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Jacklyn Zeman Thinks Bobbie Deserves to Find Love on GENERAL HOSPITAL (EXCLUSIVE)

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After all these years, GENERAL HOSPITAL’s Jacklyn Zeman is still in love with her character — who started out as a fun-loving troublemaker! “When Bobbie first came on, she was written as a taker,” the actress reflected to Soaps In Depth. “She had an agenda. Remember her pretending to be pregnant to get Laura to drive off the cliff so she could have Scotty to herself?!?”

It’s those past incidents — along with the fact that Bobbie actually bought Lucas on the black market! — that allow son-in-law Brad to believe she might understand how he got caught up in the babyswapping mess. But Zeman’s not so sure that’s the case. “This character’s come a long way,” she contended. “People have told me over the years that when they think of Bobbie, they think of the heart. She’s a very loving person who’s extremely connected. She’s become a giver — a person that wants to contribute more than she wants to receive. That’s the part of the character I relate to, and it’s why I could continue to play her for 42 years now!”

General Hospital Anthony Geary Jacklyn Zeman

“Luke was the ultimate bad boy,” Zeman reminded. “But to Bobbie, he was the epitome of strength and protection in a man. She compares every guy to Luke.” (Photo Credit: Frank Edwards/Archive Photos/Getty Images)

Not only is Bobbie a beloved GH nurse today, but she’s a matriarch who talks straight to her kids — and, as we’ve seen with Carly, has taught them to do the same! “I love that Bobbie is the initiator of that — particularly since she had no training or role models,” Zeman said. “Her parents weren’t there. She had such a dysfunctional upbringing.”

One might argue that with a past like hers, the former prostitute had every excuse to stay a scheming taker… but that was never Bobbie’s nature.“She’s always been a pick-herself-up-by-the- bootstraps kind of gal,” Zeman explained. “And that’s an important message for people to look at: You have to take life from where you are, not where you were! The writers have a tremendous amount of power when they come up with these stories, because we all see ourselves in them. We find patience, instructions on how to behave and ideas on how to live, grow and be better. I love that I get to play that!”

While we didn’t see much of Bobbie last year, she’s had a busy summer. On the heels of her type 2 diabetes diagnosis, Scotty compared her to a comfy old shoe. And while neither of those things felt like a win for Bobbie, Zeman is thrilled. “Diabetes is out there, and it’s rampant,” she said. “When I heard, I went online and read all about it so I would actually understand what it meant — because Bobbie’s a nurse! I like when we do things correctly, because TV sets are all over hospitals, so we have a big audience in the healthcare profession. You’ve got to get it right. Plus, it’s important to get the word out so people can recognize the symptoms.”

GH Scotty Bobbie - ABC

“After all the crap Scotty and Bobbie put each other through, there’s definitely something there,” Zeman said. “There’s substance.” (Photo Credit: ABC)

The icing on the cake for Zeman was Scotty’s proposal. “I love Bobbie’s diagnosis coming at the same time that Scott’s going through his midlife crisis,” she chuckled. “Suddenly, it was, ‘Will you marry me?’ ‘I don’t want some pity proposal!’”

Bobbie may not want Scotty’s pity, but she does want romance. “I get so many comments from women who are over 40, have been married… and now they’re back to dating,” Zeman said. “Love never ends, and they want to see that potential. There’s an opportunity there for our writers — and I would love to play that! Get Bobbie on a dating app. I could tell you some stories from my real life, because I’m single. Oh, my gosh! The writers could go crazy with this.”

While dating would be fun, Zeman’s not counting out Scotty for Bobbie. “They have always had that attraction and sexual spark,” she maintained. “I think they could make it work.”

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This story originally appeared in our print magazine

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