Vanessa Lachey Teases Personal Connection to NCIS: Hawai’i Episode: It’s ‘Allowing Me a Lot of Healing’ (Exclusive)

As NCIS universe prepares to mark a major milestone, Vanessa Lachey talks about how the moment has a special meaning in her life.

On Monday 15.4. NCIS will celebrate its 1000th episode, followed by NCIS: Hawaii airing the 1001st episode of the franchise. Lachey, 43, currently hosts the Hawaii-based series, playing Jane Tennant, who she has portrayed since the series debuted in September 2021.

“It’s just a wonderful franchise to be a part of,” Lachey tells PEOPLE. “We’re hitting 1,000 episodes on April 15th, which not many prime-time scripted shows can say. And it’s an honor to come in some capacity to add to that.”

According to Lachey, the Season 3 episode will not only serve as a reminder of how far the franchise has come and to “start the next 1,000” — it will also be a way for him to look back on his own past.

Calling the episode “a full-circle moment,” Lachey explains, “It dives into my mother who left me. It’s a very emotional episode, it’s a very deep episode.”

Vanessa Lachey on Healing From ‘Hurt’ Her Mother Abandoned When She Was 9 — With Nick’s Support

Vanessa Lachey as Jane Tennant in ‘NCIS: Hawai’i’.

Karen Neal/CBS

“It’s actually Daniela Ruah, an actress at NCIS: LA, directed,” continues Lachey. “There’s a lot going on and I’m nervous. I’ll always be nervous.”

These nerves, she says, often arise because of her background in television, which previously consisted of light roles or performances.

“I came from a background of hosting and acting in sitcoms, and this series allowed me to really dive in,” she says of NCIS: Hawaii. “And this episode, especially with Dani’s direction, I think there are really great things that I hope the fans will like and embrace.”

Lachey also admits that it was “difficult” to have a storyline in the show that reflected such a difficult time in her life.

“It was crazy to walk that line,” says the actress, who is currently also a co-host Love is blind with her husband Nick. “It’s so literal, because looking at this person playing my abandoned mother, as I think about the literal woman who abandoned me, and then, [the director says], ‘Stop bye Vanessa. Great job, see you on Monday.’ Getting on the plane, leaving Love is blind.”

Vanessa Lachey as Jane Tennant in ‘NCIS: Hawai’i’.

Karen Neal/CBS

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Even with the stark contrast between her two jobs, Lachey says the experience is rewarding.

“It was great to have that in my arsenal and to see people say that acting is healing,” she explains. “So, in the same way that Love is blind gives me and Nick that marriage therapy and healing, this show — and especially this episode, 1001 — allows me to do a lot of healing.”

“And that led to a lot of things that I’ve done since then, personally, as Vanessa Lachey, as well as Jane Tennant, which she’s done since her mother left her,” she adds. “Well I hope you like it.”

During Season 3 of the CBS hit, Lachey also got the chance to work with LL COOL J, who is currently guest starring as Sam Hanna, his character from NCIS: LA.

Vanessa Lachey as Jane Tennant and LL Cool J as Sam Hanna in ‘NCIS: Hawai’i’.

Karen Neal/CBS

“We were lucky to have him,” Lachey says of his costar. “It just adds another layer. What I realized is that it adds another layer for my character, Jane Tennant, to be more — I don’t want to say my guard is down, but it’s definitely another layer for her that the audience she hasn’t seen it yet. So I’m totally grateful that we can do that. It’s a fun dynamic.”

“He is what he is, like what you see is what you get,” she continues. “He comes and he’s bigger than life, he’s a big teddy bear, he always has music and he always brings good vibes… So it was a great experience for us in Hawaii.”

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Lachey also believes that hosting LL COOL Ja is representative of the franchise’s overall growth and expansion.

“I think LL’s character, Agent Sam Hanna, is allowing our group to shut down NCIS: Hawaii to expand in a way we haven’t before,” she says. “And you can see different growth dynamics. We, as actors, can kind of immerse ourselves in the different layers of each character. And so he literally and figuratively shakes things up for us. And what more could you ask for when you start another season?”

“Every year you want to figure out a way you can grow the franchise and I think this is a really great way for us to do that,” she adds. “It gets people talking about the show and that’s a wonderful thing.”

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NCIS: Hawaii airs Mondays at 10pm ET/PT on CBS.

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Source: HIS Education