stream on Netflix now, and you can check out our other coverage below: 

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