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General Hospital’s Avery Pohl Weighs-in on Esme Having a “Little Mini Crush On Spencer”

By Michael Fairman

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Photo: ABC

Sprina fans have often been incensed that GH has not moved further along the romantic story of Trina (Tabyana Ali) and Spencer (Nicholas Chavez). For one thing, the young couple haven’t hit the sheets as of yet. For another, there is the interloper and ongoing threat to their relationship in Esme Prince (Avery Pohl).

With Esme and baby Ace living with Spencer at Laura’s, she is getting awfully close to her ex-boyfriend.  If the old Esme finally reveals herself, what will she be capable of doing if she is falling for Spencer all over again? (Or, did she ever ‘really’ love him the first go-round?)

In the latest issue of Soap Opera Digest, Avery Pohl shares her thoughts on her Port Charles alter-ego’s deepening feelings for Spencer, and if Esme is even aware of what she is doing, or if this is all pure manipulation.

Courtesy/ABC

Pohl expressed: “I think that Esme is not fully aware of her feelings or her actions.  I don’t think she’s got the same wherewithal of who she is as a person like she did before.  So within that, she doesn’t know what she is doing. I think, that is the bottom line.”

GH and Sprina fans are trying to brace themselves for the day that Esme decides to go all-in to get Spencer back, but Pohl, adds, “Esme isn’t fully aware of how her actions are going to impact others, which may be similar to the old Esme in a certain capacity, but I don’t think realizes her little mini crush on Spencer yet.”

Courtesy/ABC

However, next week on GH, also look for Trina and Spencer to have a significant heart-to-heart when Trina pipes up about how she feels about the amount of time he is spending with baby Ace and Esme.

So, where is this all heading? Is it going to be revealed that Esme is the ‘old’ Esme and is going to continually come between Spencer and Trina … or, is this new version going to have deep and genuine feelings for Spencer, which somehow, in turn, is going to cause Spencer conflicted feelings in his love life? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.

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The hardest is when a actress is replaced.

Although Tabyana is a good actress, It’s just the prior Trina, had more chemistry with Spencer.

Honestly they both bring something different. I don’t see the other actress doing what Tabby did in Greenland. I didn’t like the change at first but when her and Spencer decided to team up to flush out Esme then I started giving her a break.

Oh, you bet, Brian—at least you think Tabyana is a good actress—I don’t. No charisma—I doubt that innate skill could mutate for the better with anyone else.
The previous Trina had it all!! More power to her.
Then, there’s Esme—she and Spencer are the IT couple—
Aside—a word to Olivia—Sing—Sang—SUNG. The “natural” progression of the verb.

Tabyana is a great actress as well as Syndey. They both had/have chemistry with Spencer/Nicholas. Spencer and Esme have zero chemistry. No one wants to see them together, after everything Esme did to Spencer and his friends. The worse thing GH did was to have Esme have sex with Nicholas, which was gross and giving er a baby. Now they don’t know what to do with her.

No. Not happening. Sprina only. Sprina ALWAYS. Are we really supposed to believe she has changed? She has been excused from all of her crimes, never suffered consequences for her actions and manipulates Spencer and others. Nope. Never. Spencer and Trina are IT in every way.

I like Esme and Spencer and I’m sick of some demanding that Spencer be with Esme because she’s black, and inferring that if he and Esme don’t get together it’s because of racism. That’s all the blather on social media by Sprina fans, which means that due to cries of racism, we already know that the endgame will be Spencer and Trina.

Why though? This chick slept with his dad. Came to his school to prey on him and infiltrate his family. Esme isn’t a good pick for Spencer regardless of race. She belongs in prison.

If she belongs in prison so does Carly for decades of crimes; from attempted murder (twice) to drugging AJ, to kidnapping Martin Grey’s mother. Probably could get some time for taking Nina’s DNA without her permission and running a DNA test on her and Willow w/o permission. What about Portia? She’s a doctor who took an oath to do no harm, yet she deliberately brought Oz out of his coma, knowing it could kill him or cause permanent brain damage, just so he could testify against Esme.
Esme was a bitch; but she’s not a murderer & at this point anyway, has started a new life. I’m not saying I’d want Spencer with her if she reverted to the way she was, but if there’s goodness in her (maybe with a big of an edge), I like them together. Regardless, the pressure on the show for Trina & Spencer and the racism accusation has turned me off to them as a couple. I don’t like “demands” made based on race.

One more thing; as for sleeping with his father? Not the first time on a soap. In GH? Sam slept with Dante’s father, Sam slept with her sister Molly’s father, Kiki slept with Griffin, her mother’s boyfriend, Ava and Kiki slept with Morgan, Carly slept with Tony, her mother’s husband, etc…

Have you read the post? Doesn’t make sense.

Yes I have; I edited it but it didn’t appear. I wrote “Esme” when I meant Trina. I then added another comment to clarify. I’m wondering if the edit option isn’t working.

Regecca 1
I agree. Can’t stand this Trina and I don’t care what color she is. She makes Esme look better and better every time she opens her whiney mouth.

Seriously, she can’t help her voice. That’s a personal attack against the actress. Stick to the character. Nothing can make Esme look good at this point. Feel free to watch Trina or mute your TV.

Sometimes it’s an actor’s choice to adjust the pitch in their voice (Lord knows Michael Easton’s been doing it for years). It’s all in the delivery and doesn’t necessarily impact the longevity on a show. Heck, Kristina Wagner’s been on and off this show for almost 40 years despite some (not me) criticizing the voice she gives to Felicia.

Except, Kristina Wagner’s voice as Felicia is not that different from her own. It’s just slightly higher in pitch.

B.S. everything about an actor or actress affects their character, their looks, the sound of their voice, mannerisms, etc.I don’t care for Spencer’s looks either. What are supposed to be muscles, look like fat to be in his arms and upper legs. This is an observation not really a criticism I think Avery Pohl is a beautiful girl and her looks don’t hurt her character one bit!

I agree. Can’t stand this Trina and I don’t care what color she is.

Is it necessary to include the colour of her skin? Comes off increasingly racist, almost as if stating “I’m not racist but…”.

You need to read correctly before you respond. I DID NOT mention the color of her skin. In fact I said I didn’t care what color she was and the color of hers is obvious, so no need. It just seems that those of us that don’t like her are being accused of not liking her because of her race and that’s where my original post comes from about not caring what color she is I don’t like her anyway, so sue me, I don’t know what else to say and I’m certainly not apologizing for an unintentional remark that got under your skin.

I’m with you, Violet. Gosh, it’s gotten to where we have to edit ourselves BEFORE we decide to make an innocent comment. Trina and Spencer do not generate any sparks anymore, it’s no one’s fault.
Just like in real life, not everyone becomes our best friend. It’s just chemistry. I love Spencer’s looks and I’m warming to him and the new & improved Esme.

Again, Violet, you DID. I can guarantee if Ali were a White actress, your statement would of read: “I agree. Can’t stand this Trina,” and you would have left out “and I don’t care what color she is.” The racist undertones of needing to include “I don’t care what color she is” is tone deaf. Point blank. People feel the need to bring Ali up in every single post where someone is involved in Trina’s orbit storyline-wise, and it’s absolutely ridiculous.

I don’t know why I’m bothering to explain to you what I wrote, but here goes! The ” I don’t care what color she is” statement was because of all the comments being spewed by Trina fans and the reason for their single mindedness being that we would not even say such a thing if she were white. The racism is coming from these people accusing us of being racists that we’re always having to defend ourselves , thus the comment ” I don’t care what the hell colo,r she is, I still can’t stand her. I should say that all of the Esme haters just don’t like her because she’s white. How stupid all of this is. Too bad a person can’t say one thing that isn’t to someone’s liking and they get jumped all over, so excuse the hell out of me!

Remain ignorant in your statement, Violet. You wear it well.

This Esme storyline has missed every single potential mark it could have made. Having watched the 2018–2019 Neighbours seasons, I can tell you should all watch the Finn Kelly storyline, because it is exactly what the Esme storyline should have been, and it was not.

Please do not do a repeat of a Spencer, Trina and Esme storyline.

Esme is Steven Lars daughter with Maggie because Heather already admitted that she’s not Esmes grandmother.

I meant to put down Heather admitting to not being Heather’s mother.

Oh no I missed that who did she confess that to I would love if she turned out to be Carly’s daughter whose to say that Carly didn’t have a child before coming to Port Charles

Your correction needs another correction. I’m confused.

Esme needs to go

Avery appears to be missing the mark on her character’s motivations and true persona. Whether or not Esmess has memories, her actions are reminiscent of the past. She has yet to suffer consequences for her evil actions against Trina, Joss, Cam, and Spencer. No amnesia and cute baby will ever erase that.

To you diehard “Sprina” fans. To others, we’re happy with how Esme’s being written. There are a LOT more characters who haven’t ever paid for their crimes like Carly, who has gotten away with much worse for decades. And more recently, Portia, a doctor who swore an oath to protect life, do no harm, yet took Oz off life support before he was ready, knowing he could die or suffer brain damage, all so he could testify against Esme. I don’t remember her paying…So this “Esme must pay” is kinda BS.

I’m not a fan of Carly but she has been locked up and put in mental institutions multiple times. She was fortunate to have Jason, Sonny and even Jax cover for her. Portia not paying for her crimes that’s on the PCPD. Esme actually has charges hanging over her head. If she reverts back to “herself” they can charge her.

Who did Carly and Portia frame for a crime? What Esme did to Cam and Joss and framing Trina was pure evil. Also, Trina had to go trial and almost went to jail. GH should not have given Esme amnesia and let her pay for her crimes. Maybe she could have been redeemed.

Do you think framing someone is the worst crime on GH? Carly’s attempted murder twice. She tried to kill Tony, the husband she stole from her mother, she tried to kill Franco after she cheated on him when they were engaged, She drugged AJ when he was in recovery. She kidnapped Martin Grey’s mother from a nursing home to use as leverage against Cyrus. She helped Jax switch Spencer’s paternity results to keep Nikolas from knowing Spencer was his son. She took a son from his father for life,(I’m sure Carly fans/AJ haters thought that was great; I thought it was disgusting & hate it to this day), she took Nina’s DNA and ran a DNA test without permission, she tried to keep Nina from her child for life. That’s the short list.

Portia? She’s a doctor who took an oath to do no harm, yet she took Oz out of his coma knowing that could kill him or cause permanent brain damage so he could testify against Esme.

Viewers seem to pick and choose who goes down for their “crimes.” At this point, I’d say Esme paid enough; she’s been traumatized several times over. If she reverts to crazy/evil, I’ll change my mind.

Rebecca, she taped two teenagers having sex for the first time and released it to the world. She also drugged Trina with a narcotic that Britt later said was very dangerous to mix with alcohol. Then she framed Trina for this heinous crime. Rather than adhere to the natural flow of the story arc which would deliver Esme with comeuppance, she develops a convenient case of amnesia. Oh, and she also had a giant baby which she uses as a shield. She’s a sexual deviant and a sociopath and sorry, a baby and amnesia cannot change the tenor of her morally bankrupt character. The actress and her character fell prey to abysmally poor writing.

Oh, and she also had a giant baby

Can’t blame her for that; it was already addressed, due to COVID regulations, they have to “hire” (and I hate using this word in regards to babies) infants that are not the size of newborns.

The delays and the lack of airtime have me shrugging my shoulders when it comes to Sprina, and I get that’s the feeling they (TPTB) want from the fans. That way they can do whatever. They were so cute together and now they rarely have any time to sparkle. The writers need to fit that stat.

Sorry but GH has missed the mark. Wrong message to send that you can do low down dirty crimes and get away with it. Baby or not Amnesia or not she belongs in prison. It’s hard to believe that she has Amnesia when she fell off the parapet before and still remembered and never miscarried Ace. This storyline is trash.

The prior Trina wasn’t around when grown Spencer showed up new Trina was there

Sydney Mikayla is the Trina who first met Spencer; she’s the Trina who got blood poured on her head that Spencer had placed in the gallery to fall on Ava. They shared many scenes together before this current actress was recast as Trina.

Make a love story for Spencer and Trina

I hope spencer and Trina stay together and Trina’s mom get caught making Esme and Spenser spending all this time together.

Mr too

I love the character Esme…. In a lot of ways she reminds me of Andrea Evans character Tina Lord Roberts on One Life To Live… I think she should get a bigger story line and a new love interest what would Joss would think if Esme and Cameron got together I understand the actor is in college but another actor could step in till he returns

No. Why would Cameron get with Esme, who filmed his first sexual ecounter and sent it to the entire school. I repeat again GH messed up with Esme storyline, now they don’t know what to do with her.

If Cameron and Esme did hook up, Elizabeth’s son would be getting it on with her brother’s sister.

I love GH, but I have to remember that these stories are just for entertainment. Saying that, I would love to see Esme and Dex together to give Joss more of a storyline. Right now, she is not a factor in the show. If she went to visit her Dad, Jax, she would not be missed. I think that would be a juicy story.

Although it’s not a fully fleshed out storyline, Joss & Dex are regularly shown “having relations”. Occasionally, we’ll get some intimate scenes with Sam & Dante, rarely between Chase & BLQ and not yet between Spencer & Trina. Ava & Austin, Felicia & Mac and Carly & Drew have had more action than the current “it” couple.

Dex only has eyes for Sonny.

Can’t stand Dex and Joss together. Don’t know what his real story is yet but she’ll be his downfall. He’ll rue the day he ever met that spoiled brat. Sonny has been more than a dad to her most of her life and and she wants to put him away for the rest of his life just because when he had amnesia he fell for another woman.

Just read that Trina’s mom is all bent out of shape because Trina is pregnant Spencer is just not good enough for her baby girl. I never ever saw them get that close, but then again I F.F. thru most of their scenes, but guess I just went too fast, huh?

So, Essie is still the little conniver that she has always been.

I’m in no rush for a return of old Esme. I can see Trina going to handle a gallery crisis in Paris for Ava, which brings Esme & NC closer in her absence.

That’s what I love about GH…never know for sure what’s Really going to happen.

I love general hospital each day it’s my time to relax and watch my favorite show iam a Hugh fan I would love to get a part to be a walk on so bad I am disabled blind in one eye this show is my favorite show for years iam 62 just leave me to watch this show I tell my daughter Stacie she’s 18now

They wrote Esme in a corner and she should have been killed off. There was no viewer satisfaction in Esme developing Esme and watching her tout a giant baby on her hips as he were some kind of shield.
We needed to see her served her just desserts. I can’t stomach the sight of her because she was so good at playing a creepy sociopath who drugged a young girl, taped two teenage virgins having sex for the first time and then framing Trina for it. Everyone speaks of Avery’s great acting prowess which is why we are still subjected to the awful character she plays. But us she? I maintain she’s a bit of a one note who can’t play the nuanced and flawed sympathetic character. She’s a female Norman Bates who has left such an indelible bitter aftertaste in my mouth that my palate cannot stand the sight and sound of her. Please stop giving us one dimensional and heinous villains who never receive their comeuppance and achieve redemption through amnesia, brain tumors or pregnancy.

Apologies. Looks like my edits didn’t go through. I meant amnesia, not Esme. There’s a whole lot of other typos that I edited which also did not go through.

Neighbours’ storyline of Finn Kelly in 2019 is the perfect example of how this storyline should have gone from Point A to Z.

Beyond the Gates

RATINGS: ‘Beyond the Gates’ Inches Closer to ‘General Hospital’ in Total Viewers

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Beyond the Gates and General Hospital

The latest ratings are out for the week of October 26-30, 2026 and the big takeaways include: that CBS daytime’s Beyond the Gates was separated by only 23,000 viewers behind third place (of the soaps) General Hospital! For the last several weeks, Beyond the Gates has been closing the gap on this year’s winner for Outstanding Daytime Drama Series, and continuing to best GH in the key demos.

According to the latest Nielsen ratings breakdown from Soap Opera Network, the final week of October brought Beyond the Gates 1.790 million on average tuning-in and the show set a season high in total viewers. Meanwhile, General Hospital hit a new season low! The long-running ABC soap had 1.813 million for the week, and once again the series did not go over the 2 million mark.

Meanwhile, in the key Women 18-49 demo, Beyond the Gates was firmly ahead of GH with a rating share of 0.21, while General Hospital had 0.17 rating share.Then, in the key Women 25-54 demo, Beyond the Gates was once again ahead of the ABC soap with a ratings share for that demo at 0.30 while GH came in with 0.26.

Photo: CBS

MORE BY THE NUMBERS

In addition and comparatively, Beyond the Gates +22,000 viewers week-to-week, and had the largest gains in viewership year-to-year in daytime TV with +267,000 from this in 2025.. However, General Hospital seems to be going in reverse. The show was down -56,000 viewers week-over-week and down -22,000 year-over-year .

BEYOND THE GATES

Let’s take a look at some of the storylines that had people tuning-in to Beyond the Gates during the ratings week:

Hayley (Marquita Goings) attempted a massive shocker regarding her pregnancy and tried to use it to extract money from Bill Hamilton (Timon Kyle Durrett). Although, Bill saw right through her game, he demanded a paternity test, and made it clear he has no intention of raising the child—planning instead to pay her off to take the baby and leave. Meanwhile, Hayley confided her plan to her cousin Randy (Maurice P. Kerry).

Jacob Hawthorne (Jibre Hordges) and Naomi Hamilton (Arielle Prepetit) clashed over Jacob’s ongoing investigation into The Impaler, causing significant strain in their marriage. At the same time, Smitty (Mike Manning) considered taking matters into his own hands—including potentially heading to Mexico for evidence—while Martin Richardson (Brandon Claybon) worried about what comes next.

Photo: ABC

GENERAL HOSPITAL

Over at General Hospital for the ratings period, the story served up included:

Carly (Laura Wright) and Valentin (James Patrick Stuart) teamed up to investigate what really happened to Jack Brennan (Chris McKenna). Later, Danny (Asher Antonyzyn) leads them to Jack’s dead body.

Jude (Wil Traval) dropped a bombshell claim to Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn); that he is Phoebe’s father, while Brook Lynn (Amanda Setton) and Chase (Josh Swickard) signed their divorce papers.

Then, Danny caught Rocco (Finn Carr) and Scout (Kayden Brenna Tokarski) sharing a kiss, plus the shocking return of Heather Webber (Alley Mills) capped the week.

Now the questions become; without having much promotional synergy in the ABC day-part to draw more eyeballs it is not helping but hurting General Hospital. It seems Beyond the Gates is also a  benefactor of a one-two-three punch of CBS soaps (Y&R, B&B and BTG) and promotion.

However, that still doesn’t take away the fact that Beyond the Gates is close to besting GH in all ratings category as they go head-to-head in some markets across the country.

So, are you excited to see Beyond the Gates climb in the ratings? Are you concerned for General Hospital? Do you think they can stave off Beyond the Gates in total viewers or will the upstart soap overtake them in the next ratings report? Share your thoughts in the comment section.

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General Hospital

Antonio Sabáto Jr. Breaks Silence on His Son’s Arrest for Fatal Hit-and-Run

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Antonio Sabato Jr.

Antonio Sabáto Jr., the former Jagger Cates of General Hospital and GH: Night Shift, and the former Dante Damiano of The Bold and the Beautiful has issued his first public statement since the incident involving his son, Jack’s arrest in Alaska for a fatal hit-and-run.

Jack is the son of Sabáto Jr. and Oscar-nominated actress Virginia Madsen, and according to court documents obtained by KTUU  Jack, was allegedly driving a white Chevy Tahoe when he hit and killed Carl Simmonds, 42, near an intersection in Anchorage around 5:35 a.m. on Monday, November 9.

The reports indicated that Jack fled the scene — but later decided to called the cops to say he hit “something” that “suddenly appeared in the road” while he was “doing late-night DoorDashing.”

Jack Sabato

Photo: NBC

Now, Antonio has taken to his Instagram breaking his silence on the situation, sharing, “At this time, my family and I are navigating an extremely sensitive and deeply personal matter.”

He added, “As a father, my love for my children remains unconditional, and my priority is the well-being of my family. We ask that the public and members of the media honor our privacy during this difficult time and keep us all in your thoughts and prayers.”

The soap alum concluded, “I also wish to extend my heartfelt condolences to the family and loved ones of the gentleman who tragically lost his life. My thoughts and prayers are with them as well. We sincerely appreciate your compassion, understanding, and respect for the privacy of everyone affected.”

Jack Sabáto was arraigned in court on Tuesday, November 10 with bail set at $5,000, and a no-driving order and the potential of $5,000 penalty fees if he fails to attend future court appearances.

Antonio is the father to Jack, 34, daughter, Mina Sabato, 24 and son, Antonio Sabáto III, 15.

This is a developing story. You can check out Antonio’s official statement below.

So, let us know your thoughts on this tragic hit-and-run, which claimed the life of another man, and Antonio’s statement, via the comment section below.

 

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A post shared by Antonio Sabato Jr (@antoniosabatojr)

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General Hospital

‘General Hospital’ Casts Ayla Bullington as the New Avery Jerome-Corinthos

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Ayla Bullington

Sonny (Maurice Benard) and Ava’s (Maura West) daughter Avery looks quite different, starting on today’s November 9 episode of General Hospital. That’s because GH has made Avery into a full-blown teenager and the role is now being played by actress Alya Bullington.

In her debut, the Tennessee native was thrown into the deep soap waters with Daytime Emmy winners, Maurice Benard and Eden McCoy (Josslyn). Bullington weighed-in to TV Insider about her first scene which featured Avery overhearing a fight between Sonny and Josslyn.

She explained “It was something I have never done before, I did not have a lot of experience with the screaming and the crying stuff, but I got my first script, and I was like, ‘OK, this is a huge opportunity to learn so much about how that stuff works and to become this character that I have never even tried playing before.’” 

Josslyn

Photo: ABC

THE TEENAGED VERSION OF AVERY WILL HAVE A LOT TO CONTEND WITH

Speaking of working with McCoy, Bullington shared, “She’s incredible. I remember her just laughing and making jokes on set, and then the minute that they started taping, she just locked in and she cried immediately, and my first thought was, ‘I want to be able to do that.’

The soap opera newcomer added, “I think she just inspired me so much because she is so great and she can just lock into whatever character she wants to in the moment.” 

The character of Avery was born back in 2014, but as recently as the October 8 episode of General Hospital, the character was suddenly referred to as a teenager. This is the second young female character in recent months to be aged up following the casting of Kayden Brenna Tokarski as Scout Cain.

As for her take on Avery and what’s ahead, Alya said,“She’s emotional, and she’s curious, and she’s a really fun person to play because so much stuff is happening in her life. I think she’s kind of confused about what’s happening and what to believe.”

So, what do you think about General Hospital making Avery a teenager? Are you excited to see the conflict between Sonny, Ava and Avery now that they have aged up the character? Share your thoughts and welcome Alya to GH via the comment section below.

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