'Nashville' Sneak Peek: Deacon Confesses He's Falling for Jessie and Someone Isn't Happy About It (Exclusive)

By Philiana Ng‍ 8:32 AM PST, January 18, 2018

Deacon is moving on romantically -- and one family member is having a difficult time dealing with that reality.

On Thursday's episode of Nashville, titled "Jump Then Fall," Deacon (Charles Esten) sits down the girls, Maddie (Lennon Stella) and Daphne (Maisy Stella), to "clear the air" about his relationship with Jessie after they unexpectedly bumped into the new couple while they were out and about.

"We have feelings for each other, and I don't even know what they are, honestly. But it's new and confusing, and that's why I didn't say anything about it," Deacon tells the teens. "But then we ran into ya when we were out and about, and I didn't want to make it out like we were hiding something."

"OK," his step-daughter, Daphne, responds coldly.

"Doesn't seem like it's OK, sweetie," Deacon observes, prompting the trio to finally address the uncomfortable topic of him potentially moving on from their late mother, Rayna.

"It's not like it's a big secret. I just didn't know what it was, so I didn't want to throw it at ya before that, you know?" he says, with Maddie and Daphne assuring him that they just want him "to be happy."

But one of the girls is having a harder time coming to terms that Deacon and Rayna are a thing of the past. Watch ET's exclusive clip above to see what happens next.

In December, ET's Sophie Schillaci visited the set of Nashville for its final season, where Esten dished on Deacon and Jessie's deep connection. "The line we're walking is, what it is like when you lose the love of your life? It would have been very easy for Deacon to curl up in a ball and give up [after Rayna's death]," Esten said. "I love very much the way the writers have dealt with Jessie coming back into his world because he's like, 'Hey, I'm not interested in anything,' and she's like 'Yeah, me either, that's not what it's about.' So, in a weird way, they're able to be there for each other as friends."

Nashville airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CMT.

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