Interviews
Ron Carlivati (Part 3) – One Life To Live
One Life to Live head writer, Ron Carlivati chats with Michael Fairman in Part Three of his video interview segment. Here, Ron discusses if Thorsten Kaye might return as Patrick Thornhart, the Natalie/John/Marty triangle, Langston’s affair with Ford, what’s next for Gigi and Rex, writing for Trevor St John and if Tea and Todd have a fighting chance, and Alison Perkins deadly return to Llanview!
Interviews
WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus Talks Humble Beginnings, Test and Albert, WrestleMania 22 with Mickie James, Current Women’s Roster (Exclusive)
WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus has had an incredible in-ring career, on and off for over 25 years. Having debuted as a heel back in 2000, she held the then WWE Women’s Championship for a record 445 days back in 2005 and into 2006, before dropping the title to her nemesis, Mickie James at WrestleMania 22, and is considered one of the best to ever to it by many in the women’s locker room, then and now. When it was her turn to be inducted into the Hall of Fame Class of 2013, she chose Stephanie McMahon (this year’s Hall of Fame class 2026) to do the honors at the ceremony.
Fast forward and April’s WrestleMania 42 week in Las Vegas, Michael Fairman TV had a reunion with Trish for this very special interview. For when Trish started in the WWE, Fairman was working as a writer/producer for ‘Raw’ and ‘SmackDown’ and as told in their discussion, recalled how he worked with an upstart Stratus to help her learn her lines for her promos and more. Now two and half decades later, we caught up at Trish’s WrestleMania 42 pop up at Flankers at Mandalay Bay entitled First Crush by Trish Stratus. Trish had created an immersive experience for wrestling fans, Trish fans, and offered on stage Q&A’s with special guests and much more.
Backstage, she sat down with us to take a trip down memory lane, share her picks for WrestleMania 42 in the top women’s bouts (see if she predicted, correctly!) and talked some of her greatest moments. opponents. and friendships in the ring and out, plus what keeps getting her to come back when she has already accomplished so much in her iconic career.
Photo: WWE
TO SINK OR SWIM IN THE WWE
Trish shared on being a rookie in WWE with little to no experience, explaining, “I was thrown right into it. I was a fan of wrestling, watching it, enjoying it. Started to dabble into fitness modeling. So suddenly, I was kind of a public figure all of a sudden. Modeling is very different than actually speaking. They (WWE) literally threw me into the water and it was like sink or swim. The wrestling was one thing and they threw me out there for my first couple matches. Most people come up in the independent wrestling circuits. I had done some wrestling, but it was foundational kind of stuff. It wasn’t like performance yet and they gave me my first promo and I was the green one.
In the world of pro wrestling its all about getting the moment to prove yourself and making something out of it, Trish did just that when she became the beautiful manager/wrestler of the late Test and Albert, and suddenly they were known as .. yup … you remember … ‘T and A.”
BAD GIRLS JUST WANNA HAVE FUN
Photo; WWE
Stratus recalled, “I was sitting backstage waiting for them to find the storyline. I remember just chilling actually with Lilian Garcia (then the ring announcer.) We bonded right away. She was my little bestie. I was on the road for a couple weeks in a row and, and then finally they came to me like, ‘Today’s the day. … we’re putting you out there.’ So, there I was with Test and Albert, otherwise known as T-and-A … get it! Those were the days of the double entendres. We were told we were bad guys, and we had to flesh out our characters. had to get people to boo me right off the bat.”
“I love being a heel” Stratus said passionately. However, when she comes out of retirement or makes special appearances, or comes back for a lengthy storyline she prefaces it with, “The thing for me to come back to the business for a little while means leaving my kids. I have to make sure that it checks all the boxes, right? I want be challenged as a performer, number one. I want to make sure I’m coming back and giving back to the businesses. Not just being self-serving. So, when I can check those boxes, it’s exciting, and makes it fun to come back.”
BECKY LYNCH AND MICKIE JAMES
Photo: WWE
Trish revealed her favorite WrestleMania moments through the years and her perfect opponents; the women she feels she created magic with in the ring. “When I returned in 2023, we had done the babyface come back. I’ve come back and they’re cheered me and they’re excited to see me. Nobody expected that, and that’s what I love doing. I love the unexpected. I was working with Becky Lynch. I knew she was the perfect babyface to be a bitch to and to turn on; bringing in the bestie so that I could turn on her with all those years of history, that’s juicy to me. I love it.”
As to her WrestleMania match resume, it was an easy pick fo Stratus, “I’m going to do with Mickie James WrestleMania 22. We like to call us the hashtag ‘longest rivalry in history.’ Becky Lynch and I might have rivaled that rivalry just because we did have a lot. But, I’m all about the stories, and to make sure there’s a meaning behind it. I want to foreshadow a little. I want to understand what my character’s thinking when I go into this. We had the fans captivated. I think at WrestleMania 22, with the way the crowd reacted and the way they were so invested in our storyline, I feel like we got them.”
Proud of what she and Mickie accomplished, Trish added, “They were like, ‘the women can hold a crowd, like the men can.’ I think that was like the moment we kind of had arrived. I have to say the Jazz/Trish stuff, the Victoria/Trish stuff, this is all stuff that planted the seeds. Mickie James and I, right there at WrestleMania, and we’re talking about a WrestleMania moment. I’m also going to give a shout out to WrestleMania 19 with Jazz and Victoria and Steven Richards … who took the best Stratusfaction I’ve ever seen!”
THE STACKED WWE CURRENT WOMEN’S ROSTER
Photo: WWE
While WrestleMania 42 is in the record books, we asked the Hall of Famer, her picks for the key women’s championship title match-upsbetween: Stephanie Vaquer vs. Liv Morgan, AJ Lee vs. Becky Lee, and Jade Cargill vs. Rhea Ripley as you will see below in our video chat.
Trish went three for three and had nothing but high praise for all six of the women who laid it all on the line less than two weeks ago at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
Now below, watch this exclusive conversation with Trish Stratus. For more WrestleMania 42 week interviews, make sure to check them out on You Tube’s Michael Fairman Channel.
Let us know, have you been a fan of Trish through her years in the WWE? Do you agree with her favorite WrestleMania moment with Mickie James? What has been your favorite match and story in Trish’s in-ring career? Share your thoughts via the comment section.
Interviews
Y&R’s Christel Khalil Talks the Emotional Winters Family Turns of Events; Shemar Moore, and Lily and Cane’s Future (Exclusive)
This week on The Young and the Restless, viewers have been served up an emotional series of scenes and episodes centering around the return of Malcolm Winters played by Shemar Moore, who returns to Genoa City to ask his daughter, Lily for her help (Christel Khalil).
In story, Malcolm has aplastic anemia and needs a bone marrow transplant and his best option is a family member. However, things turn bleak when they both learn that she cannot be his donor because Lily previously had cancer. Enter Dr. Stephanie Johnson, the also returning Vivica A. Fox, who tells her son, Holden (Nathan Owens) and Malcolm, that Holden is his biological son! This admission gives Malcolm a chance at a donor match to save his life.
Now, Christel Khalil, who recently came back to the CBS soap opera following her maternity leave, and the birth of her third child, chatted all about the new complex family dynamics, working with Billy Flynn as her new Cane, and Lily being in cahoots with Victor Newman, and more in a new conversation on the Michael Fairman Channel. Here are some of the takeaways below!
Courtesy/CBS
Working with Shemar Moore again and their touching scenes in front of Neil Winters’ portrait
CHRISTEL: “It’s always amazing to have anyone come back that’s been away for a while, but especially, Shemar. It’s all the history with him being Lily’s dad. For me, it’s been 20 years of knowing him. Obviously, I don’t get to talk to him or hang out with him and that kind of thing. So it was just nice just to see him again and have that moment around Neil’s portrait, and to be able to share that together and even talk about that off-camera. It’s just special and feels like family, which is nice.”
The emotional scenes with Malcolm and learning Lily has a brother
CHRISTEL: “It’ a great story. I love when anything is grounded in reality where people who have maybe gone through the same thing can relate and it can help people I feel like that happened when Lily had cancer on the show. It’s nice to see something really heart-based, really family-based. I feel like we haven’t been able to see that with Lily in a long time. Then, finding out that she has a brother, I thought that was really amazing.”
Photo: CBS
Working with Nathan Owens
CHRISTEL: “I love Nathan. We have so much fun together. We’re already teasing and joking each other on set like brother and sister, so it’s really nice. I was really excited to find out that he was part of the family, which is I think more interesting.”
Shemar Moore returning to tape more episodes
CHRISTEL: “I haven’t read that far ahead, but there must be something happening because when Shemar returns, I know a lot of people are involved in something. So we’ll see!”
Photo: CBS
Lily’s involvement in faking her own abduction
CHRISTEL: “When I first read it I was like, ‘Yikes, that’s really bad. It’s very not like Lily.’ It seemed very out of character for her. But then, as I started reading more and learning more about the reasons behind doing it, I actually really liked it. I see what some of what the fans say and they’re like, ‘Lily’s always on her high horse and she’s always, little ‘Miss Goodie Two Shoes.'”
Lily with an edge
CHRISTEL:“Oh yeah, she can definitely be bitchy for sure. I think when she’s bitchy, it’s because she’s usually judging someone else. I think this was a nice thing to kind of temper the judgment that she’s always giving where it’s like, ‘Ok, you do some things wrong too, so let’s just relax.'”
Photo: JPI
Billy Flynn
CHRISTEL: “I love Billy. He’s such a sweet, amazing guy, and an amazing actor and very professional. We have a great time together. I like how they’ve really switched up the Cain character completely. He’s not trying to be the old cane. It’s a completely new cane and you know, I think we have good chemistry together. So, t’s been really fun to play with him and there’s some exciting stuff coming up. Hopefully, everyone likes it.”
Phyllis and Lily’s history
CHRISTEL: “Lily’s always annoyed with Phyllis, right? Michelle Stafford and I always have conversations where I’m like, ‘You killed my mom.’ She’s like, ‘No! I didn’t. She let go! ‘(in reference to Dru falling off a cliff) To know that Phyllis and Cane had a thing, is very disturbing to Lily.”
Now below, check out our full conversation with Christel on the homecomings of Shemar Moore, Vivica A. Fox and welcoming Nathan Owens to the Winters clan, plus the drama ahead for Lily.
So, have you enjoyed the Lily and Malcolm scenes thus far? What do you think will happen when Shemar returns for another set of scenes taping this month as teased by Christel? Are you down for Lily and Cane, as played by Billy Flynn? Weigh-in via the comment section.
Interviews
‘The Bold and the Beautiful’s’ Jacqueline MacInnes Wood Talks What’s Next for Steffy Forrester (Exclusive)
Three-time Daytime Emmy winner, Jacqueline MacInnes Wood is celebrating nearly two decades as Steffy Forrester on The Bold and the Beautiful. Last September, she returned to the CBS daytime drama after her most recent maternity and giving birth to her 5th son.
Now back at the soap opera and a mom of five, Michael Fairman TV caught up with Jacqui at the recent launch party for the BBTV global streaming app which also served as a gathering for the series 39th anniversary.
Wood gave us the lowdown of what may lie ahead for the often in-your-face Forrester dynamo who has no problem snarking a comment or two to Hope (Annika Noelle), and who definitely wants her mother, Taylor Hayes (Rebecca Budig), and all her loved ones to stay away from Sheila Carter (Kimberlin Brown)!
Photo: JPI
‘It’s been fun what we’ve been filming, we’ve been non-stop,” shared Wood. “The other day I was doing four episodes back to back, and we were just in it. It’s fun to play Steffy right now. Love her or hate her. I have fun playing her.”
FROM LEADING ROLE TO SUPER MOM
Jacqui also weighed-in on; if throughout her run on the show, she has changed dialog or something in a script to help out her performance. “Sometimes, but not all the time. I let Brad Bell (executive producer and head writer) write. I try to execute the best way I can,” reflected Wood. “There are times where I see it and I go, ‘Let me take the reins here. I got this.’ They’ll kind of let me go. If it works, it works. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t. I’m OK for critique. We can’t work scenes over and over again. We’re not on that kind of medium or set. You kind of have to know what you’re bringing, but I’m always open.”
Being supermom to sons: Rise Harlen, Lenix, Brando Elion, Valor James and Talon, wife to husband Elan Ruspoli, and a leading actress on The Bold and the Beautiful is a lot to juggle, but Wood has found the way to do it all. “Honestly, I just truly live intentionally, ” explained Jacqui. “I know what we have here, and it makes me truly grateful to have my kids and to be able to still be a mom. I still see myself as a full-time mom. I’ll film episodes back to back, and then I go and I be a mom. I get to bring my kids to set. So. it’s cool.”
Photo: JPI
THE YOUNG AND THE BOLD
Wood is very impressed by B&B’s “new kids on the block,” Crew Morrow (Will), Sydney Bullock (Dylan), Brayan Nicoletti (R.J.) and Laneya Grace (Electra) and shared she likes where Steffy is at in 2026, “I like the steady right now. I don’t want to like hit my cortisol levels yet. The younger generation can do that right now. I love the younger generation. I think they’re doing such a fantastic job, I just want to lean in and let them go and let them do their thing. If Steffy needs to chime in she will do that, and if she needs to slap some people, she can do that too!”
As to what man is in Steffy’s future, if it’s remaining happily married to Finn (Tanner Novlan), rekindling a romance with her ex-Liam (Scott Clifton ) for the umpteenth time, or a new man enters Steffy’s life, Wood would not say the way things may go down the line.
Photo: JPI
When talked turned to Steffy’s former pain killer addiction, Jacqui did say that. “It’s always a possibility” for the show to bring that back when it makes sense for Steffy and to service the story.
You can check out the full conversation below, and all the BBTV launch party interview with the cast, now on the Michael Fairman Channel.
So, do you think Steffy will be giving everyone trouble at Forrester? Do you think she will stay with Finn for years to come? What story would you like to see Wood be given at this point on the daytime drama series? Weigh-in via the comment section.
‘Brilliant Minds’ Officially Canceled After 2 Seasons at NBC; DAYS Alum Al Calderon, OLTL Alum Teddy Sears and Zachary Quinto Among the Cast
THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL: Has Dylan’s Mystery Caller/Stalker Been Revealed to Be an Alive Luna Nozawa?
THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS: Nick Confesses His Drug Problem to Victor; Joshua Morrow, Mark Grossman, Eric Braeden Bring the Newman Bond
‘General Hospital’s’ Jonathan Bennett Receives 3 ‘Critics Choice Real TV Awards’ Nominations for Hallmark Series, ‘Finding Mr. Christmas’
DAYS OF OUR LIVES: Sophia Seemingly Plans to End Her Life, But Not Before Setting Fire to Johnny’s Apartment With Him Trapped Inside
DAYS Stephen Nichols Remembers Drake Hogestyn as the ‘Most Vital, Enthusiastic, Committed Man I Ever Knew’ Ahead of the PanCan PurpleStride Walk
DAYS Stephen Nichols and Co-Stars Walk in Honor of Drake Hogestyn at PanCan PurpleStride LA, ‘I Felt Him With Us’
Brandon Barash Granted Restraining Order Against ‘General Hospital’s’ Kirsten Storms
‘Days of Our Lives’ Rob Scott Wilson Talks ‘Turning Heel’ as Necktie Killer, Ben Weston
Paige Herschell Marks One-Year as ‘General Hospital’s’ Jacinda Bracken
THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL: Has Dylan’s Mystery Caller/Stalker Been Revealed to Be an Alive Luna Nozawa?
THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS: Nick Confesses His Drug Problem to Victor; Joshua Morrow, Mark Grossman, Eric Braeden Bring the Newman Bond
WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus Talks Humble Beginnings, Test and Albert, WrestleMania 22 with Mickie James, Current Women’s Roster (Exclusive)
GENERAL HOSPITAL: Michael Reveals His Plan to Set Up Chase and Willow to Have an Affair
Judith Light Talks Her Role in ‘The Terror: The Devil In Silver’ Dropping on AMC+ with Co-Star ‘Downton Abbey’ Alum, Dan Stevens
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The acting choices with regards to Todd are questionable. He is not Todd to so many of us and never will be!
Michael, this a wonderful interview with Ron. You have great rapport between you and he seems to be very accessible in answering your questions. So far, he has done remarkable writing The teases about what and who will be front and center storywise keps us guessing. The only complaint I have is withAllison Perkins. With the seriousness of the Sienna Rose story and who is the real father and all the characters involved, she just seems too bizarre and comical. For me,I find that her shenanigans are taking away from the drama and real emotion of the story. As you can tell, I am not happy with that. It was too easy to drug Sklyler and steal the baby , go to Roxys and apply a mud pack to her face as a disguise, put a gun to Natalie, tape up Roxy, all the while praising Mitch, the Messenger. That’s not funny?. Too easy I say….
Good, detailed interview. I’ve watched all four segments now.
Although it’s been four months, I wish you would have asked Mr. Carlivati for his thoughts on the death of Jared and the firing of John Brotherton. I would particularly like to know if this was his idea, or if it was an edict from above.
Interesting that there couldn’t be a body found for Stacy; yet Jared’s fans were “treated” to multiple scenes of his lifeless body in that hospital, making a return for the character and the actor next to impossible. While I can’t deny that Jared’s death and aftermath gave Melissa Archer and Brian Kerwin (as well as John Brotherton, Erika Slezak, Jerry verDorn, Bree Williamson, Mark Lawson and Roscoe Born) some great material which they’ve done an outstanding job with, for this viewer the cost was simply too much.
I am not at all interested in a re-teaming of Natalie and John, and I’m more than a little disappointed that Mr. Carlivati has several times since November taken the time to specifically mention the disappointment of fans of the old Natalie/John pairing; yet he has never once, as far as I know, publicly addressed the disappointment of the fans of the Natalie/Jared pairing and the fans of Jared/John Brotherton. Based on this interview, it seems Jared has now been reduced to nothing more than a “different direction” that Natalie was taken in back in ’07. I was under the impression from an old quote of his that Mr. Carlivati loved the Natalie/Jared pairing. For what it may be worth to him (perhaps nothing, at this point), I came out of “soap retirement” in no small part because I like this pairing so much.
I don’t understand why all those scenes took place between John and Mitch at the greenhouse post-shooting wherein Mitch predicted that Natalie would never forgive John (nor would John forgive himself) for the way he pursued Jared as the stalker. That was a waste of time when Natalie was written to forgive John all too easily within 24 hours after Jared’s death and John himself has shown absolutely no lingering feelings of remorse or guilt. Also, I felt that Michael/Marcie and their fans got their happy ending last year when the couple left the canvas together after finding out they were going to have a baby. Although it was a nice tie-in to have Matthew’s surgery take place at the Seattle hospital where Michael now works, was it really necessary to have that cycle of life illustration of Jared dying exactly as Marcie gave birth? To be honest, it seemed kind of cruel to me (even more so after Natalie found out she wasn’t pregnant with Jared’s baby); and all of that time spent on those scenes between John and Mitch and the birth of the baby took away time that could have been spent on longer scenes between Natalie and Jared. The suddenness of his death precluded any proper goodbyes to his loved ones; so it would have been nice to have a few more scenes between them. But I guess I shouldn’t expect more from a show which inexplicably backburnered them for over a year and had them married during a montage in which another character’s fantasy wedding received more airtime.
I’ve never seen any of the prior incarnations of the Natalie/John pairing. I started watching OL during the latter half of ’07. During the time that I’ve watched the show John has basically done the same story with two different women…Marty, then Blair, and now Marty again. All of the women on this show deserve better than this emotional cripple who never outgrows his hero complex. Personally, I can’t look at Natalie and John in a scene together and not remember: a) that for over two years they rarely interacted and displayed absolutely none of the supposed feelings that have now all of a sudden resurfaced within a few short months of her husband’s death (and, in the case of the cabin during the blizzard, within minutes of her hallucinating Jared); b) that he completely blew off her disappearance when Tess had her locked in the Secret Room; c) the gleeful, smug way in which he pursued Jared as the stalker; and d) a big part of the reason Jared is dead is because John inexplicably turned away from Mitch while he still had a loaded gun in his hand. I have to say, it disappoints me greatly that nothing was made of this last one; and I can only surmise it speaks to backstage politics that a scene like this aired and it was felt by the powers that be that John’s gross negligence and error does not need to be addressed in any way; yet Jared and his fans were never allowed to forget Jared’s involvement in Nash’s accidental death, to the extreme point of Nash references during Jessica’s eulogy for Jared and his re-internment on the day of Jared’s funeral.
Much as I hate that Jared is gone, I realize that Natalie has to be moved into different stories now. Personally, I would have liked for Natalie to have Jared’s baby; as a pregnancy would be a new, different story for Natalie, who I understand has never even had so much as a pregnancy scare during her time in Llanview. I’d also like to see her (and not just hear about it) back at BE and maybe take a look at Natalie’s childhood with Roxy.
You say you’ve never seen prior John and Natalie, well you should watch them prior to 2007. They were simply amazing. If you ever want to check out some of the great scenes, you can see why so many people love this couple. Because they truly are meant to be together. John comes to life with Natalie. He really does. And as Doc Crosby once pointed out, she’s the one loss he’ll never recover from. I’m not trying to deter you from your fave, but if you never watched prior to 2007, you really should check out some of the scenes. They really are great. But one thing is for sure-we love what we love.
I’m not a big fan of any of the stories he talk about in part 3. They just don’t interest me and I don’t think are written very well. Kish seems to be the only really good written story (other than who’s the daddy that’s lasted way too long) on the show at the moment. It’s a shame and I think after April 12, when a lot of people will stop watching, OLTL may rethink about Kish.
I miss Todd and Tea. It seems like we are getting rewrites or something. I just wish TnT would start interacting again!!
These horrible rumors about Florencia Lozano being fired better be false!!!!!!!
As a long suffering John and Natalie fan I am thrilled to hear Mr Carlivivati comments about this great couple. In my view Michael Easton and Melissa Archer have a scorching hot chemistry, and if written for correctly could be one of the biggest pairings on ABC. My friend and I were out to dinner and were sitting at the bar waiting for a table we started talking about OLTL and John and Natalie the female bartender overheard us and said”OMG I love John and Natalie also” turned out she was a new viewer, and has become hooked on the show thanks to John and Natalie.
I understand Jarred fans being upset, but they should try to be a John and Natalie fan we have waited 7 years for our story, they had 2 years and even had their characters get married. But I must disagree with anyone who only started to watch the show 2 1/2 years ago trying to explain the relationship of John and Natalie. Unless you have watched them through the years you wouldn’t understand them. And please don’t compare John and Natalie to Blair or Marty, Johns love for Natalie has always been very deep. Natalie is the only woman who can completely break John’s heart. It is true they hardly saw wach other for over 2 years, but the times they were together you could still see they had feelings for each other. Also by them staying away from each other for that time they were able to keep those strong feelings buried. But now that they are back in each others lives they can’t hide those feelings anymore. And once they kissed again the floodgates were opened. John tried to be with other women, but he never fully gave his heart to them, Natalie still owns that heart.
I hope Mr Carlivati will write a true Romance for John and Natalie. With my busy life that is why I watch soaps to see the romance.
Joanna, I can certainly understand wanting an old favorite couple to reunite.
In this particular case, however, I feel that the Natalie/John pairing had its share of chances years ago, with stories written for them. Whereas, with Natalie/Jared, I feel they were never given a fair chance, with stories of their own, after a) the BE story was so obviously aborted; b) they were unfairly made the scapegoats by the powers that be for Nash’s death and the loss of Forbes March; and c) they spent months being The Secret Keepers and supporting players in Jessica’s never-ending dramas. Then they were backburnered for months.
Now, I understand the concept of the backburner; I’ve watched soaps for over 35 years. Believe me, I waited very patiently for Natalie and Jared to have their turn on the frontburner with stories of their own. However, when I finally thought their turn had arrived, it basically consisted of the two of them being kinda/sorta on the frontburner for a couple of weeks; then Jared went missing for three weeks while Natalie kinda/sorta remained on the frontburner; only to have them be reunited and Jared killed within a day.
As far as Natalie and Jared’s wedding, it was probably the worst and also one of the best soap weddings I’ve ever seen. It was the worst because of the way the show treated both the couple and their fans by shoehorning their wedding into a montage in which Gigi’s fantasy wedding received more play; not to mention the multi-day arcs devoted to the Starr/Cole non-wedding and the Todd/Tea wedding. It was the best wedding solely because of the sheer joy conveyed by Melissa Archer and John Brotherton in their wedding scene, which they managed to do despite having a mere half-line of dialogue.
You wrote of waiting for seven years for Natalie and John to get together; and you’re asking Natalie/Jared fans to essentially walk a mile in your shoes. At least when Natalie and John were not together, John was still alive and you therefore could hope for a reunion one day. With Jared dead, Natalie/Jared fans don’t have that luxury. I wonder who’d like to walk in our shoes.
I guess we all have our own opinions, and we should all respect each other views, but has someone who after 7 years has still not had a payoff its nice to hear Mr Carlivati talk about their history and wanting to revisit them. For me I was never a huge Jarred and Natalie fan so I was not into their story. And this was the first time I didn’t like a Natalie pairing. I loved Natalie/Cris and Natalie/ John, but Jarred was not a character I liked with Natalie.
I just hope I can finally get the romantic story for John and Natalie that I have waited 7 years for. I want to see what Michael Easton and Melissa Archer could do with a great love story. These 2 actors have so much heat their scenes can be explosive, and I am hoping Mr Carlivati writes a a story to showcase this.
Christine, we are not asking you to walk a mille in our shoes. But really, you got your payoff. They had their wedding, even if it was short. John/Natalie fans never did. And that’s what has been so bitter to take.
Billy Warlock would be weird casting as Gigi’s father. He may be technically old enough, but he’s always looked so young.
Just wanted to say thank you to Christine for saying everything a lot of us Natalie/Jared fans are feeling.
Thank you, Gin, for your comment.
Joanna, the site wouldn’t let me respond to your last comment directly, so I started a new post. Just wanted to close by adding that
“I guess we all have our own opinions, and we should all respect each other’s views”
is one thing we do agree on. 🙂
I am very happy RonC. is revisting John& Natalie! , they have the most sizzling dynamic, even in a normal conversation they sizzle! I am not that much of a Marty fan but loved her with Patrick. if they brought him back , that would be a huge SL for a lot of characters. Todd and Tea were OK ,just not used to Dani’s age.. but if that all their is for Tea, thats too bad. Mitch and Alison are creepy bad guys ,,, but interesting to watch. But I think this should be their last go around.
Add me to the list of another long suffering John and Natalie fan. I am thrilled with this interview and the possibility of John and Natalie being reunited.
I have watched this couple since Oct 1, 2003. I fell in love right along with this couple. And I was saddened when they were broken up in 2007 for no good reason, and paired with people I didn’t want to see.
I was sickened to see that Natalie and John barely had any scenes for more than 2 years. This is a couple that had gone through so many things together, and to end them over “drugged soup”, was just PLAIN RIDICULOUS. And to pair John with a psychiatrist was the most hideous thing I’d ever heard of. This character hates psychiatrists! And to pair Natalie with a gold-digging faux uncle was hideous in itself. And I was THRILLED when Jared was killed. Infact, so thrilled I had popcorn while watching his death scenes. And sayng “thank you soap gods”.
As for Marty, she’s okay as a character, BUT SHE DOES NOT BELONG WITH JOHN. Her and John are beyond boring. During their scenes, I find myself sleeping as I am put to absolute naptime. End this farce of a couple sooner than later!
With Natalie, John comes to life. She is the light at the end of the dark tunnel for John. She breathes life into him. They are truly meant to be together, and I, for one, hope that at the end of this long-suffering road, he and Natalie are back where they both belong–in each other’s arms.
As for Marty’s pregnancy, it is a ridiculous plot point as their “love story” took place off-screen(Don’t get me wrong, I’m thrilled that it was. Because it meant the viewers wouldn’t have to be sickedended watching it). But NATALIE is the one John dreamed of having a family with. It should be NATALIE pregnant with John’s baby. It should be NATALIE where Marty is with John.
As a John/Natalie fan, I want the payoff every other pairing has had. I want a real proposal, a real wedding(and not a 13 second one)-and I want a John/Natalie baby. I want the TOTAL package that we were robbed of three years ago!
Wow….I couldn’t of said it better myself!!!
As a die hard JOLIE(John and Natalie) Fan I’m soooooooooo looking forward to them reuniting for good this time!!!
I have only watched reg. again since Feb..Thank God for DVR…cause when their not on I can ff thru most of the show or just not watch at all……and I have to say I absolutly LOVE watching them two on screen again!!! Now just if they’d speed up this Marty crap…….
I’m like you I want our due payoff for being loyal to a fault * at times*, die hard fans of this couple!!!
Hi Shelby
Thanks for the response. I felt a little long-winded after I wrote the post, but realized I meant every word I said! Ron has done fantastic thus far, and I just hope he continues the great writing for this couple. I have enjoyed every scene. Every line was delivered with the knowledge of their shared history. It’s been amazing thus far. But the one thing I enjoy most with this pregnancy plot point are the longing glances shared between these two. No one does angst better than Natalie and John! Bring on the eye sex! My pretties can do it justice!!
Starting watching OLTL again in October after hearing that Natalie and John would be sharing scenes again. I stopped watching after their horrible breakup. ME and MA still have such great on-screen chemistry after so long apart. Looking forward to a long awaited reunion. I feel there is still so much story that can be told for this couple especially since both have grown and matured. I think John finally is at peace over his father’s death and can now focus on committing to someone he loves. Hopefully that someone will be Natalie.
i agree totally with christine, i want the total package with john and natalie. we have been waiting seven years for them to get back together, i want proposal, wedding, baby! i want it all with them, i stopped watching when they broke up and started back when bo and nora got back together and now with jolie getting back together one life is getting better and better. that is just my opion everyone is aloud and i’m sorry for the jared fans i really liked him but i love natalie and john together. melissa and michael just have great chemistry together.
OLTL right now is not as good of a show as it has been in the past. A lot of the storylines right now are not working. But there are 2 things that are working right now and that is the pairings of Bo/Nora and John/Natalie.
Bo/Nora have finally been reunited after 10 years apart. RSW and HBS have the chemistry that every soap producer dreams of. And after 10 years of horrible forced pairings for both Bo and Nora Ron got it right and he reunited them.
John/Natalie have not been reunited but they are on their way to finding their way back to each other. This is one couple that Ron knows how to write. ME And MA have an explosive chemistry. If given the right storylines they could become a supercouple. John/Natalie can be amazing if given the right material. Ron has given them great material this year. The Feb blizzard scenes as well as the Lanfair second kiss scenes shows us that Ron knows how to write them. Ron just needs to end this contrived Marty/John/Natalie tri and give this couple the payoff that they should have had 3 years ago. John/Natalie need a full reunion complete with marriage and a baby.
Thanks for sharing this!!! I’m excited about the reunion of John and Natalie and cannot wait to see them as a couple again!!! They bring the chemistry,angst,love,passion back to OLTL….I look forward to watching again, when I know their going to be on. 😉
I, too, am a huge John/Natalie fan and love this interview with Ron. I am hoping with baited breath that this means John and Natalie will be reunited. Like many others, I stopped watching after they broke up, and recently started watching again with the Stalker Storyline when I stood in line one day at the grocery store and pcked up a copy of SID, and turned to OLTL fall previews and saw John/Natalie would be back in a story together.
Since then, I put OLTL back on my DVR! The scenes these past few months have NOT disappointed me, but I want MORE!!
This latest plot twist with Marty being pregnant, although ridiculous, is giving me what I have loved about the John/Natalie relationship and that’s the longing, the eye sex and the angst. NO ONE, and I do mean NO ONE, does angst quite like Natalie and John. ME and MA have amazing chemistry and it should be showcased and built upon.
Really good interview overall.
Love that RC comments on how FL is a wonderful actress and he makes it a point to say that TnT is just as wonderful a love story as T/B. ICAM. In fact, as far as I am concerned, TnT are the best, period. But it is nice that he showed respect to TnT. So tired of the T/B merry go round. There has been nothing “super” about that couple in a decade, IMHO.
Really hoping to get my TnT back. Not even going to deal with the possibility they may be releasing FL. That would just set me off and after losing DD, this is not a good time to be messing with me, lol.
I am a HUGE Jolie fan. I been waiting years for these two to reconnect!
I just can’t stand that they paired John and Marty, that was definately a HUGE mistake. Natalie and Jared, I couldn’t stand, Jared just was blah! I am just annoyed that they don’t pair John and Natalie up instead of having all these wrenches thrown in between them. The writeers know that more than half of the viewers are rooting for this couple. I hope they do bring Patrick back for Marty, cause thats the only person she had chemistry with.
I have been a OLTL fan since Vicky/Joe and Clint, Ed and Carla, Dorian/David/Jenny, Jenny/Brad, Karen/Larry, Tina/Cord and I say Jolie is the best couple they have EVER HAD IMHO. From the beginning, their scenes just jumped off the screen and their scenes were great especially the non-verbal ones, what they do with their eyes should be rated “R.” Like so many others after 5 years, I felt gipped by the horrible ending and hated that they were never on screen together although now “Others” get it, you could never put them in a scene together with other characters, the other characters just faded away. My question has always been if you have a couple with that much chemistry, why not use it? I am holding bated breath for the Jolie reunion and true love story that these two can tell. Although here to now, OLTL has not indicated that they listen to fans, but Jolie had jumpstarted all the boards, magazines, they have that buzz and imagine what a really good love story could do. That is why we or at least I watch for love in the afternoon and NO ONE does it better than Michael Easton and Melissa Archer, so as Natalie told John on the plane to Thailand “Bring It On.”
Fantastic, detailed interviews Michael, i’m trying to get thru all of them. I love this show and i hope Ron sticks around. GREAT JOB and great questions! Good provocative discussions had in the Ron C. interviews.