General Hospital Alum Coby Ryan McLaughlin Finds New Love After Loss
On General Hospital, Coby Ryan McLaughlin played notorious sex cult leader Hank “Shiloh” Archer, the master manipulator who drew characters like Willow (Katelyn MacMullen) and Kristina (Kate Mansi) into his Dawn of Day web before being taken down by Sam McCall (Kelly Monaco) in 2019. In real life, the actor suffered a devastating heartbreak in 2024, when his girlfriend, Melanie Sitzer, tragically passed away. But on Instagram, McLaughlin shared the happy news that there is a new romance in his life.
So Happy Together
McLaughlin hard-launched his new relationship with a joint post with his new real-life love, photographer Becca Mitchell, whose clientele includes country singer and Days of Our Lives alum Leann Rimes (ex-Madison). They shared a mirror selfie depicting Mitchell with her arms wrapped around a smiling McLaughlin, which the actor captioned simply, “Lately ❤️.” In the same photo carousel, McLaughin shared more images of Mitchell, along with a video of Mitchell enjoying an at-home dance party with his daughter, Nico, 15. “The McMitchell Dance Co.,” Mitchell teased in the comment section.
It was in May of 2024 that McLaughlin revealed on Instagram that his longtime love, who he referred to as Mel, had died unexpectedly at the age of 32. (He did not disclose the manner of her passing.) “My person. My friend. My beloved,” he wrote. “I am utterly destroyed from your early departure. I could not fathom the amount of pain that you were in. I could not help you. I could not save you. I know there will be a light again somewhere, someday, but today I am completely empty, and my despair bottomless. I know you found the peace you needed. I’m sorry it couldn’t be in this lifetime.”
The actor and single father had already been dating Sitzer for a year and a half in 2019, when he opened up in an interview interview with Digest about their relationship. He explained that the duo had met when he escorted Nico to a child’s birthday party in March 2018. “I was talking to her little friend’s father and Mel, my girlfriend, walked in. I was like, ‘Oh, wow!’ I was asking this guy all these questions about her, like, ‘Does she have a boyfriend?’ and he goes, ‘Man, I don’t know, she’s right there! Go talk to her!’ So I did and that was it.”
Check out McLaughlin and Mitchell’s post below.
Conversation
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