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GH NURSES’ BALL 2025 PART TWO: Gio’s Performance Wows The Crowd, Lulu Confronts Lois, Curtis and Portia’s Marriage Hits the Skids

By Michael Fairman

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Photo: ABC

On the Wednesday, May 21st episode of General Hospital, the story continued as part two of the 2025 GH Nurses’ Ball began with Lucy Coe (in dress #1) taking to the stage to welcome everyone, and gave a bit of the backstory of how the ball started 31 years ago to raise awareness and funds to fight HIV/AIDS and how the fight continues today to find a cure.

To kick-things off she makes the case that if one person saves your life, they are your hero, but if they save 1000 lives, they are a nurse. Hit the music – as none other than Madonna’s “Holiday” plays as nurses Amy (Risa Dorken) and Deanna (Dioni Michelle Collins) start to sing and dance joined by Willow (Katelyn MacMullen) and even Dr. Isaiah Gannon (Sawandi Wilson) along with several dancers.

After the performance, talking over her upcoming musical number with Trina (Tabyana Ali) in front of Kai (Jens Austin Astrup), Josslyn (Eden McCoy) spots Willow (Katelyn MacMullen) heading to the ladies room, and so she follows. Once both are inside, Josslyn goes on the attack and tells Willow that she has the nerve to show up at the ball with Drew (Cameron Mathison) and that she will make sure that she never gets custody of Michael’s kids. Just then, Drew knocks and walks in to stand up for Willow. Josslyn is wondering if he’s here to rescue Willow, or score some blow or is he looking for another hooker?

Photo: ABC

Next, back inside the ballroom, Lucy (Lynn Herring) introduces Gio Palmieri (Giovanni Mazza), the classically trained violinist. In a real-life moment as art imitates life, Gio performs “Glow,” an original piece that tMazza actually wrote and released when he was only 12-years-old. Many may or may not know, but Mazza often plays at the LA Lakers game and venues around the U.S with his mash-up of classically trained violin skills, combined with the fresh beats of today.

During the performance, snooping Lulu (Alexa Havins) watched Lois (Rena Sofer) from the wings of the stage so excited and proud of her grandson. In the audience, Brook Lynn (Amanda Setton) is overjoyed, Olivia (Lisa LoCicero) was in tears, and Dante (Dominic Zamprogna) just looked stoic. After Gio came off stage, Lois tells him how everyone from Bensonhurst is blowing up her phone after seeing him on TV. Gio just wished his late mom was here to see it adding that she would have loved the Nurses’ Ball.

Photo: ABC

On the patio, Curtis (Donnell Turner) confronts his wife, Portia (Brook Kerr). She finally admits she has been being blackmailed, first by Brad Cooper (Parry Shen) and now by Drew. Curtis doesn’t understand how Portia could put their marriage and their family in this position after everything they’ve been through when the truth about him being Trina’s biological father came out in the open and she promised to never lie to him again. Portia says the reason she did not come forward was because she knew he would be furious. Curtis says she could end up in prison and destroy everything. As he walks away, Portia tells Curtis he can’t throw away their marriage!

Photo: ABC

Back at the ball, Carly (Laura Wright) and Olivia introduce a surprise guest along with Anna (Finola Hughes), Lucy and Felicia (Kristina Wagner), who turns out to be Spinelli (Bradford Anderson). The four of them perform to the Nancy Sinatra classic, “These Boots Are Made for Walkin.”  Backstage after the number, Lois is cornered by Lulu who insists she needs to talk to her, Lois asks “What does she want?” Lulu says she wants the truth. She knows Camilla cut her tour short, but didn’t give birth to a son in L.A. Brook Lynn did, and Dante is the father and Gio is their son.

Still at Alexis’ (Nancy Lee Grahn) house, Kristina (Kate Mansi) gets an earful from her mother. She finally learns that Alexis is being blackmailed by Ava (Maura West) and Ric (Rick Hearst), and there is evidence proving she tampered with the brakes to Ric’s car, but intended on harming Ava. Alexis tells her daughter from here on out they will do things her way, to keep this covered up and from ever coming out, because not only will Kristina go to prison, but so too will Alexis.

So, what was your favorite moment in Part 2 of the 2025 GH Nurses Ball? Were you impressed with Gio’s performance? Do you think Portia and Curtis have gone bust? How will Lois keep Lulu’s mouth shut so she can keep the secret of Gio’s true parents from every coming out? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.

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I was disappointed to see Joss revert back to bratty Carly 2.0 getting in the middle of the custody battle. I prefer WSB Joss in spite of that storyline being ridiculous. I was also annoyed with Lulu still playing God. Whatever, hopefully Lulu will be forced to deal with the fallout she causes. I have no opinion regarding Alexis and Kristina and their mess. It’s the same thing it always is with those two. Anyway I liked Gio’s performance and he’s such a good kid.

GIO WAS AWES

I’m no fan of Joss’s but I enjoyed her giving the what for to both Willow and Drew.

Gio’s performance was superb. What an unbelievable talent he is. More, more, more please.

Lulu desperately needs to go back into a coma.

I agree that Gio was amazing. And Lulu is annoying. Why is she so obsessed with Dante’s baby with BrookLynn? Different story line please. I’m so over it.

I AGREE. Sick of her

I knew Gio was talented but wow he was amazing. Add in the choreography.and special effects, it was one of the best ever performances at a Nurses Ball. And I read it was an original song by the actor. He is really talented. The nurses number wasn’t the best they’ve done. Really miss Epiphany’s voice. Bradford and his cowgirls were fun!

Where is Maxie? Did I miss an episode explaning her not being in attendance?

One of the kids got sick.

She’s home with the sick Bailey Lu, hence Spinelli taking Tracy’s place instead of Maxie.

On Tuesday, they explained Maxie was home taking care of a sick Bailey Lu.

Wonder if Kirsten’s absence was planned or a last minute adjustment.

Quite a few of the long time female cast members (Maxie, Laura, Elizabeth, Ava – and now Tracy and Alexis) are missing from the ball scenes. It’s a few extra long days of taping, so maybe the actresses are happy to skip it.

LuLu says it like it is & the truth hurts. But she’s not even 100% fact. Yes Gio might b Dante & BQ son but the 3 don’t know since Lois is the one who took care of it. Dante who would hit harder bcuz how he treated Gio when he also tried to help Rocco. Now let’s see whose in the right.

Poor Dante didn’t even know his teenage tryst with Brook Lynn resulted in a pregnancy.

Never care for Portia and Curtis.I hope she goes to jail.Curtis needs to reunite with Jordan and I think they’re setting it up to put Isaiah with Willow.

The Gio Performance was Exceptional! But, him declaring who his new parents were was Outstanding!

I agree!! Great scene. Pheonamal violinist and even great actor. I was in tears.

Loved all of the performances, but Gio’ s hands down as my favorite. The nurses ball has not been seen in a few years so it was soooo nice to have it back. That being said, I enjoyed all of the performances of this multi talented cast! Wow!

Love Rory as Michael !! The perfect recast !!

Michael’s returned saved a very, very, disappointing Nurses Ball !! Lucky ,desperately, needed to be included in the line up . Missed Maxie !!!! Gio is just another ” who’s your daddy” storyline .

Did they ever officially write Felix out of the series? Would have been nice to see him with the other nurses in Holiday. Maybe he’s traveling with Scotty and Liesl.

Felix appeared so seldomly that he didn’t need an exit line. TJ, however deserves a “since TJ moved to _____” line from Jordan at some point. Eventually, whatever is going on between Frank and Kin will be resolved and Scott will return. Current storyline is ripe for Liesl’s return, but there’s no good reason why we haven’t seen KG in over a year.

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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Jonathan Bennett joins the cast of GH as Joe Fitzpatrick. Catch the latest promo! Leave a comment.Leave A Comment

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