Alexandra Breckenridge has shared her devastation at the loss of one of her close friends. The Virgin River star announced her friend's sad passing on her Instagram Stories, saying she felt compelled to share the news in acknowledgement of Mental Health Awareness Month.
Addressing her followers in a video, the actress began: "I feel like this is probably not advisable to talk about but I just found out that I lost one of my closest friends in my life.
"She was like my sister. For a really long time she was my sister," she continued, holding back tears.
"I just wanted to acknowledge that this happened and I don't know why on Instagram but everything is so happy and perky all the time and we don't always take the time," explained the star.
While Alexandra didn't share any details about the death, she did open up about her friend's struggle with mental health. "Part of the reason, I think, that I felt compelled to say anything was because I saw that May is Mental Health Awareness Month and my dearly departed friend really struggled with mental health and depression," said the 41-year-old.
"These are real things that happen to people and when something happens in your life that is catastrophic like this and you want to reach out and be there for someone, it's always a good reminder to reach out," she continued. "You might not think that someone wants you to reach out, maybe they don't, but maybe they needed it.
"Anyways, Mental Health Awareness Month. May," she added, blowing a kiss to the camera.
Alexandra's sad news comes amidst filming for season six of Virgin River. Production on the series began in February and is expected to wrap in May.
The new episodes will pick up a few months after the events of the season five festive specials, which ended with a major cliffhanger that saw Mel's newly discovered biological father turned up on her doorstep with "something important" to tell her.
While series six will explore Mel's relationship with her dad, it will also see Mel and Jack (Martin Henderson) continue their journey to parenthood.
Patrick Sean Smith told Tudum: "Mel and Jack will advance on their path to parenthood while also turning Lilly's farm into their ultimate dream home."
While Netflix has yet to announce a release date for season six, we expect the new episodes to arrive in early 2025.
It's been a busy time for Alexandra over the last few weeks. Not only has she been filming Virgin River, but she also announced her new podcast in April.
The actress has teamed up with her Virgin River co-star Zibby Allen for the new project, and while the pair have remained tight-lipped over what the podcast is about, they did reveal that fans can expect the show to arrive in June.