Jessica Biel And Beverley Mitchell Had A Crush On The Same Co-Star While Filming 7th Heaven
Fans may remember "7th Heaven" as a wholesome family series about a reverend and his wife raising seven children. The series debuted in 1996 and ran for 11 seasons before ending in 2007. Although the show was about a big, happy family, behind the scenes things were a bit different. Stars Jessica Biel and Beverley Mitchell even harbored crushes on their on-screen brother, Barry Watson. The series also starred Stephen Collins, Catherine Hicks, David Gallagher, and Mackenzie Rosman.
However, Biel and Mitchell never let their mutual crush on Watson impact their real-life friendship. In 2018, Mitchell, who played Lucy Camden, revealed that she and her on-screen sister became the best of friends while filming the show. "Pretty much every moment that Jessie and I were on set together was a favorite. We always had so much fun. I mean, you put us on set, and we just laughed, and we always blew through our scenes, which kind of was terrible because then we were done," she told TODAY in 2018.
However, just like real sisters, Mitchell says that she and Biel did butt heads on occasion. "[Jessica Biel] used to drive me fricking nuts, and we used to literally want to battle," the TV star told Us Weekly in 2019. Thankfully, they seemed to get over their bickering phase and never had a spat over their feelings for Watson.
Jessica Biel and Beverley Mitchell crushed on Barry Watson as teenagers
In 2021, Barry Watson told Us Weekly that he was certain Jessica Biel and Beverley Mitchell both had a crush on him during the early days of filming "7th Heaven." "I think they were always, sort of, lingering around my trailer," the actor recalled. "I'd walk out and they [would] just, like, pretend [that] they weren't really there." However, Watson says that it was never something that got in the way of their work, or was even at the front of his mind while on set. "I think at the time I didn't really think about that," he stated.
For her part, Biel did admit a teenage crush on her co-star during an interview with Dax Shepard's "Armchair Expert" podcast that same year. "Beverly and I both had crushes on Barry, who played our older brother," the actor confessed. "But no one ever dated anybody. He was dating real-life women. We were like 14 years old, just like, 'Oh my god.' There was no chance for us. It was not happening," she quipped.
Of course, both Biel and Mitchell moved on from their childhood crush. Biel is now married to singer Justin Timberlake and the pair share two children, Silas and Phineas, together. Meanwhile, Mitchell is married to Michael Cameron and the couple have three children, Kenzie, Hutton, and Mayzel.
The cast of 7th Heaven is still close
Despite any old crushes or awkward teenage moments, the cast of "7th Heaven" remains close today. Beverley Mitchell claims that she holds the former co-stars together, joking that she can find any of them for whatever reason. "I am the glue of '7th Heaven,'" she said during her TODAY interview in 2018. "If you want to talk to anybody, you gotta come through me, 'cause I will find them, and I will tell you where they are, and I will give you their contact info."
In addition to Mitchell's longtime friendship with Jessica Biel, the pair also continue to stay in contact with Mackenzie Rosman, who played their youngest sister, Ruthie Camden, in the series. In 2017, Mitchell shared a photo of the three former co-stars together on her Growing Up Hollywood blog, and gushed over their off-screen relationship. "I have been truly blessed with these two beautiful women who really are like sisters [to] me," Mitchell wrote. "They challenge me, they inspire me, and they make me a better person! Though we don't see each other as often as we would like, it is always like we have never been apart, and I couldn't be more thankful!!!"
It seems that no matter what they go through, the Camden sibling actresses will always maintain their bond.