Vanessa Lachey Reacts to NCIS: Hawai’i Finale: ‘More Proud Than Ever’ 

Vanessa Lachey is bidding a final farewell to Jane Tennant.

The actress, 43, took to Instagram on Monday, May 6, to share parting words as NCIS: Hawai’i aired its final episode. “This show meant so much to me… and more every day I find, to lots of people,” she wrote. “As an AAPI Woman, Wife, Mother, Colleague & Friend, I am more proud than ever to have been your Jane Tennant on TV.”

Lachey, who made history as the first female lead of the NCIS franchise, added that her role on the show taught her how to “push the envelope” and “break glass ceilings.” She added, “I encourage you ALL to as well! Anything we dream is ours for the taking, no matter what the circumstance!”

The series, which premiered in 2021, was canceled in late April, with CBS announcing that the season 3 finale would serve as the final episode of the show. Lachey admitted that she was “gutted, confused, blindsided” via Instagram Stories following the announcement. “Processing this news and still being present with my family,” she wrote. “I love you all! Mahalo Nui Loa.”

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She elaborated on her feelings in a follow-up Instagram post on May 1, which featured a video of her wiping away tears as she stared out at the ocean. “Forever your Sweet Jane … This was the same spot where I filmed episode 1,” Lachey wrote alongside the clip. “I sat here at 2am [in] June 2021 and stared into the ocean. I asked her to protect me, my family, my crew and our show. I told her we will do all we can to protect the grace and integrity of Hawai’i while also sharing her Beauty with the world.”

She continued,  “Just as the air hits the water & the water hits the land, the waves connect to the shore, some with a huge impact, then … it goes back out. You see … we aren’t meant to be here forever, we are on borrowed time. We appreciate what was given to us for our use, we nurture it and then we leave it better for the next dreamer.”

Lachey — who shares sons Camden, 11, and Phoenix, 7, and daughter Brooklyn, 9, with husband Nick Lachey — previously told Us in November 2022 how much she loves living in Hawai’i, adding that she has “never felt more at home” than in the Aloha State. “Honestly, I constantly tell [Nick] how lucky I feel that we get to be here as a family,” she said. “I feel like I’m meant to be an Air Force brat, like, traveling all around the world. I’ve never really felt like I was home until here.”