What Happened to Nina on GENERAL HOSPITAL
Nina Reeves on GENERAL HOSPITAL has been through quite a lot of ups and downs, so it’s understandable that some viewers might have a little trouble getting a handle on her character. So let us fill you in on the wild history that took her from baby-snatcher to magazine editor! Nina was first introduced to GH in May 2014 and was played by Emmy-winning actress Michelle Stafford. However, when she opted to leave the soap, the role was recast with another Emmy winner, Cynthia Watros, in June 2019, and she continues to play the schemer to this day.
Nathan West wanted to make Silas Clay pay for putting his sister, Nina, into a coma, but it was later revealed that her mother, Madeline Reeves, had accidentally done it when she gave her an overdose of antidepressants to cause her to miscarry Silas’ baby. Although Madeline then claimed her daughter had died, Nina showed up in Port Charles having awoken from her coma. She wanted things to go back to the way they were with Silas, but he admitted he was now dating Sam McCall. Nina pretended to be okay with it, but she secretly schemed to come between them, even pretending that she still needed her wheelchair when she didn’t.
Although Nina did win Silas back, he split up with her when he learned about her lies. Desperate to have his baby, Nina decided to force Ava Jerome to go into labor and steal her newborn daughter. She and Franco Baldwin went on the run, but the authorities caught up with them and Silas convinced Nina to give Ava back her baby. She pled not guilty by reason of insanity and was committed to Shadybrook where she met Heather Webber. Franco managed to get himself committed as well to protect Nina from his mother, and the pair bonded before they were eventually released.
Unable to access her trust fund, Nina went along with Franco’s scheme to blackmail Olivia Falconeri into giving them free room and board at the Metro Court Hotel. When Ava’s daughter was kidnapped again, Nina was hurt that Franco didn’t believe her innocence and then married Ric Lansing to hurt him. But Ric had only married Nina to help Madeline get her hands on her money. She was also the prime suspect in Silas’ murder when Franco found her holding the knife over his dead body. (Turned out Madeline was the one who killed him.)
After freeing herself from Ric, Nina wanted to make a fresh start and convinced Julian Jerome to give her a job so he made her editor in chief of Crimson magazine. She found herself drawn to Valentin Cassadine, and agreed to marry him to help his custody case for his daughter, Charlotte. (It didn’t hurt that Nina would finally get a child, something she’d always wanted.) Unfortunately, his continued involvement with Anna Devane caused Nina to grow jealous, and after she learned he’d known Peter August was really Henrik Faison, she dumped him, blaming him for being partly responsible for Cesar Faison killing her brother, Nathan.
Nina also helped Liesl Obrecht kidnap Peter for causing Nathan’s death, but when the doc wanted to kill him for revenge, Nina backed off and actually helped him get free. After learning of her mother’s death, Nina received a package containing a locket from her childhood and realized that the other half of the heart was with the daughter she had been told died while she was in the coma. Unbeknownst to Nina, Valentin was so desperate to win back her love that he got Madeline to reveal that the infant had survived and then schemed to have a young woman named Sasha Gilmore pose as her long-lost child.
Nina was wary, but eventually overjoyed to be reunited with her daughter, and that helped her finally give in to her feelings for Valentin leading to their inevitable reunion. When Jasper “Jax” Jacks bought his way into Aurora Media, Nina became determined to show him that she could make Crimson more successful than ever before, and the sparks between them pitted a jealous Valentin against his presumed rival. Unfortunately, it was Valentin’s scheme with Sasha that proved the couple’s undoing as Lulu overheard Sasha and Obrecht discussing the lie and revealed the truth at the wedding! Crushed by Sasha’s lie and assuming Valentin was a part of it, Nina ran out of the church in tears and Jax took her his new home to offer her a shoulder to cry on.
Keeping Sasha at arm’s length, Nina forgave Valentin and began planning to marry him again but it turned out she was onto him and planned to destroy him at the altar. She even urged Ava to join forces with her so they could take down the Cassadine men who had wronged them both! And as they were about to exchange vows on New Year’s Eve, Nikolas crashed the ceremony with Ava, who Valentin had just tried to murder! Everyone was stunned to see Nik alive, and Valentin realized that Nina had set him up for a fall.
Having finally cut ties with Valentin for good, Nina found herself growing closer to Jax. After a passionate kiss, she worried because he was technically her boss, but after he spoke to human resources and got the okay, they were finally able to enter into a real relationship. Nina lost Maxie when Jax wouldn’t approve her raise, and ended up hiring Nelle Benson to keep an eye on her, actually testifying against her employee when she sought custody of her son, Wiley.
Nina also decided to search for her long-lost daughter again and Jax was able to find a jeweler who tied the heart pendant to nurse Phyllis Caulfield. Nina remembered her nurse and Phyllis revealed she’d given half of the necklace to the baby when she delivered her to new parents in Florida. Despite Carly’s attempt to stifle the truth (due to her involvement in Nelle’s death), Nina eventually learned that the necklace little Avery had found belonged to Nelle! Heartbroken to realize that her long-lost daughter was now truly lost, Nina was also furious at Jax for helping Carly keep the secret for so long.
Nina was crushed to realize she’d never have a chance to know her daughter and tried to connect with her grandson, Wiley, but Carly interfered there, too. Frustrated, Nina left Port Charles and stopped by the Tan-O to visit Phyllis where she was stunned to discover that the familiar voice she’d heard on the phone when she’d called before belonged to a very-much-still-alive Sonny Corinthos! She quickly called Carly, but any intention of letting her know her husband was still alive went out the window when Carly was immediately bitchy towards her!
Stunned that Sonny had amnesia, Nina got to know “Mike” and found herself enjoying his company and the time away from the drama in Port Charles. Still, Nixon Falls had its share of excitement, with Nina and “Mike” growing closer as they teamed up to take down corrupt developer Elijah. When Jax paid a visit, he spotted Sonny, but it was after being shot by a robber, so Nina was able to convince him it was a mistake. Later, Jax told her she could see Wiley, and Nina returned to Port Charles for a visit, promising “Mike” she’d come back soon and sealing the deal with a kiss!
After returning to Nixon Falls, Nina was heartbroken when Lenny Caulfield died, and continued to feel guilty about keeping Sonny from the truth. But things got even more complicated when Peter showed up at the Tan-O and threatened to blow up her house of cards if she didn’t help him get his daughter back from Maxie! Then Jax showed up, too, realizing Sonny was alive and urging Nina to tell him who he really is. But the decision was taken out of her hands when Peter set the Tan-O on fire with Phyllis and Nina trapped inside! “Mike” rescued them but while trapped in the raging inferno, his memories returned and when Sonny emerged from the smoke, he was furious at Nina for keeping the truth from him for so long!
Nina tried to get him to understand that they had fallen in love with each other, but he insisted “Mike” wasn’t real and returned to Port Charles to reclaim his life. Nina followed behind, and explained to Maxie what had happened. She also visited with Wiley and was then confronted by Carly, who had just learned from Maxie how Nina had lied to Sonny for months about his identity. Nina struggled to explain and apologize but Carly vowed to destroy her for what she’d done to her family.
Sonny asked Carly to just let it go but Michael had Nina arrested on charges and she went before a judge in Pennsylvania to see if she should stand trial. However, during the hearing, Scott managed to get Willow to admit she’d overheard Sonny and Nina discussing the relationship they’d had in Nixon Falls and then pressed Sonny to admit he didn’t feel like a victim. The judge threw the charges out, but Nina was upset that her relationship with “Mike” had been exposed and Carly remained furious with her.
Things got worse when Sonny tried to repair his marriage to Carly but Nina showed up to his romantic surprise on The Haunted Star instead. Believing Carly wasn’t coming, Sonny took Nina to bed, so of course, Carly did arrive to catch them together! As Sonny spiraled out of control, Nina helped him realize that his drinking was affecting his medication so he would sober up. When Michael refused to let Nina anywhere near Wiley, she decided to sue for visitation rights to her grandson. Although Sonny testified on her behalf, Nina ultimately lost her petition. Sonny tried to help Nina move on and they did so together.
Although Nina turned down Drew’s attempt to sell her Crimson in the hopes of helping Carly raise the money to buy back her half of the Metro Court, she did buy Carly’s share of the hotel with the intention of giving it to her to make amends. Of course, Carly wanted nothing from her rival and turned her down flat. Later, when Olivia offered to buy the shares, Nina turned her down.
After witnessing a hug between Willow and TJ, Nina jumped to the wrong conclusion and suspected they were having an affair. When it was later revealed he was comforting Willow because she had stage four leukemia, Nina was stunned, but that was nothing compared to next finding out that Willow was her biological daughter and Carly had been sitting on the secret for ages! After learning she wasn’t a bone marrow donor for Willow, Nina vowed to make Carly pay for keeping her from her daughter. After spotting Carly and Drew canoodling, she initially hesitated to turn them in for insider trading but after being cut out of Willow and Michael’s wedding, gave Martin Grey the go-ahead to call the SEC. Willow asked Nina to drop her vendetta against Carly but it was too late, and Ava warned that if Sonny found out, she was toast.
Unaware of all that drama, Sonny popped the question and after some back-and-forth, Nina ultimately accepted his proposal. Ned Quartermaine overheard Nina talking with Martin about calling the SEC, and after confronting her about it, went to tell Drew the truth but he fell and hit his head and nearly drowned in the hotel pool! Nina changed her mind about confessing all to Sonny when she learned the accident had left Ned with amnesia and believing himself to be “Eddie Maine.” She tried to get him to leave town, but Sonny kept “Eddie” around. When Willow reached out, Nina asked Michael if they could put the past behind them. She turned down Gladys when she tried to get money out of her to pay off her blackmailer and told Sonny about it. Nina also agreed to delete Metro Court security footage that showed Charlotte breaking into Anna’s room.
Sonny and Nina decided to skip the grand wedding and eloped in Puerto Rico with a small group of family. Upon their return to Port Charles, Michael confronted Nina with a tape of Martin confessing to calling the SEC on her behalf and used the recording as leverage to force her to stay away from Willow and the kids. Nina offered to sell Carly back her half of the Metro Court, but she declined. When Ned regained his memories, he offered to keep quiet if Nina told him what Drew and Michael were planning for ELQ. Overwhelmed with guilt, Nina went to church to confess her lies, not realizing that the priest was actually Cyrus Renault!
Fearful her secret would come out, Nina tried to confess to Sonny on New Year’s Eve but it was too late because Lois Cerullo had already warned Sonny his family was keeping secrets and he’d forced Michael to tell all. She then went to tell Carly and Drew the truth not realizing that Carly was already dealing with the death of her mother. Out for revenge, Drew fired Nina from Crimson and replaced her with Carly. She attempted to start a rival fashion magazine but when that proved impossible, Valentin bought The Invader and hired Nina as publisher. Heartbroken when she was served with divorce papers, Nina told Sonny she still loved him and would fight for their marriage but he was through.
Stay tuned to see how Nina’s storyline continues!
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