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The John-Paul Lavoisier Interview – One Life To Live

By Michael Fairman

Published

17 years ago

on

jpMain.jpg
A spiteful and vengeful Las Vegas stripper, a mysterious bag of blood, and the shocking revelation by the woman you truly love that you have been duped, set the stage for One Life to Live’s Stacy/Rex/Gigi storyline to explode!  For months fans of the show have been very vocal about their feelings towards the character Stacy’s airtime, and her machinations of favorite Llanview couple, Rex and Gigi.  They want her to get caught!

In a brand new interview with John-Paul Lavoisier, “OLTL’s” Rex Balsom, we discuss the normally street smart private investigator’s fall from grace, and how John-Paul navigated through this difficult storyline, which has included his on-screen son, Shane’s battle with leukemia.  Yesterday, Rex and Stacy finally did the deed, but Gigi was on her way to tell Rex the sordid truth about her duplicitous sister, Stacy.  Will Rex finally believe Gigi and be reunited with his sweetheart? John-Paul fills us in.

One of daytime’s most talented younger actors also chats about working with his other favorite scene partner, Robert S. Woods (Bo). John-Paul or “JP” (as many know him by), also details how girlfriend Farah Fath (Gigi) and he became an “item”.  Charming, unpredictable, witty and funny… here is JP!

Listen to the audio:

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MICHAEL:

Rex has been involved in this heavy story with Stacy, played by Crystal Hunt. Fans have been upset that Rex seemingly has had no clue that he is being duped.

leukemia.jpgJOHN-PAUL:

Rex is the dumbest he has ever been.  He’s confused, he’s weak, and he will pull at any line that has food on it at this point.  He’s a starving little fish just swimming around.  Gigi dumped him.  She made it look like she was with two guys. He had to walk in on her in bed with another guy.  Even though it was staged and it was all lies, in Rex’s eyes, it’s all been the truth.  So, the family he never had that he always wanted, he had.  It was stripped away from him, and he is getting over his son having leukemia.  Rex is coming off this huge storyline where Rex, Gigi and Shane all were brought together as a close family and everything like that, and it’s ripped away.  Stacy is manipulating her way into his life and it’s like he has these blinding goggles on.

MICHAEL:

Rex is usually a smart private investigator and a guy who is very street smart!

JOHN-PAUL

I would never hire Rex as a private investigator. (He laughs) I just got done filming a scene today, where another big character on the show hires me to be their private investigator down the line, and do some PI work. I laughed, going “What is this person thinking?  I should be giving you a discount.”

MICHAEL:

Has this storyline with Stacy been hard for you to play, JP?

stripStacyHoriz.jpgJOHN-PAUL:

It’s incredibly hard for me to play because it’s far-fetched.  Rex sleeps with Stacy and it’s such a mistake, and it’s what’s written.  It’s where Rex’s head is at the moment.
So, I have to commit to the material, but it is hard to play.  I want Rex to see through what Stacy is doing, but right now the way it is being written,
he is not.  Stacy is winning and Stacy is able to fake him out at least for a moment.  It probably is going to ruin his life down the line, and even more so with the aftermath of the sex.  I am doing my best.

MICHAEL:

You are aware at how upset the fans have been about Stacy machinations of Rex and Gigi?

JOHN-PAUL

Everything I read on the Internet and talking to fans on the street, all the fans are saying the same thing, “Somebody needs to kill Stacy.  Why can’t Rex see through Stacy? Someone needs to kick her to the curb.”  Everybody is on the same page, except Rex.

MICHAEL:

You and your on-screen love interest Farah Fath (Gigi) are a couple in real life. During the storyline, were there times when the two of you were at home together, when you were just like, “Now what can happen with this story?”

JOHN-PAUL:

It’s gotten to the point where we look at each other and give, “I know, I know” looks, and we make a drink and play poker. (He laughs)

MICHAEL:

Rex comes up with a plan to nail Stacy.  But he sleeps with her first, and then he sets out to really…nail her?

JOHN-PAUL:

crystalFarah.jpgHe sleeps with her and then he nails her. (He laughs) Gigi is literally like three minutes too late to the party that Rex and Stacy have.  She finally comes to Ultra Violet to tell him the truth about how she was never with Schuyler or Brody, and how they find out that Stacy was not the stem cell donor, and everything like that.  But literally, he has just slept with Stacy. Nailing is involved, and funny enough, we do it on dance mats. (He laughs) We do it on the dance mats from a dance class that are left on the floor of Rex’s nightclub Ultra Violet.  While they are doing it, Gigi is trying to call Rex, but he’s not picking up the phone.  Later, we find out that after they get off the mats and collect themselves, and pull their clothes back on, and Stacy leaves, Rex finds his cell phone wedged under the mats.  So the mats muffled the ring tones, and he could not find the phone, and so Gigi decides to just come over.  She tells him everything, and he is very happy, and has an “Oh, my God” moment, but inside he is just flushed.  He is like, “Oh, my God. Why could you have not gone through those red lights on your way here?  You almost got here on time, but three minutes too late.”

MICHAEL:

Now that Stacy has slept with Rex, is Stacy going to gloat about it to Gigi?

JOHN-PAUL:

There is a huge up moment with Gigi and Rex coming together, and their plan to nail Stacy. Then, Rex tells Gigi that we have to lie and play to Stacy, to make her think that Rex is still into her, because if she is not the bone marrow donor, then she must be hiding an extra bag of blood from the actual donor.  She must be hiding it somewhere.  We might need that, in case Shane needs another transplant.  So, Rex has to continue to live with Stacy and pretend that he is into her until he can find the bag of blood.

MICHAEL:

Since Rex is on to Stacy, he won’t soon fall back into Stacy’s grip?

JOHN-PAUL:

I think there might be forced kisses along the way, but there is not a sexy time that I know of.

rexStacyPool.jpgMICHAEL:

I love your work with Robert Woods (Bo).
Will there be more interaction and upcoming scenes between Rex and Bo?

JOHN-PAUL:

Yes, there will be.  I loved the show that aired recently where Rex and Stacy were at the country club and charging things, and they get arrested.  After they get arrested and taken to Bo’s police station, Rex is handcuffed wearing only his bathing suit in the police station, and its fantastic! (He laughs)

MICHAEL:

You are wearing fewer clothes now than ever?

JOHN-PAUL:

I know.  In the script it said, “Rex wears Speedos,” but it ended up being shorts. Look, if I had to work with Bob Woods’s everyday, I would never complain.  It’s great!

MICHAEL:

Why does it work so well between the two of you?

JOHN-PAUL:

John-Paul likes working with Bob.  I guess, if you like each other in real life it can roll over. Also, Bob is the older guy and I am the younger guy.  Rex is like this little spitfire and Bo is very professional.  Bo has things in his past that draw them together, like his son Drew.  Bo can see where Rex is coming from, and Bo is the father Rex never had.  Rex actually listens to Bo and takes advice from him. Yet, every now and then, Rex screws up along the way, and Bo has to slap him a little bit and go, “What the hell did I teach you all these years?”  It’s just fun stuff, and they write it so well.

rexBo2.jpgMICHAEL:

Is Rex’s dad in room 302 in the Boutet Clinic?  That’s the room where the guy Roxy pulled the plug on inhabited, who seems to be Shane’s real blood donor. Isn’t it time we find out who Rex’s dad truly is?

JOHN-PAUL:

I know nothing.  I just know that something is trying to be worked out and something has to be coming.  It’s been discussed so much, and too many fans have wanted to know who it is, and all the actors want to know who the hell it is.  So, I can promise this ball will not be dropped.  But, I just don’t know when or who it will be.

MICHAEL:

There have been some red herrings along the way.  But Roxy keeps changing her story!

JOHN-PAUL:

Finally, he will get answers out of Roxy. It’s like “Is my dad dead or not?” T hen he believes her, and then he finds out she has been lying.  Like at one point, Charlie Banks was supposed to be the dad. T here have been so many ups and downs with his father thing that to finally get the answer and to move forward with Roxy, and to give Shane a grandfather, will be interesting.  So many people on the canvas will be affected.  I have heard people thinking it could be Mitch Laurence, and recently I heard Spencer Truman on the Internet. This is on fan boards and stuff, not from anyone here.  So, I don’t know.

farah.jpgMICHAEL:

Farah and you met originally in the hallway at One Life to Live.  When did you know, “I am really attracted to this girl?”

JOHN-PAUL:

We hit it off right away.  Fortunately, I think what was on my side was that Farah did not know anybody in New York, and I know everything about New York.  I feel if she had more friends in town, or knew the town better, I feel we probably wouldn’t have hung out.  So thank God she was from Los Angeles.  Sparks flew right away.  Farah worked here for a while in the first two months, mostly with Erika Slezak (Viki) in scenes at the Bon Jour Café. We would only see each other in the hallway from time to time. The first day we worked together we had two full shows running lines, and from that moment on was when the attraction really started.  Yes, there was that funny run-in in the hallway.  I was in body make-up.  She was cute and had noticed me.  She said to herself, “I need to introduce myself to this guy.”  And she goes, “Hi. I am Farah and I play Gigi.”  I go, “Hi. I’m JP.”  First of all, she felt it was weird because she loved my name John-Paul and when I said my name was JP, she was like, “Oh, I like John-Paul. Why does he call himself JP?”  She only likes to call me John-Paul, by the way.  She said she walked away from that introduction thinking, “I bet he thinks I am an under-five or a day player.  Maybe, he did not know that I am going to be working with him, and that we have a storyline together.”  But I knew, but she felt maybe I didn’t.  But, I thought that was cute!

MICHAEL:

At ABC Super Soap Weekend, you had been the host of The Colgate Triple Play Game Show. Would you ever emcee a television game show, because you were so good at it and very comfortable?

jpMain.jpgJOHN-PAUL:

I loved doing that.  I would have done nothing but the Colgate Triple Play that weekend. I would have done 12 a day and lived in that theatre the whole time, like Bob Guiney lived in his theatre.  It was so much fun, and the fans were great.  I could have kept going and I throw my voice out every year!  For some reason, I don’t get used to the fact that I am mic’d.  I keep thinking I have to reach the back of my house with my formal voice. Like Deal or No Deal. If Howie Mandel’s ever sick I would fill in,
in a minute.

MICHAEL:

In closing, it’s going to be one hot July for Rex.  What can we expect from Rex in the month ahead?

JOHN-PAUL:

In the future, he will be fathered, be intelligent, and be a husband to Gigi….that would be great.  Hopefully, I will become Mr. Morasco soon! (He laughs)

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Interviews

WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus Talks Humble Beginnings, Test and Albert, WrestleMania 22 with Mickie James, Current Women’s Roster (Exclusive)

Published

1 day ago

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April 30, 2026

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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.

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Interviews

Y&R’s Christel Khalil Talks the Emotional Winters Family Turns of Events; Shemar Moore, and Lily and Cane’s Future (Exclusive)

Published

3 weeks ago

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April 9, 2026

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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.

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Interviews

‘The Bold and the Beautiful’s’ Jacqueline MacInnes Wood Talks What’s Next for Steffy Forrester (Exclusive)

Published

4 weeks ago

on

April 6, 2026

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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.

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