general hospital

General Hospital: 7 Returns from the Dead That Stirred Romantic Drama

Posted on by Hellen

Returns from the dead are some of the most dramatic events on soaps, and on General Hospital, a character’s miraculous resurrection often spells trouble for the love life of the partner they left behind. As Maxie (Kirsten Storms) wrestles with pursuing a future with Spinelli (Bradford Anderson) in light of Nathan’s (Ryan Paevey) comeback, here’s a look back at how back-from-the-dead storylines caused big shakeups for characters like Carly (Laura Wright), Sam (Kelly Monaco) and more GH favorites, from invalid marriages to torn-between-two-lovers turmoil.

  1. Luke Spencer

    GENERAL HOSPITAL
    ABC

    In 1983, Luke (Anthony Geary) was presumed dead in an avalanche, and Holly (Emma Samms) wasn’t just brokenhearted — she was also pregnant with the baby of the “deceased” and in danger of being deported. Luke’s best friend, Robert Scorpio, stepped up and the two tied the knot to ensure that Holly could remain in the country. Tender feelings soon sprouted between Mr. and Mrs. Scorpio, and they stayed married even after Holly lost the baby. Just as they consummated their relationship, Luke turned up alive! He was stunned — and hurt — to discover that his lover and best friend had become involved. Holly had trouble sorting out her emotions, but eventually realized that Robert was the man she wanted to live happily ever after with.

  2. Frisco Jones

    frisco felicia 1989
    CRAIG SJODIN/ABC

    After her husband, Frisco Jones (Jack Wagner), was presumed dead while on assignment for the WSB in 1988, Felicia (Kristina Wagner) rebounded with Colton Shore, Lucy Coe’s cousin, and the two said, “I do” in 1989. Little did Felicia know that an uninvited guest was spying on the ceremony — Frisco! When he revealed himself to her not long thereafter, Felicia was astounded — and quite confused about which of her two husbands she wanted to be with. After a bout of amnesia, she realized that her heart still belonged to Frisco. Felicia ended things with Colton and in 1990, she and Frisco remarried. Not only was by Frisco, who was very much alive and back in Port Charles! It was, in fact, news to him that Felicia thought he was dead. One night, Felicia was walking home after dinner with Colton when she came face to face with Frisco, who had been hiding out in the catacombs. She was stunned speechless. “Baby, it’s me,” Frisco said. Felicia promptly fainted! Frisco brought her down to the catacombs and when she came to, she was terrified. Frisco tenderly kissed her hand and asked, “Does that feel like a ghost?” He explained how the false reports of his death came to be, and she was hurt when she realized that she was not the first to know he was alive. She didn’t stay mad all that long, though — in the end, though, Felicia chose Frisco over Colton, and the duo remarried in 1990.

  3. Miranda Jamison

    Jim Ober / ©ABC /Courtesy Everett Collection

    In an infamous 1996 storyline, Sonny Corinthos’s (Maurice Benard, l.) pregnant wife, Lily Rivera, was killed in a car bomb intended for him at the precise moment that his true love, Brenda Barrett (Vanessa Marcil, r.) was eloping with billionaire Jasper “Jax” Jacks (Ingo Rademacher). Brenda and Jax subsequently planned a small ceremony to celebrate their union with close family and friends, and Sonny crashed the wedding. Importantly, he wasn’t alone — he was escorted by Jax’s presumed-dead first wife, Miranda Jamison (Leslie Horan)! Miranda’s status as among the living rendered Brenda and Jax’s marriage invalid, and Jax felt a strong pull to his first love. He did decide to stick with Brenda, but she decided to reconcile with Sonny instead.

  4. Robin Scorpio-Drake

    Brooklyn Rae Silzer, Kimberly McCullough, Jason Thompson
    Howard Wise/jpistudios.com

    Dr. Patrick Drake (Jason Thompson) was heartbroken in 2012 when his beloved wife, Robin Scorpio-Drake (Kimberly McCullough), was presumed dead in a lab explosion. After a failed fling with Dr. Britt Westbourne, Patrick began a romance with nurse Sabrina Santiago, and he asked her to be his wife. Unbeknownst to Patrick, though, Robin was not dead — she was being held hostage! In 2013, Robin was finally rescued, and she sneaked into the church on the day that Patrick and Sabrina were tying the knot. She began to walk out, unseen, when she was spotted by Emma (then-Brooklyn Rae Silzer), her daughter with Patrick, who cried out for her. Stunned, Patrick made his way toward Robin and swept her into a kiss — crushing Sabrina. When reality sank in, it took Patrick some time to sort out his feelings for both women, but in the end, Sabrina found herself the odd woman out.

  5. Nina Reeves

    Michael Easton and Michelle Stafford as Silas and Nina on General Hospital
    TODD WAWRYCHUK/ABC

    In 2014, Dr. Silas Clay learned from his mother-in-law, Madeline Reeves, that his long-comatose wife, Nina (then-Michelle Stafford), had passed away. At the time, Silas was romantically linked to “widow” Sam McCall, but their romance hit a huge obstacle when Nina revealed at a birthday party for Sam’s little boy, Danny Morgan, that she was both alive and out of her coma! Silas broke the news to her that he was now with Sam, and while Nina pretended to take the news well, she secretly plotted revenge. In the end, Sam broke things off with Silas.

  6. Jason Morgan

    Kelly Monaco, Billy Miller, Steve Burton
    JPI

    This one was a doozy. In 2012, Sam (Kelly Monaco) and Jason Morgan’s (Steve Burton, r.) marital bliss was blitzed by his presumed death at Cesar Faison’s hands. In 2015, she learned that “Jake Doe” (Billy Miller), the amnesiac who had shown up in town the year before, was actually Jason, and they reunited, remarrying in 2016. But the following year, the real Jason returned, and it was revealed that the man Sam had accepted as Jason was actually his surprise identical twin, who had been implanted with Jason’s memories. Sam was greatly torn between the two Jasons, but ultimately picked the OG.

  7. Sonny Corinthos

    GH Carly Jason Sonny
    ABC

    Sonny Corinthos was mourned prematurely when he seemingly plunged to his death in 2020. In actuality, he had survived, but suffering from amnesia, he began a new life in Nixon Falls as “Mike.” There, he fell in love with Nina Reeves, who notoriously knew exactly who he was but chose to conceal the truth about his identity from him and those mourning him back home. When he finally regained his memory in the fall of 2021, Sonny rushed home to his wife, Carly (Laura Wright). Just one problem — she had married his best friend, Jason, that very day! Sonny’s return interrupted their wedding night before the marriage was consummated, and the nuptials were deemed invalid. But even though Carly and Jason quickly explained that they had married for business reasons, Carly ultimately admitted to Sonny that she had been falling back in love with Jason before Sonny’s return, which was understandably far from music to Sonny’s ears. Sonny and Carly tried to get their marriage back on track, but after he fell into bed with Nina, they divorced.