Hope Valley's newest mom dishes to ET on potential love triangles, her adorable baby co-stars and the town's handsome newcomers.
When Calls the Heart kicked off its sixth season on Sunday, and fans got a chance to return to idyllic Hope Valley, where there's some handsome new faces and love in the air.
Erin Krakow, who stars as the beloved teacher and new mom Elizabeth Thornton, recently sat down with ET's Deidre Behar and she opened up about the new man in her character's life -- her infant son, Jack Jr.
"Elizabeth is in love with her baby. Baby Jack is the only man in her life and it's going to stay that way for a while," Krakow shared. "She's not jumping into any romance right away. Elizabeth is really taking her time with that."
With season six, When Calls the Heart picks up about a year after the heartbreaking season five finale, which saw Elizabeth's husband, Mountie Jack Thornton (Daniel Lissing), tragically die not long after they tied the knot.
Shortly after his death, Elizabeth discovered that she was pregnant with Jack's baby -- whom she delivered in a house in the woods during the dramatic holiday special When Calls the Heart: The Greatest Christmas Blessing.
With the start of season six, two new men have made their home in Hope Valley -- Mountie Nathan Grant (Kevin McGarry) and saloon owner Lucas Bouchard (Chris McNally).
However, Krakow says her character isn't ready to spark a romance anytime soon -- and, as a new executive producer on the show, she feels the decision is one made out of respect to both Elizabeth and the fans as well.
"After spending five seasons building up this romance between Jack and Elizabeth, and really falling for their connection, I think it would be pretty jarring for our audience to suddenly see Elizabeth with a new guy," Krakow explained. "So we really are taking our time with it."
"We're trying to be respectful of the fact that this is a major loss in her life," she added. "Even though she was put on this fast-forwarded path with her pregnancy and giving birth to baby Jack, she's still finding her way out of the fog of mourning."
While Elizabeth's focus is going to be on her adorable little man, that doesn't mean the new men in the town won't be finding themselves falling for Elizabeth, whom Krakow admits her character does befriend.
"As far as a potential love triangle, yes, we are bringing in two very handsome, and kind and personable young bachelors and Elizabeth does become friends with Nathan and Lucas," she teased. "We're trying to lay the groundwork for something in the future. By the end of the season, you do see that there's maybe a little chemistry happening, but we're not going much further beyond that."
"Not until hopefully season seven!" she added excitedly about the possibility of filming another season in the future.
Krakow spent five seasons building up a romantic chemistry with her former co-star -- and real-life friend -- Lissing, but the actress said it hasn't been too tough to star alongside the adorable twin babies who play her son.
"I get to hold the cutest little babies all day so I'm doing all right actually," Krakow said of her heartwarming new co-stars, Lincoln and Gunnar Taylor. "They're such happy, beautiful babies. Very well behaved and decent little actors."
While this season of When Calls the Heart might not delve too deep into any new romantic developments for Elizabeth, there could be some love on the horizon for a few of her fellow Hope Valley residents.
According to Krakow, the evident chemistry between Carson Shepherd (Paul Greene) and town nurse Faith Carter (Andrea Brooks) will continue to develop and unfold, but not without some trepidation.
"I think any time two people who work together and engage in a romantic relationship, you have to be careful," Krakow hinted. "But I support it. I think they're very cute together and I'd like to see where that goes… I think they're maybe both a little hesitant at first, and maybe one doesn't know how the other feels, so they're sort of dipping a toe."
However, the romantic drama isn't reserved for burgeoning couples but the show's established relationships as well, including Lee and Rosemary Coulter (Kavan Smith and Pascale Hutton). The show's adorably goofy couple is going to be coming to a somewhat serious conflict, and Krakow's excited to see it play out.
"Kavan and Pascale are such brilliant comedians, and they do such a good job infusing When Calls the Heart with comic relief. Their chemistry together is very funny, but they're both such strong dramatic actors as well," she shared. "This season, I think we're seeing how navigating the next steps in their marriage is not necessarily as smooth as they would hope and how that brings up some issues for them that are a little more serious than their normal spats and banter."
One of the most surprising romantic storylines will apparently include Abigail Stanton (Lori Loughlin), who lost her husband and son in a mining disaster that immediately preceded the first season.
Since her tragic loss, Abigail has been a boldly independent woman who has proudly raised her two adopted children by herself. However, it seems she might be finding a love interest of her own.
"She is [a strong, independent woman], and more, but she can still find romance," Krakow shared. "[Abigail] didn't necessarily need [a romantic storyline], but it's a nice color to get to add to her palette this season. She deserves it!"
When Calls the Heart airs Sundays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark channel.
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