Sweet Magnolias Season 3 is finally here, and the series has lined up some exciting new faces in surprise guest roles. Chief among the Serenity newcomers is Cal's much-talked-about ex-girlfriend Vicky, who finally gets her day in the sun in Episode 9 of the new season. Better yet, Vicky is played by Alexa Havins, the wife of Justin Bruening, who plays Cal in the series.
Fans of Sweet Magnolias have waited two whole seasons to meet the woman who turned Cal's life upside-down. The former MLB star and Serenity High history teacher burned out of professional baseball after a motorcycle accident and the breakdown of his relationship with Vicky, who he's described as shallow and manipulative. In the penultimate episode of the season, Cal and Maddie (JoAnna Garcia Swisher) reluctantly go to dinner with Vicky and her new fiancé, leading to a delicious standoff between the two women in the powder room.
Having your beloved wife play your horrible ex-girlfriend sounds like a hard sell, but Justin Bruening and Alexa Havins began their relationship on a TV set. They met while co-starring in All My Children in the early-2000s. Bruening played Jamie Martin on the soap opera, and Havins played his love interest Babe Chandler. Bruening proposed to Havins on set in 2005, right after his character popped the question on the show.
Bruening and Havins share three children. The couple are very protective of their privacy, and neither one has social media. Havins has said that she cherishes her family's alone time, especially after leaving All My Children in 2011:
"When I was on All My Children, every ounce of me was on display — our marriage, everything. I think for a minute, it was just nice to have a couple of things for myself."
Havins most recently appeared in an episode of the HBO dark comedy series Barry. Previously, she appeared in episodes of Grey's Anatomy and The Astronaut Wives Club, among others.
All episodes of Sweet Magnolias Season 3 are now streaming on Netflix.
