'Virgin River' star Ben Hollingsworth says his kids have freedom in small town that 'doesn't fly' in LA

Read the original at Fox News ↗
Cite

Bashian, L., & Fink, L. (2026, October 17). 'Virgin River' star Ben Hollingsworth says his kids have freedom in small town that 'doesn't fly' in LA. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/virgin-river-star-ben-hollingsworth-says-his-kids-have-freedom-small-town-doesnt-fly-la

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

Fox News · collected 2026-10-17 · by Lori Bashian, Larry Fink

Quick Summary

Ben Hollingsworth, 42, a star of "Virgin River," told Fox News Digital how raising his children in a small town offers them freedoms not possible in big cities like Los Angeles. He highlighted letting his kids play outside until sunset without legal repercussions, contrasting this with strict regulations in major urban areas. Additionally, he mentioned moving to a small town similar to the setting of "Virgin River" after his wife became pregnant with their third child, emphasizing the benefits of community and outdoor activities for his children's upbringing.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-17, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

Ben Hollingsworth, a star from the Netflix series "Virgin River", recently spoke with Fox News Digital about raising his kids in a small town. He expressed that he can offer his children freedoms not possible in larger cities like Los Angeles, such as allowing them to play outside until sunset without worrying about legal repercussions. Hollingsworth noted that letting kids have this kind of freedom would likely result in parental arrest in Los Angeles, but it's acceptable where he lives. At 42 years old, the actor is also grateful for keeping his children engaged in activities like sports and family hikes to keep them grounded outside the Hollywood bubble. He emphasized the importance of these small-town values resonating with viewers who increasingly seek stories that capture a sense of community and warmth seen on television shows set in smaller towns.

Written for “Ben Hollingsworth On Freedom In Small Town” on 2026-10-17, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Ben Hollingsworth On Freedom In Small Town
Entertainment · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

Nothing to compare against. No article is close enough to this one for the pipeline to have linked or judged the pair.
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
42
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 42 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
67/100
Fox News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Entertainment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-17 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Fox News · 4466 article(s) · 9 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 9 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Lori Bashian
37 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 The "Small Town Swoon" themed event will bring together stars from "Virgin River," "One Tree Hill" and "The Way Home," providing fans with the warmth, romance, and community they see on television in real-life. WATCH:
🔮 Fans could not help but compliment the German supermodel in the comments section, with one calling her "greatest super model to ever do it" and another saying she is "Absolutely smoking hot."
🔮 Together they share their son Sam, who they welcomed in May 2016.
🔮 When playing Potsie Weber on "Happy Days" didn't pay well enough, actor Anson Williams came up with a side hustle: a music career.
🔮 She explained that while she still doesn't like working out and would "much rather be reclining on the couch and reading novels," that would help "feed my brain, but it doesn’t really do it for my body," so she chooses to go to the gym.
🔮 Her followers couldn't help but praise the star in the comments section, with one writing "You’re absolutely the most perfect woman 😍😍" and another adding, "So beautiful Ella."
🔮 The "One Day at a Time" star's post comes one day after she shared an old photo of herself and Van Halen on her Instagram in honor of the sixth anniversary of his death, which she captioned, "Photos may fade, like old photos do, but not the memories and never the love."
🔮 Whether it be finding out they might be brothers to Harrelson surprising McConaughey in bed in the middle of the night, these two Hollywood icons have made it clear they have an interesting friendship.
🔮 But I wouldn't have written it like that.
🔮 "As actors, we don't want to be pigeonholed, so while I was always glad to be in 'Caddyshack,' I sometimes wished that people would acknowledge my other work."
Also by Lori Bashian
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 37 articles by Lori Bashian →
Larry Fink
8 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 The "Small Town Swoon" themed event will bring together stars from "Virgin River," "One Tree Hill" and "The Way Home," providing fans with the warmth, romance, and community they see on television in real-life. WATCH:
🔮 I could literally spend a half hour talking about injuries, the amount, not even like one, I'm talking about 30 hours, 30 minutes of just individual ones, because it becomes compounded.
🔮 The "Hell's Kitchen" star noted that as a father of six, he will have to experience those moments multiple times in the future.
🔮 And it was kind of like at a time where I needed to prove to myself that I could do it again.
🔮 The 74-year-old said he thinks may have "a couple" more action movies in him.
🔮 "Lucky" star William Fichtner has no problem turning down a role if it crosses his boundaries.
🔮 "I said, 'Well, that's cool, because when people get offended, they act like if you gave rednecks a billion dollars, they wouldn't be rednecks,'" he said.
Also by Larry Fink
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 8 articles by Larry Fink →

Topics

British Columbia Canada Fox News Digital Hollywood Meet Cute Con

Subjects

Ben Hollingsworth PERSON · 5× Nashville GPE · 3× Hollingsworth PERSON · 2× Hollywood GPE · 2× Bethany Joy Lenz PERSON · 1× British Columbia GPE · 1× Canada GPE · 1× Fox News Digital ORG · 1× Jana Kramer PERSON · 1× Los Angeles GPE · 1×

Narrative

He explained that many television shows on Netflix and other streaming services tell stories of people in big cities, but as "more and more communities outside those centers have gained access" to these services, stories with "small town charm" and a "sense of community" have begun to resonate.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-17
🔮 The "Small Town Swoon" themed event will bring together stars from "Virgin River," "One Tree Hill" and "The Way Home," providing fans with the warmth, romance, and community they see on television in real-life. WATCH:

Claims (42 extracted, 0 hedged)

Ben Hollingsworth is all about giving his young kids the freedoms he grew up with. asserted
he → give → freedoms
During a recent interview with Fox News Digital, the 42-year-old actor discussed his participation in the upcoming Meet Cute Con, the latest season of "Virgin River" and how raising his kids in a small town affords them certain freedoms. asserted
raising → discuss → freedoms
"Our kids are actually, we're able to kind of let them go off and be like, be back at five, which I feel like is kind of gone away now," he explained. asserted
he → let → which
"It's really, really tricky to do that. asserted
It → do → that
You definitely can't do it in major cities, or you'll be arrested as a parent. asserted
you → do → parent
Like, what are you doing? asserted
you → do → what
Letting your kid run across Ventura Boulevard? asserted
kid → let → Boulevard
In LA, that doesn't fly." asserted
that → fly → LA
He went on to say that he is "thankful" he is able to give his children the kind of life where they can play outside as long as they are "back by this time when the sun goes down," noting, "I'm happy to provide them with some of what I got growing up." asserted
I → go → what
Another way they have managed to keep their children out of the Hollywood bubble and grounded is by keeping them active in sports and through family activities, including hikes. asserted
they → manage → hikes
WATCH: Ben Hollingsworth is 'grateful' to give his three children the childhood he had The actor also shared that while shooting season three of the show in British Columbia, Canada, his wife got pregnant with their third child, and inspired their big life change. asserted
wife → watch → change
WATCH: Ben Hollingsworth and his family moved to a 'Virgin River-esque town' asserted
Hollingsworth → move → town
"I'll be transparent with you, I won't say where we are, but we did move out of a large center and we actually did move to a very Virgin River-esque town because of 'Virgin River asserted
we → say → River
,'" he said. asserted
he → say → ?
"We got pregnant with our third and we made a decision to put down roots in a smaller place. asserted
we → get → place
And raising your kids in small town is just, it's a luxury, and we're very happy that we're able to provide that for the kiddos." asserted
we → raise → kiddos
He admitted that for them spending more time outside of Los Angeles happened "organically," noting that he isn't the only Hollywood star choosing to leave the city, citing Jana Kramer and Bethany Joy Lenz as examples. asserted
he → admit → examples
Hollingsworth also shared his excitement about participating in the upcoming Meet Cute Con taking place at the Loveless Barn and Virgin Hotels Nashville between November 6 and 8. asserted
Hollingsworth → share → November
The "Small Town Swoon" themed event will bring together stars from "Virgin River," "One Tree Hill" and "The Way Home," providing fans with the warmth, romance, and community they see on television in real-life. WATCH: asserted
they → theme → life
Ben Hollingsworth says 'Virgin River' is 'apple pie entertainment' asserted
River → say → ?
"I think community is the key," he said. asserted
he → think → ?
"In today's world, we're losing that sense of community more and more every day, I feel like. asserted
I → lose → community
there's something really great about getting together and bringing a fan community together with some of the people that they're excited about, and they're used to seeing on the screen. asserted
they → be → screen
They can meet and see in real life and ask questions that they've been dying to ask. asserted
they → meet → that
He is looking forward to meeting all the fans, noting this is the first time the entire cast of "Virgin River" has "gotten together as a cast to do this in the public," saying it "just felt right." "It felt really great. asserted
It → look → public
We love Nashville. asserted
We → love → Nashville
Who doesn't love Nashville? asserted
Who → love → Nashville
They're doing it at this barn, and it's not gonna be this massive convention center," he added. asserted
he → do → barn
So everyone who comes is gonna be a few feet away from us. asserted
who → come → us
And that really kind of helped sell it to us that we should do one." asserted
we → sell → one
When it comes to the success of his own show, Hollingsworth attributed it to the idea that it speaks to "a part of America that that we don't celebrate enough." asserted
we → come → America
He explained that many television shows on Netflix and other streaming services tell stories of people in big cities, but as "more and more communities outside those centers have gained access" to these services, stories with "small town charm" and a "sense of community" have begun to resonate. asserted
stories → explain → community
Ben Hollingsworth is excited to attend Meet Cute Con with the 'Virgin River' cast asserted
Hollingsworth → attend → cast
"We really took off during the pandemic," he said. asserted
he → take → pandemic
"Because I think just… that it was a comforting show, it is a comforting show. asserted
it → think → ?
We really take pride in kind of supplying, it's almost like medicine for people. asserted
it → take → people
You don't need to take whatever to go to sleep. asserted
You → need → sleep
You can watch a nice episode of 'Virgin River' and it's like a warm fuzzy blanket, or a hug." asserted
it → watch → blanket
He added: "It's apple pie entertainment. asserted
It → add → ?
And I mean that in the best ways because we're not reinventing the wheel. asserted
we → mean → wheel
…and 2 more, not listed.
💬Give feedback
🕘History 🎫Support