General Hospital
Jacqueline Grace Lopez Talks Her General Hospital Exit, Blaze and Kristina’s Break-up, Ricky Martin, and If She Could Return
Back in mid-August, in an abrupt on-screen departure, Allison “Blaze” Rogers (Jacqueline Grace Lopez) not only had a devastating break-up of her relationship with Kristina Corinthos-Davis (Kate Mansi), but then left Port Charles and headed out to be the opening act and go on tour with music superstar, Miguel Morez (formerly played by Ricky Martin).
As General Hospital fans also know, Jacqueline Grace Lopez previously opened up that she was also caught off-guard when her storyline quickly wrapped. Now, for the first time since her exit, Lopez spoke on what went down behind the scenes at how she learned she would be leaving the role she loved to play on and off since 2022, and more.
During a livestream conversation on You Tube’s Michael Fairman Channel, Jacqueline spoke on her exit, how the decision was made to make Allison gay, working with Kate Mansi and creating the couple known as ‘Kraze’, and if how you’re going to leave a show best to do it to go on tour with Ricky Martin, right?
Photo: ABC
HOW LEARNED BLAZE WAS BEING WRITTEN-OUT
Jacqueline found herself in shock when she found out after the most recent co-head writing change, she was leaving GH. “I found out via script and I confirmed it. I received the script for the first episode where we first learn about the tour,” Lopez began. “I remember reading that and going, ‘Oh, well, I changed mind. So I’m staying and I’m taking care of my girlfriend because that makes sense because I love her and I want to be there for her.’ Then, the next day I got the second script, and I remember reading that and I was like, “Oh, I’m going.’ There was this ‘spidey sense’ for me of, ‘I think I’m being written off the show this time.'”
After reading the script details, Lopez checked with GH execs to make sure she is interpreting this to mean she is definitely exiting.”My last two days were the Monday and Tuesday before we went to break in July,” Jacqueline recalled. “So the week before, I sent an email to the powers that be. And I said, ‘I just need to know if I’m coming back on the other side of the break. And the response was, ‘We love you, but Blaze has to be gone for a while.’ So that’s how I found out.”
COULD A RETURN FOR BLAZE BE IN THE FUTURE?
On soap operas, the key phrase for all actors is ‘”never, say never.” After all, even if your character dies that doesn’t mean you cant come back! Looking at the current GH canvas, Lopez thinks there could still be a place for Blaze. “I think there’s possibility. I have an anchor parent (in Natalia). I have family on the show. I speak about additional family on the show. I think there’s space to come back, be it in passing. You know, Blaze has a tour date in Port Charles,’ shared Jacqueline. “From a character standpoint, I think Allie would drop everything for Kristina if need be. 90% of the heartbreak in that last scene between Allie and Kristina is that she knows she’s doing this because it’s about, ‘I love her so much and this is what she needs.’ So, I’d like to think there’s space to come back.”
Photo: ABC
FINDING OUT BLAZE WOULD RETURN TO THE SHOW IN AN LGBTQ+ LOVE STORY
When Allison first arrived on the scene back in 2022 as a singer, she was managed by the abusive Linc Brown. However, when GH brought Lopez back in this last incarnation, viewers learned Blaze was gay. Jacqueline explains, “I was off the the show for two months already. All of a sudden I get a call from Mark Teschner (casting director, GH). He goes, ‘So Frank (Valentini, EP, GH) wants you back and but he wants to make Blaze queer. Are you comfortable doing that?’ I first wanted to sit with it because I said, ‘I don’t want to take an opportunity away from someone else who can authentically live this experience because I identify as straight.'”
Later, Lopez had second thoughts on her stance, adding, “Then, I thought about, and I said, ‘I’ve established this character. This character is mine. It’s just another layer (to her). Frank actually got on the phone with me, which I give him immense credit for, and he quelled my fears. I said, ‘I want to earn it. I don’t want to just drop in and all of a sudden I’m running around and this is my new identity. I want it to be a slow burn. So, fans don’t see it as just a token storyline drop kind of situation.’ Frank was wonderful. He said, ‘The gift of this medium is we can tell and build relationships organically and in long form, and we’ll earn it.’ He’s like, ‘Don’t worry. The audience will know it before the characters do.’ And he was absolutely right. They did it in a way where we learned all the layers of what she had gone through – that her mother was conservative-valued, and completely not accepting of this life that she believes her daughter was having. It wasn’t just like, ‘Wait, all of a sudden, Blaze is gay?”
Photo: ABC
Jacqueline, who has shared the importance of representation in the media not only for LGBTQ+ community but as a Latina, earned many new fans on her GH journey. She expressed, “It was a huge responsibility and something I don’t take lightly at all. One of my throughlines with how I try to carry myself in the world, both personally and professionally, is I try to help people feel seen. I tell stories. I want to get it right. I’m very blessed to have a lot of gay friends, and a lot of people in the LGBTQ+ community and allies as well. I have a friend who’s from Puerto Rico who came out, who ended up having to sleep with a bible under his pillow with passages just completely demonizing homosexuality and to pray the gay away. I get to go through this and feel the hurt and feel the shame. But to get to be Blaze, to get to be Allison, and feel my mom (Natalia) dismiss me in that way and not see me and not want to see who I love in my heart. I mean, even now, it’s just heartbreaking. It’s given me such an insight that I wouldn’t have otherwise been able to experience in this way.”
Photo: ABC
WORKING WITH KATE MANSI
The main thrust of Jacqueline’s recent storyline was bringing the on-screen relationship of Blaze and Kristina to life. “Kate pretty much knows what she wants to do,” explains Lopez. “For me, I was more the person where I was like, ‘This line it’s weird to me.’ And she goes, ‘We’ll figure it out.’ We would talk about it. We developed this routine where we would run lines with each other, then we would block on the day if there were questions brought up. Jacqueline recalled a key scene for Kate. “If we had any emotionally, impactful scenes, I made it a point to call her up or text her ahead of time, like the day when Kristina was in the bathroom after Chase and Brook Lynn’s wedding and she sees her dad (Sonny) beating up Dex. Kate had to come in so emotionally raw. I just remember texting her on the day just being like, ‘If you need anything from me or whatever you need from me, you let me know. ‘”
Photo: JPI
RICKY MARTIN
Now that Allison is off on a world tour with Miguel Morez, did Jacqueline realize at the time, that it meant her character was essentially going on tour with Ricky Martin in the story? Lopez recalled, “The only reason I knew Ricky played Miguel on GH is because of fan Wiki. So, when I saw Miguel Morez, I was like, ‘Either they just really love alliteration with names or this is an actual character.’ So I googled it and then I saw Ricky Martin and then I called casting and I was like, ‘I’m sorry … is Ricky Martin coming on the show? And they were like, “Not to my knowledge.” And then I left. (Laughs)
Watch the full interview with Jacqueline below.
Now, let us know do you want Blaze to return and eventually go back to Kristina? Were you glad the GH tackled, albeit for a short time this same-sex relationship, but also showing how a mother can be so disrupted and bigoted against her own daughter just for being her ‘authentic’ self? Share your thoughts via the comment section.
Bring her back
Good for her for speaking up before accepting the storyline. She’s so right. Don’t pander to audiences. Just write all characters with depth and it will transcend everything else.
I think it would make perfect sense for her to return considering what Kristi’s going through because she can’t depend on her sister..
General Hospital
GENERAL HOSPITAL: Carly Fears Escalating Tensions Between Sonny and Josslyn: ‘I’ve Already Lost One Kid Because of That Man. I Won’t Lose Another’
On the Thursday, November 12 episode of General Hospital, as battles line are drawn by Carly’s (Laura Wright) ex-husband, Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) and her daughter, Josslyn Jacks (Eden McCoy), she realizes things are about to get a whole lot worse, and she expressed her fears to Valentin Cassadine (James Patrick Stuart).
After Sonny came to see Carly to get her daughter to back off of him; especially when Josslyn lit into him in front of nuAvery (Ayla Bullington), Carly is terrified that Sonny could retaliate against Josslyn. Realizing, Josslyn is in danger, Carly won’t sit by and let anything happen to her. She tells Valentin, “I’ve already lost one kid because of that man. I won’t lose another.”
Viewers won’t soon forget the devastation Carly felt when Morgan (Bryan Craig) died in a car bomb explosion back in 2016 because of Sonny’s dealings in the mob in a complex story involving Julian (William deVry) and Olivia Jerome (Tonja Walker).
Courtesy/ABC
SONNY IS READY FOR WAR
Meanwhile in the aftermath of his visit with Carly, Sonny told his brother Ric what went down when Josslyn disrespected him in front of his own daughter and hurt Avery. Since Josslyn already make it known that she no longer considers herself part of Sonny’s family, he’s decided to treat her accordingly.
Sonnys first step in payback is to take away her support system at JJE by approaching Hudson Parker (Troy Lennon Appel) again, but this time in a much less-friendly way.
Ric points out that this would go against every move Sonny made as a legitimate businessman in Port Charles and would mean he’s back in the mob? Sonny doubles down, saying Josslyn changed the game when she involved Avery. While he showed concern of how bad Carly would feel over all this year, he said he is ready to finish what Josslyn started.
At the Metro Court, Ava (Maura West) is listening to Avery explain what happened between Sonny and Josslyn and how much she hates Josslyn right now, which Ava seems to be OK with.
WILL JOSSLYN’S WORLD BLOW UP ON HER?
Speaking of Josslyn, she is on the pier still after her talk with Hudson and still crying over her confrontation with Sonny and Avery overhearing it, and what she told her sister. Lucas comes across her at the pier while out for his run.
Explaining how badly she feels for what she said about Sonny to Avery, Lucas says that eventually Avery will discover the truth about Sonny. He explains to Josslyn that even though Avery hates her now, she will come to realize that what she said about her father was the truth, and that Josslyn was not lying to her at all.
So, what do you think about Sonny ready to play dirty to take down Josslyn? How will Carly ensure her daughter does not wind up dead? Who do you think is in the right here? Is Josslyn’s vendetta against Sonny justified, at the cost of the relationships with her family? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section.
General Hospital
‘General Hospital’s’ Cynthia Watros Honors Former ‘Titus’ Co-Star Stacy Keach Following His Passing
General Hospital star Cynthia Watros, who can currently be seen in on the ABC soap opera in the role of Nina Reeves, has had a enduring career in television. That included her time on the 2000-2002 Fox sitcom, Titus.
In Titus, Watros starred along with Stacy Keach as Erin Fitzpatrick and Ken Titus, respectively. After the November 10th news that Keach had passed away at 85 while living in Poland, Cynthia took to her Instagram on Thursday, November 12 to pay tribute to the great actor.
Watros expressed, “My first prime time show was along side Stacy. I loved him instantly. What an amazing talent and man.❤️”
Photo: ABC
In Titus, Stacy played stand up comedian Christopher Titus’ heavy-drinking, chain-smoking, five-times-divorced father who frequently pulled cruel pranks and tried to toughen his kids up. Cynthia played by Christopher’s level-headed, big-hearted girlfriend trying to build a normal life with him. In fact, Cynthia’s role on the sitcom was first series regular role after her Daytime Emmy run of Annie Dutton on Guiding Light which ran from 1994-1998.
STACY KEACH’S WIFE ON HIS PASSING
Keach’s wife, Malgosia shared the news of the actor’s death publicly in a statement with PEOPLE. Malgosia expressed, that Stacy had, “a long and difficult battle with a serious heart condition and heart failure.”
She added, “Stacy peacefully departed this world. He fought for so long, with extraordinary courage, determination and strength. He was a true warrior, facing his illness with the same remarkable spirit and resilience that defined his life.”
Małgosia continued, “Stacy was not only a legendary actor, admired and loved by audiences the world over, but also my beloved husband, my companion and the heart of our family. His passing leaves an immeasurable emptiness in our lives. But his extraordinary spirit, his unforgettable voice and the love he gave so generously will remain with us forever.”
Now, let us know do you remember when Cynthia made her sitcom debut in Titus? Share your thoughts via the comment section on Cynthia’s many TV roles and the passing of Stacy Keach in the comment section. But first, check out the very first episode of Titus with Cynthia Watros below!
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: Carly Fears Escalating Tensions Between Sonny and Josslyn: ‘I’ve Already Lost One Kid Because of That Man. I Won’t Lose Another’
‘General Hospital’s’ Cynthia Watros Honors Former ‘Titus’ Co-Star Stacy Keach Following His Passing
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