A Cowboy Christmas Romance: Did Lifetime’s First Holiday Movie Love Scene Meet Your Sexpectations?

Crank up some Salt-N-Pepa, because it’s time to talk about sex, baby. Specifically, we need to break down the horny history that was just made on Lifetime, with the airing of the network’s first-ever Christmas movie sex scene on Saturday night.

The literal roll in the hay comes courtesy of A Cowboy Christmas Romance, which stars Jana Kramer (One Tree Hill) as Lexie Crenshaw, a high-powered real estate boss who must return to her Arizona hometown — the one to which she swore she’d never go back! — to secure a career-defining account. Did we mention that the deal needs to be sealed before Christmas Eve? Because of course it does.

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The only thing standing between Lexie and a big, fat bonus is a hunky rancher named Coby Mason (played by Hit the Floor‘s Adam Senn), who puts up a fight when pressured to sell his property. And in case his porn star name wasn’t already a dead giveaway, Coby is Lexie’s partner in the sex scene we’ve all gathered here to discuss.

The genre-redefining moment goes down midway through the film. Lexie and Coby are making eyes at each other, basking in the glow of a nearby Christmas tree, when their bubbling sexual tension finally boils over. In a move that Smokey the Bear would certainly advise against, Coby recklessly swipes away (but does not extinguish) a nearby grouping of candles to make room for Lexie, whom he effortlessly lifts up onto the kitchen counter.

A giggle from just off camera reminds them that they’re not alone, but this train has already left the station and there’s no stopping it, so Lexie and Coby two-step over to a nearby barn to finish what they started. Coby dramatically removes his shirt, much to Lexie’s vocal delight, and the two proceed to knock cowboy boots.

From Lexie and Coby’s first kiss to their morning-after in the barn, this much-hyped sequence only lasts about 90 seconds, but it’s a very good 90 seconds. Hot enough to land Lifetime on Santa’s naughty list, but also tame enough to avoid the ire of the Parents Television Council.

We probably wouldn’t have given the scene a second thought, had Kramer not drawn our attention to it during an interview with the film’s writer, Grey’s Anatomy alumna Sarah Drew, on a recent episode of her podcast.

“Obviously it’s still Lifetime, it’s still family, but it’s pushing limits there, too,” Kramer said. Much to her surprise, the network “didn’t cut anything,” and she’s “so happy that they left it all in there.”

Shortly after Kramer’s podcast made the rounds, Lifetime released this statement of support: “We think that there’s an audience out there that’s hungry for grown-up romance, and we’re looking forward to adding some smolder to the usual holiday sugar and spice. We love trying new things, and we’re excited about this new ‘first’ for us for a holiday movie.”

So here’s our question: was it worth the hype? Drop a comment with your thoughts on this horny, historic holiday milestone below.

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