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Nolan (Nathan Fillion) got hit with a curveball at the end of The Rookie, Season 4, Episode 9, when he meets Bailey’s (Jenna Dewan) husband. This revelation will throw a wrench in Nolan’s plan to propose, but it will also complicate things for Bailey. According to showrunner Alexi Hawley, her husband isn’t the best person, and he’ll cause trouble in the upcoming episodes. 

Bailey’s husband appears in the latest episode of ‘The Rookie’

Steve Kazee as Jason and Jenna Dewan as Bailey in 'The Rookie'
Steve Kazee as Jason and Jenna Dewan as Bailey in ‘The Rookie’ | Raymond Liu/ABC

In the Dec. 12 episode of The Rookie, Nolan tells Chen (Melissa O’Neil) that he’s planning to propose to Bailey and wants her to meet her son. After a few attempts, he manages to get Bailey on a video call with Henry (Zayne Emory), who’s in Japan. But Henry’s connection fizzles, and Bailey has to leave, so Nolan is left hoping they can talk again at another time. 

Toward the end of the episode, Nolan and Bailey meet for lunch. He tells her that he loves her. And just as Bailey says it back, they are interrupted by Jason (Steve Kazee).

“When did you get out?” Bailey asks Jason. 

“Just last week,” he reveals. 

 Then, when Nolan introduces himself as Bailey’s boyfriend, Jason reveals he’s her husband. 

‘The Rookie’ showrunner teases Jason is trouble

In asking when Jason got “out,” Bailey suggests he may have been incarcerated. And as teased by Hawley, there’s a good reason she’s been keeping her husband a secret. 

“He’s not a good guy,” Hawley told TV Insider. “I mean, we love Bailey, and so there’s clearly got to be a reason why this has been a secret for her.”

“It ties into her intimacy issues and her relationship issues,” he added. “But what kind of a relationship was it, what kind of a guy was she married to that she would run away from him so hard that she wouldn’t even talk about him? That’s really what we’re going to get into in the next few episodes.”

So is there still hope for Nolan and Bailey?

The arrival of Bailey’s husband is going to complicate things for sure. But Nolan may be more disturbed by the fact that she hid this part of her life from him. 

However, compared to his previous relationships with Dr. Grace Sawyer (Ali Larter) and Jessica Russo (Sarah Shahi), Hawley noted that Bailey might be “the one” for Nolan. And while he may not have been trying to propose at that moment, confessing his love for her was still a big step. 

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“We have to remember, this is a guy who’s married for 20 years, and in the world of the show, he’s only been divorced for a little under two years,” the showrunner told TV Insider. “So, the Ali Larter and Sarah Shahi relationships were almost rebounds from his marriage and this is the first time he’s been with a woman where he’s like, “Oh yeah, no, this is real, and there’s something here.”

And Hawley teased that with all the surprises Bailey has to offer and how great it is to work with Jenna Dewan, there’s a good chance Nolan and Bailey will see things through as the season continues. 

“I mean, it’s been so rewarding, and I love that we are constantly learning something else that she does,” Hawley said. “She’s a firefighter, she’s an army reservist, she’s a Capoeira instructor, she races motorcycles.”

“So to me, the fun is that we’re just constantly finding out something else that she does or she’s good at,” he continued.  “They just have such an easy chemistry. It’s great, and she’s so lovely to work with. It’s been a joy to have her in the show.”