How did Mel's husband die in Virgin River? Details explored in depth

Mel's life with her husband in LA (before she arrived in Virgin River) provided much context to her character and growth in Netflix's 2019 romantic series, especially because she blamed herself for Mark's death.

Based on Robyn Carr's series of romantic novels, Virgin River follows Mel's (Alexandra Breckenridge) fresh start in life after she arrives in the titular rural town in North Carolina, following her husband Mark Monroe's (Daniel Gillies) death in LA. Mark was Mel's first love and an accomplished ER surgeon who worked in the same LA hospital as his wife.

The couple was reeling from the tragedy of their stillborn daughter and their many failed attempts to conceive again when they were involved in a brutal car accident. While Mel survived the accident, her husband was fatally wounded and passed some time after, despite being taken to a hospital.

More on Mel's husband in Virgin River in our story.

Exploring Mel's life with Mark before her arrival in Virgin River

Mel was primarily in a happy marriage with Mark in LA until tragedy struck them. The couple, who were ready to welcome a baby daughter into their lives, were shattered after Mel gave birth to a stillborn daughter.

The pain of this tragedy became unbearable for her as the couple learned about various complications in their future pregnancies, leaving IVF as the only plausible option. While Mark and Mel attempted another pregnancy multiple times, including numerous IVF attempts, nothing seemed to have worked for the couple, which took a toll on Mel's mental health.

On the fateful night in Virgin River, the couple was driving through a storm when Mark expressed his desire to stop trying for a child. Since the process had already created problems between the couple and taken a toll on his wife's physical and mental health, he wanted to stop. However, Mel still wanted a family, which is why she suggested that the couple take a break from their marriage, as they want different things in life.

This was the moment that shook Mark to his core and he took his eyes off the road for a second, leading to a truck smashing into the side of their car. While Mark was taken to a hospital shortly after his accident in Virgin River, the collision proved fatal and eventually led to his death.

Virgin River: Exploring Mel's guilt and trauma over Mark's death

Mel, who was still reeling from the loss of her stillborn daughter, was shattered after this tragedy and decided to move to Virgin River to become a midwife. While this geographical change promised a fresh start for the lead protagonist, guilt and grief still followed her to the titular town, hindering her from making a fresh start.

While Mel was attracted to Jack (Martin Henderson), and they had an undeniable spark in the premiere season, she was not ready to move on from the grief of her husband's death, partly because she blamed herself for it. Not only was the couple in a brutal argument in Mark's final moments, with Mel suggesting that they should take a break from their marriage, but it was because of this very thing that Mark took his eyes off the road, resulting in his death.

Mel blamed herself for Mark's death, and while she moved on from this tragedy (partly because of Jack's unconditional love and support), the guilt still haunted her, especially in Virgin River Season 6, as her marriage date approached. Proving that grief is never linear, Mel suffered sudden bouts of guilt and grief throughout Season 6 and rethought her decision to open herself to loss once again. However, she conquered those fears by marrying Jack in the Season 6 finale, while keeping Monroe as her middle name in honor of her first love and late husband, Mark.

Virgin River is renewed for Seasons 7 and 8 on Netflix.

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