News
Vail Bloom's publicist speaks out on her departure from Y&R!

Photo Credit: JPI Studios
In the casting shocker thus far of 2010, every now knows that Eden Riegel has replaced Vail Bloom in the role of Heather Stevens on The Young and the Restless. Reports were out last week that Bloom was let-go, but her publicist wanted to clear up any misinterpretations. So he spoke with CBS Soaps In Depth and offered this statement. “It was Vail Bloom’s choice to leave Y&R to pursue other opportunities. As much as she loves Y&R and was honored to be on the No. 1 rated soap, and loved the opportunity to play the character of Heather, she felt it was time to pursue other projects.” So what do you think? Was Vail shown the front door? Or, did she leave Genoa City of her own choosing to look for greener pastures?
General Hospital
‘General Hospital’s’ Dominic Zamprogna Shares He Was ‘Happy to Hear’ of The Triangle Storyline Developing Between Dante/Elizabeth/Ric

General Hospital’s Dominic Zamprogna (Dante Falconeri) opened up about the burgeoning love triangle forming between his Port Charles alter-go, Elizabeth Webber (Rebecca Herbst) and Ric Lansing (Rick Hearst) after recently aired scenes, plus his hopes for the future of a Dante and Liz pairing, during his appearance on the Sunday, April 23 edition of the That’s Awesome podcast with Steve Burton (Jason Morgan) and Bradford Anderson (Spinelli).
On last week’s episodes of GH, Ric has made the decision that he wanted to propose to his ex-wife, only when he showed up at Elizabeth’s front door, he misread the scenario he walked in with Liz tending to Dante’s injured leg from the softball game. From there, the legal eagle’s jealous streak is reemerging which may cause him to act out and do something unforgivable, or will he take the high road? Stay tuned.
Speaking with Steve Burton and Bradford Anderson about where Elizabeth stands in the annals of the long-running soap, Zamprogna said, “She’s up there with Steve and Maurice (Maurice Benard) as one of the most legacy-filled people on the show.”

Courtesy/ABC
HOW DANTE AND ELIZABETH CAME ABOUT
Dominic jokes it’s a far cry for where Dante and Elizabeth previously, recalling, “We had some scenes together years ago and we were both laughing. Becky’s like, ‘Well, I guess we’re not going be paired up anytime soon.’ I remember we laughed immediately after they yelled ‘cut,”‘and said to each other, ‘Well, so much for that!'”
Fast-forward to early 2025 and as Zamprogna remembered it, “Elizabeth Korte (co-head writer, GH) came up to me at the General Hospital Christmas party, and I think it was a year and a half ago and she said, ‘We’re going to have you in scenes with Elizabeth,’ My internal monologue is going, ‘I’m not with Lulu (Alexa Havins) anymore and Sam’s (Kelly Monaco) gone, so maybe they want to see if this works.’ I didn’t want to get scenes with Becky and try to find the chemistry. I just wanted to play whatever honestly was written and came across for both of us and hope it was what people liked, and I don’t know if it is … or not.”
Knowing how beloved Elizabeth is to the GH faithfuls, Zamprogna added, “She got a big fan base with Ric … and a big fan base with with Jason … and you know, you’re going to piss somebody off. But, didn’t Ric drug Elizabeth and put Carly in a panic room?”

Photo: ABC
DANTE AND ELIZABETH PAIRING COULD STIR UP STORY FOR OTHERS IN PORT CHARLES
In closing, Dominic felt that the wide-reaching tentacles of a Dante and Elizabeth relationship is something he is 100% down for. “The triangle thing; I was happy to hear it was with Ric and her, because I felt it’s important to have her the top of it as opposed to Dante, Lulu and Elizabeth.”
Zamprogna added, “When you get into relationships on a soap, things seem to fizzle out a little bit, The buildup is what’s the fun part, and the getting to know each other, and the people who are affected by this coming together. When with this case it’s going to affect: Ric, Sonny, Lulu. There’s so much more story here. To me, it’s going to be a fun story to play.”
You can check out Dominic’s visit to That’s Awesome with Steve and Bradford below.
Now weigh-in: Are you rooting for Dante and Liz, or Dante and Ric at this juncture of the story, or neither guy for Elizabeth? Let us know your thoughts and picks via the comment section.
Beyond the Gates
‘Beyond the Gates’ Star Mike Manning Lands Role in Indie Horror Feature ‘Deify’

While Smitty tries to hold the fort down in his marriage to congressman Martin Richardson (Brandon Claybon) and their two teenaged children, Samantha (Najah Jackson) and Tyrell (Jaden Lucas Miller) on Beyond the Gates, Emmy-winner Mike Manning has also landed another feature film role.
According to Deadline, Manning has joined the cast of Deify with 6 other new cast members for the indie psychological horror film starring Neal McDonough and Skeet Ulrich, which was previously announced last week.
Joining Manning as the latest cast addition are: Dennis Haysbert, Ashley Greene, Casey Harnett, Kirk Avecdo, Anji White, anf Nicholas Chimera who’s directing the pic also has a part in the film.
WHAT’S THE STORY OF DEIFY?
Taking to his Instagram with the news of his casting, Manning shared, “A movie about a cult? What could possibly go wrong? Come for the enlightenment. Stay because they won’t let you leave. DEIFY is coming…”
The movie is currently shooting in Chicago and in story, “a cult leader is put on trial after causing his devoted followers to be burned alive. The film is inspired in part by events surrounding the 1993 Waco, Texas, standoff between members of the Branch Davidians church and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, one of the largest civilian firefights ever recorded on American soil.”
MIKE MANNING IS A DAYTIME EMMY NOMINEE
In addition, the multi-talented Manning is a producer on the feature. Previously, Mike was nominated last month in the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for the upcoming 53rd annual Daytime Emmy Awards. He previously won an Emmy for his role on The Bay and for being a producer on the digital drama.
Mike’s previous credits include the role of Charlie Dale on Days of Our Lives and the Manny on This Is Us, plus various primetime and screen credits.
So intrigued to find what role Mike will play in the upcoming horror/cult film, Deify? Enjoying him as Smitty on Beyond the Gates? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.
General Hospital
GH and OLTL Alum Patrick J. Gibbons Reveals the Story Behind Writing Trina’s Song on ‘General Hospital’ (Exclusive)

At the conclusion of today’s August 21 episode of General Hospital, Trina Robinson (Tabyana Ali) sings a lullaby to baby Dez, that went into a montage to close out the episode as her father Curtis Ashford (Donnell Turner) reports to Pentonville and winds up in his jail cell.
However, in a fun fact, the song entitled, “A Lonely Heart To Give” was actually written by none other than former One Life to Live and General Hospital actor, Patrick J. Gibbons.
Daytime fans first met Gibbons as Sam Manning on One Life to Live. At the time, when he started on the soap, he was just 5-years-old. Gibbons played the part from 2010-2013 on ABC and Prospect Park’s editions of the show. Fast-forward to 2018, Gibbons shows up on General Hospital as Wyatt Hoover, the scout who seemed always be injured, but in the thick of the drama. Patrick had appeared on GH multiple times as Wyatt including: 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023.

Photo: ABC
FROM HIS GRANDMOTHER’S DEATH CAME THE INSPIRATION FOR HIS SONG
Now in 2026, General Hospital fans are getting to learn about another side of Gibbons’ talent as a songwriter and guitar player after “A Lonely Heart to Give” debuted today! Michael Fairman TV caught up with Patrick, who is now a senior at Penn State entering his final year as a finance major, to get the back-story of how his song wound up on GH!
Gibbons explained he wrote the song in honor of his grandmother who passed away a few years ago with whom he was, very, very close with. “Randomly, my grandmother had a downfall and passed away during the second semester of my sophomore year. I was in my dorm a lot and I was just playing with my guitar. And at the time, I was really into finger-style playing. I wrote the lyric and music to it (with a little help from my guitar teacher Lou), and my mom showed the rough demo to Frank Valentini (EP, General Hospital). He’s like an uncle to me. Frank loved it so much he said, “Finish that up. I want to hear the whole thing, and I want it on the show.”
MAKING MUSIC FOR GENERAL HOSPITAL
Gibbons and his parents took the next steps! “So now, all we needed was a female voice, because I thought that would fit the song well,” Patrick shared. “At the golf club we go to my parents were at a dinner. They liked the singer that was performing and spoke to her about the song, and she says she would like to bring it to her ‘boss’ who ended up being Eric Bazilian of the Hooters fame!” (Bazilian also wrote the smash hit song “One of Us” for Joan Osborne).
Next, “We went in the studio and recorded it and the song came together and it was beautiful. We loved it. They loved it at General Hospital and now they’re putting it the show and they are coming in with a piano, instead of a guitar. Paul Glass, the GH musical director, has been keeping us updated over the last six months of how it was coming along, and when it would air, and how GH put their own arrangement to it. I can’t wait to see and hear what they did with it.”

Photo: JPI
PATRICK’S ONE LIFE TO LIVE FAMILY
Everyone knows that the One Life to Live extended family share a very tight bond, and Patrick said he does stay in touch with a few of his former One Life to Live co-stars, especially those from the Manning family! “I stayed in touch with Kassie DePaiva (ex-Blair) and sent her little videos here and there. She was like my second mom for five years. We keep in contact with Kristen Alderson (ex-Starr) over X the most, and she can’t believe how big I’ve gotten. Like, none of them can! (laughs). I also loved working with Roger Howarth (ex-Todd) and Trevor St. John (ex-Todd and Victor Jr.), and to me since I was so young, they were just my friends, ‘Roger and Trevor,’ not Todd Manning or Victor Jr.”
It was a trip to California and a visit to Port Charles that ultimately led to Gibbons second soap role of Wyatt Hoover. Patrick explains, “In 2016, Frank Valentini invited us out to Los Angeles to visit the set of General Hospital. I think he heard me say, ‘This is so much fun. I miss being on the set.’ He goes, ‘You should come out. I’ll bring you on the show. We can make you a character.'”
A few years later, Patrick’s dream became a reality! “Then, by the summer of 2018, I was playing Wyatt, the scout, and shared scenes with Wes Ramsey (Peter August), and the best was when I shared a scene with Roger Howarth and Michael Easton (ex-John, OLTL and ex-Silas, Finn et al, GH), it was like chemistry from the old days.”

Photo: PGibbons
IT’S ALL IN THE NUMBERS
As to his future aspirations, it’s a career in the finance game that has piqued Gibbons’ real-life interest. But never say never to a return to acting. Patrick explained, “I’ve always enjoyed numbers. And on top of that, one of the biggest parts of finance is being personable and outgoing.”
He continued, “That’s one of the greatest skills I developed growing up. I really love the markets. I’m super interested. I’m never going to close the door to acting. I’m always open to that because I just love it so much. It’s such a great art.”
Take note! If there are any investment bankers or private equity folks among the GH faithful looking for a young analyst next year, Patrick’s DMs are open. You can find him on X at @PatrickJGibbons.”
So, what did you think of the song sung by Trina on today’s GH that was written by Patrick J. Gibbons? Did you enjoy Patrick’s performances as One Life’s Sam and GH’s Wyatt? Would you like to see him back on GH at some point? Let us know via the comment section.
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It doesn’t matter why. The role was blah and so was she. I’m sure Eden Riegel will be better, but only if the writers give her the material to work with. Let’s hope….
I liked Vail Bloom’s portrayal of Heather. I hope her leaving was her own choice. I think she is better suited for that role than Eden.
I hope it was her decision. She is a very good actress and I like watching her as Heather. Good Luck to Vail.
Vail’s (love her name!)portrayal of Heather was always lukewarm to me? I didn’t care for her one way or the other. They tried to pair her with different guys on the show and she had chemistry with none of them. I was surprised she lasted this long. I think the character in general is weak but good luck to Eden. Maybe she can bring her 2 life?
I began watching Y&R during a hospital stay in 1994. Have been a fan since. Two comments: I felt that Vail Bloom was a lot like the current and original Ashley. Both women upstage most of the men they try to pair them with, and only Victor has ever been able to face off with Ashley toe to toe in a scene. (current Billy Abbot is the exception) I think the same is true for Vail, she is going to be hard to replace. Finally, one of the reasons have liked the show for so many years, is that it does not get off into supernatural stuff, but rather remains in the real world. Lately, the script has been venturing into some areas that I don’t find appealing and a little to far out there, hope that come back to earth
I liked Vail bloom in her role of Heather Stevens !
She was beautiful and looked like she could be Pauls daughter..
She played her roles very well and is a wonderful actress !
I am sorry to see her go but wish her well..
Never liked Eden Riegel , does not look the role and is not
a good actress, she is very dull in the role of Heather !
I am in total agteement with this!! The new Heather is very unbelieveful as Pauls Daughter, and as as Poliecwoman, she appears to be weak, and lacks personality, in my opinion, Writers and Casting Dept. maybe you want to rethink this ???
The other thing I wanted to address is, that this show “NEVER” allows Nicky Reid Neuman to have any happiness, This story line is getting very boring, I can remember her marriage to Kevin, and the doctor, with the psychotic wive that almost killed Nicky, Not to mention David!! Victor has progressed from a powerful man that throws his weight around!! to an abusive, sycoopath, that has no love for anyone, especially Nicky and his Kids, I feel this needs to change and stay that way, no one deserves a life filled with nothing but despair, and after all these years I am barley tuning in the show is DEPRESSING
Also, she was annoying on All My Children and I have the feeling that she is going to be even more annoying on Young & Restless !
That whiny voice kills me !
I can’t stand the new Heather! Vail is glamorous and brought a level of class to the role. This new lady is plain, tom boyish looking and doesn’t add any class to the role at all. If she’s supposed to be sexy and lure Chance away from Chloe…FAT CHANCE. She doesn’t even look tempting!!
I agree with Rita. I do not like the new Heather either. She is a plain, boring, pathetic character. The actress does not know how to portray an Assistant District Attorney.
Physically, she has no sex appeal. I have seen snow that had more color than she has. A month in the sun may improve her looks a little.
In my opinion, a terrible re-cast.
Please , please cast back the old actress Vail Bloom. She pkayed the District attorney part very well and had more personality on screen and also the daughter Of Paul. This one who replaced her doesn’t seem to know if she is coming or going. It’s so sad. especially when you had someone good and should always keep. Please bring her back. I don’t know where they got this new gal to replace but she needs more pratice in acting and not on Young & Restless.
I have been an entertainer on screen and stage also myself for years and now retired and when I see this. I get so frustrated inside of me. You need to bring back Vail. She acted and played the part well. I may be an old timer but I know when I see talent. I will be keeping my fingers crossed.
YOU ARE SO RIGHT
I miss vail so much. I liked her strength and personality as Heather. Eden brought a weakness to the character that I cannot stand. This was a terrible recast. If they wanted Eden on the show they should have made a new character for her. I miss VAIL BLOOM, her portrayal of heather was great !!!
I hate how Heather is flirting with Chance and now he’s gone and cheated on Chloe. What a jerk! And they’re engaged!! I cannot believe Chance did that to Chloe, I hope she doesn’t forgive him and she finds out, poor Chloe, all the guys she gets involved with cheat on her :(((
PLEASE BRING BACK VAIL BLOOM….SHE IS HEATHER, ALWAYS WILL AND CONTINUE TO BE
Many of us faithful Y&R viewers would greatly appreciate if Vail Bloom would return. Eden does not fit the role. It’s a turn off to see Eden.
I don’t know if she was let go or left but Eden Riegel doesn’t hold a candle to Vail Bloom. I wish she’d come back. I don’t think Riegel will grow on me either…she is just so wrong for the role.
I miss Vail on the show. The new Heather stinks.
Best of Luck to your future rolls.
I miss Vail too! She was believable as Paul’s daugther, this new girl doesnt even look like she could belong to Paul!
I love just love Vail Bloom and her acting skills. I do miss her on the Young and The Restless but her beauty and talent should be shown everywhere. Good Luck Vail
I do not like the new Heather at all. Vail Bloom was so much better in this role. Please bring her back!
If Vail left on her own to pursue greener pastures, I wish her all the best.. However, if tptb decided to show her the front door, they need to bring her back!!~ I personally feel Vail played the part more to the viewers liking.. Nothing personal against Eden Riegel, who is a talented actress, but in alot of viewers perspective, she doesn’t seem to fit the part.. So I am hoping they would reconsider, and bring Vail back to her original role as Heather Stevens!~
Vail ROCKED on Y&R! I want her back!!!
Still wish Vail Bloom would be brought back to Y&R. She played the part well and looked like she could really be Paul’s daughter. Fit the part really well. Her replacement is a terrible recast; bad actress, annoying voice and does not fit the part at all.
Vail is by far the best actress to play Heather Stevens to date. Young and the Restless needs to get her back. The newest version of Heather needs to go immediately, terrible casting.
Cocaine, booze……partying. She just couldn’t keep it up.