What Happened to Sasha on GENERAL HOSPITAL
Sasha on GENERAL HOSPITAL has had a rough life in Port Charles but she’s clearly a survivor! Actress Sofia Mattsson made her daytime debut in the role in September 2018. However, Sasha Gilmore is a completely different character from Sasha Donev, who was played by Sandra Hess back in 2008. Donev was the lawyer for Russian crime lord Andre Karpov, who had Jake Spencer kidnapped and was shot and killed by a sniper. Totally different person! Mattsson has been playing Sasha since her debut, although in February 2022, the actress needed some time off so her sister, Helena Mattsson, filled in for a few episodes.
Sasha Gilmore first appeared when Curtis Ashford met with the young lady to inform her that he believed she may be the daughter of his friend, Nina Reeves, who was taken away from her and put up for adoption. Sasha argued that she wasn’t adopted, and in fact, had heard the story of her birth during a snowstorm many times over the course of her life. She reluctantly agreed to a DNA test, and when the results came back positive, Valentin Cassadine happily informed Nina that he had hired Curtis and they’d found her long-lost daughter!
Nina and Sasha’s initial meeting did not go well. After making small talk, Nina was disappointed that Sasha didn’t have the other half of the heart pendant her daughter was supposed to have, then came on a little too strong wanting to spend time with her. Sasha put up walls, not wanting another mother in her life, but Nina pled her case and begged for a chance to get to know her.
Although she turned down job offers from Valentin and Nina, Sasha agreed to stay in Port Charles, and moved in with her new sister, Kiki Jerome. Noting Sasha checking out Griffin Monroe, Ava stirred the pot by suggesting to her that Griffin and Kiki weren’t that serious, so she could totally make a move on him. Naturally, that didn’t work out, but Sasha turned out to be even more trouble because it was revealed that Valentin had paid her to lie about being Nina’s daughter! Although Sasha reluctantly bonded with Nina and urged her to reconcile with Valentin (his plan all along), the guilt — as well as Kiki’s shocking murder — inspired Sasha to get out of Port Charles before she got found out… or became the killer’s next victim!
Sasha soon returned and decided to make a life for herself in Port Charles, though Valentin continued to worry that the longer she remained in town the more likely it would be their lie would be exposed. Still, Sasha continued to settle down, even striking up a relationship with Michael Corinthos. They enjoyed a romantic getaway in Puerto Rico, but after an encounter with Cassandra Pierce, Sasha was drugged, and upon her return to Port Charles, suddenly collapsed! She was diagnosed with a virulent strain of bird flu and lay near death before doctors were able to cure her. However, this brush with death inspired Sasha to come clean to Michael about not being Nina’s daughter, and although he was upset, he soon forgave her. Lucy Coe also approached Sasha to offer her a job working for her relaunch of Deception.
Although the guilt weighed upon her, the responsibility was lifted when Lulu overheard Sasha talking about her secret to Obrecht and exposed the lie at Nina and Valentin’s wedding! Sasha tearfully tried to explain, but Nina was furious. Eventually, Nina came to accept Sasha’s apology and even Carly came around to approve of her dating Michael. When a dangerous mob war was brewing in Port Charles and the Corinthos family came under literal fire, Michael tried to push Sasha away for her own protection, but that inspired the pair to confess their love for each other and they moved in together. Although their relationship hit a bit of a snag when Sasha urged him to marry Willow Tait in order to keep custody of Wiley away from Nelle!
When Michael was reluctant, Sasha schemed with Willow’s beau, Harrison Chase, to make it seem like they were having an affair to push Michael and Willow together. Though the plan worked, and they got custody of Wiley, it worked a little too well and Michael and Willow began to fall for each other! Sasha turned to drugs to keep her spirits up while pursuing her modeling career, and it nearly destroyed her. Things also got ugly when Michael and Willow discovered the lies they’d been told.
Sasha was able to get the help she needed and began trying to put her life back together, hoping to reconnect with Michael, but wound up having a one-night stand with Brando Corbin that left her pregnant! When Cyrus Renault — who had grown disturbingly close to Sasha while providing her drugs — found out, he was furious, and she lied that it had been a nameless hookup to protect Brando. Eventually, Cyrus was arrested, but Sasha and Brando still couldn’t relax and get to know each other better as they awaited their child because his mother, Gladys Corbin (who had spilled the beans to Cyrus earlier!) decided to stick around Port Charles and continue to meddle!
Because Sasha was worried about Brando’s involvement with the Corinthos family and the mob, he agreed to step away from the family “business” to protect their baby. She also helped get Gladys a job working for Brook Lynn, but it didn’t help keep the woman out of her hair! Sasha panicked when she went into labor while locked in the back room at the Jerome Gallery with Gladys, but Brando got her out and to the hospital where things took a turn for the worse!
After an emergency C-section, Sasha and Brando were heartbroken when their baby boy was moved to the NICU because he had been deprived of oxygen for too long. They chose Liam Michael as their son’s name and asked Willow and Michael to be his godparents. Tragically, Liam had no brain activity, and Sasha and Brando were forced to say goodbye to their little boy as they took him off life support. Brando supported Sasha as they both grieved their loss, but worried when she insisted on returning to work so quickly.
Everyone was worried that Sasha was throwing herself into work as a distraction and Brando invited her on a getaway to Niagara Falls to have some time alone together. Having run into an old acquaintance who offered her drugs, Sasha decided to take her up on it and secretly took pills while on vacation. She then became obsessed with the idea of getting married, and eventually persuaded Brando to elope in March 2022 so when they returned to Port Charles, it was as man and wife! But getting back to her regular life continued to be a problem and Sasha continued to struggle.
After a photographer snapped pics of Sasha taking drugs, Gladys helped her out and stole the memory card from his camera. But when Sasha gave chase after the shutterbug in her car, she accidentally hit Harmony Miller, who was rushed to the hospital but died. This sent Sasha into another spiral, and Gladys deleted the incriminating photos while promising not to tell Brando anything. But secrets have a way of coming out!
Unfortunately, they came out on live television when Sasha had a breakdown during a home shopping segment demonstrating a baby carrier. Brando rescued her and had her admitted to the hospital for observation. She resisted the idea of going to rehab, insisting that this was an isolated incident, but Brando knew differently. Sasha refused to go to Shadybrook but reluctantly agreed to see a therapist… though she quickly changed her mind about that, too. When she found herself being set up by Smoltz, she snapped and smashed his car windshield with a parking sign! After she was arrested, Sasha reeled at the idea that the court appoint Brando as her guardian. And when Lucy fired her from being the Face of Deception until she got herself together, Sasha had another public meltdown that finally led her to admit she needed help.
Lucy attempted to salvage Deception’s reputation by firing Sasha, who had another public meltdown when she broached the subject. She was further upset by the suggestion that the court appoint Brando as her guardian in exchange for not having to serve jail time for her attack on Smoltz, but eventually signed the papers. Tragically, Brando was killed by The Hook, and Nina offered to help with the funeral expenses because Sasha couldn’t access her money because of the guardianship. Following Brando’s death, Gladys stepped in as Sasha’s guardian, but she had no idea that Brando’s mother had been losing her money in backroom poker games!
Sasha struck up a friendship with newcomer Cody Bell, and was upset to learn that Gladys had sold Brando’s garage. When Gladys accused Cody of stealing her bracelet during the Nurses Ball, Sasha didn’t know who to believe. She faced her fears by returning to HOME & HEART to demonstrate The Deceptor, and although the producer tried to sabotage Sasha, Cody stopped him. As Sasha tried to have the guardianship dissolved, her psychiatrist, Dr. Montague, prescribed new medication that led to her behaving erratically.
After being arrested for shoplifting, Sasha later hallucinated and stabbed Cody! She was committed to Ferncliff for treatment, but her condition continued to deteriorate. Cody got himself admitted to the mental hospital so he could spring Sasha and once they escaped, he informed her that Gladys and Montague had set the whole thing up to take her money. Sasha confronted Gladys and tried to get her to confess, but she called the police and sent her back to Ferncliff! Thankfully, Cody and Dante rescued her and had Dr. Montague arrested. With that ordeal finally behind her, Sasha packed her things and planned to move to Austin to make a fresh start.
Keep watching GH to see what happens next!
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