GH's Steve Burton Reveals Why He Moved His Family Back to L.A.

Five years ago, Steve Burton moved his family to Tennessee “for good.” And even when he signed back on to play GENERAL HOSPITAL’s Jason again, he had no intention of giving up the life that he, wife Sheree, and their kids, Makena, 15, Jack, 12, and Brooklyn, 4, were building in Nashville. “We were in the house where I wanted to raise my kids, so it felt good,” he shared with Soaps In Depth. “It was our home, and when I wasn’t working, it was great to just hang out with the family and enjoy some time off there.”

He also enjoyed sharing actual seasons with his kids. “I can’t say I missed the snow… but growing up in Ohio, that was a huge part of my life,” he explained. “Halloween comes, football season and Christmas… It was awesome growing up that way, so I wanted them to experience that.” After decades in Los Angeles, however, those Nashville winters were rough. “The drawback is that it does get as cold as it does in the north… but there’s never any snow,” Bur ton grumbled good-naturedly. “I’m like, ‘Man, this sucks!’ When we were there, we had a few super-cold winters. We had ice storms. They got to experience that. But my wife’s from California. She’s like, ‘Okay, time to go!’”

Burton says his family “are more important to me than anything.” (Photo Credit: Jim Warren)

At its heart, the move back to L.A. was about a much bigger issue than the weather. Burton had left GH so that he could spend more time with his family in their new home state. The commute worked when he was playing THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS’ Dylan, but not long after he returned to GH, “it was just like, ‘I’m done. It’s over,’” he recalled. “Obviously, we get time off from GH, but when we’re taping, I’m doing four or five days a week. Especially before the big breaks like the three-week hiatuses, we tend to shoot a lot! It became a situation where I wasn’t with my family enough. And the traveling was tough. It wasn’t sustainable. It was a lot of wasted time on the plane. Being back at GH, it was more conducive for my family that we be here so we could be together.”

Now, instead of being shivering in Nashville, the Burton clan has sandy feet from strolling down the coast. “I hate even posting [on social media] that we live at the beach, because people who are buried under snow get jealous,” the actor chuckled. “You really forget how good the weather is in California until you’re gone and you come back. I’m not complaining about the weather out here ever again!

“We’re loving it,” he concluded. “Moving back was 100 percent the right decision for us. It’s amazing how many doors have opened up since we’ve been out here now. Everything is just better. We’re having the times of our lives!”

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