Actress Who Plays Charmaine Defends Virgin River 's Most-Hated Character

Meghan Overdeep
·2 min read

Lauren Hammersley, the actress who plays Charmaine in Virgin River, is aware just how much people hate her character.

Charmaine's jealous determination to drive a wedge between Mel and her ex-boyfriend Jack has earned her enemies not only amongst Virgin River residents but in real life as well.

Fortunately, Hammersley is up for the task.

"For the most part, the people who interact with me directly are very sweet," Hammersley told TVLine. "They'll say they hate Charmaine, but they still like me, and they think I play her well. So that's good. Then there are some people who don't recognize that the character is not the actor, so there have been a few weird interactions that usually end in me saying, 'Have a great day!' because I don't know how to deal with that."

As easy as it is to despise Jack's meddlesome baby mama, Hammersley hopes fans of the Netflix series can find it in their hearts to cut her character some slack. Like all effective antagonists, Charmaine isn't all bad.

"There are two sides to the story," Hammersley tells TVLine in her character's defense. "Charmaine really wanted Jack to be her person, but his heart belongs to Mel. It's been a tough go for Charmaine, but I can see why people just want her out of the way, because of the chemistry between Jack and Mel."

Sure, her behavior can be off the wall at times, but you have to admit that she's hasn't exactly had it easy.

"What Charmaine wants is pretty simple," Hammersley explains. "She wants love, she wants a family, and she wants to be connected—not just to Jack, but also to Hope. She feels like she belongs at the salon, but she really wants to belong in Virgin River. She's got these shattered relationships, and I don't think a lot of them are her fault, so I feel compassion for Charmaine. And now she's pregnant, and the guy who did that to her is off with another woman. So that sucks."

"I just hope that Charmaine ends up happy," she says of her character's fate in the show's upcoming seasons.