2025 is shaping up to be quite a year for one member of the 911 franchise! On the heels of his casting in ABC’s new spinoff 911: Nashville, social media influencer turned actor Hunter McVey has announced his engagement to girlfriend Julia Bridges.
“Forever with you,” McVey wrote, sharing the video of the moment he got down on one knee to propose to his longtime girlfriend. While it’s unclear exactly where the proposal took place, McVey scouted out a truly stunning location with a picturesque view!
Although we’re unable to hear the audio from the video with James Taylor’s cover of “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)” playing over it, no words are needed to see the love the pair shares for one another. We too got emotional watching McVey’s warm reaction to Bridges accepting his proposal – the way his face lit up with pure joy, and the way the pair embraced.
As previously announced, McVey will make his acting debut in ABC’s new 911 spinoff, 911: Nashville. McVey will be playing Blue, a haunted bad boy who is now a firefighter at the firehouse at the center of the show. While details about his character are being kept close to the vest, it seems that McVey’s character will be the son of LeAnn Rimes’ character.
“Hey, son, can’t wait to meet you! Welcome to the family,” Rimes wrote in the comments of McVey’s Instagram post sharing Variety’s original casting report, to which McVey replied, “The pleasure will be all mine, mama.”
The social interaction has fans convinced the pair will be playing mother and son on the series, with fans quick to point out that McVey’s character’s name could also be a major clue. “Blue” was Rimes’ breakout single, helping to land her a Grammy for Best Female Country Vocal Performance and Best New Artist at the 39th Annual Grammy Awards. It’s certainly a fun nod to Rimes’ iconic single and a fitting Easter egg for the Nashville-set series.
We’re definitely eager to see McVey’s acting debut, and we’re pretty sure fans are going to quickly fall in love with his character. After all, who doesn’t love a reformed bad boy? It also doesn’t hurt that McVey is literally built like he walked out of a firefighter calendar shoot, and he most certainly knows how to pull off a cowboy hat.
In addition to McVey and Rimes, 911: Nashville will also star Chris O’Donnell, Jessica Capshaw, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Hailey Kilgore, Michael Provost, and Juani Feliz. Filming on the series has recently begun in Nashville, so we should soon begin to get some behind-the-scenes updates from the set, including some of our first looks at the core characters.
911: Nashville premieres this fall on ABC.