Pop Culture
Before Ben (Gregory Burke) became a serial killer, he was a mild-mannered teen living with his dad, Fletcher (Jay Hammer). Although not his biological pop, Fletcher raised Ben as his own. Born in 1986, Ben spent the first few years of his life being passed off as Louie Darnell’s cousin. Maeve dropped the bombshell at Kyle and Reva’s wedding: Kyle was Ben’s biological pop. But Kyle left town, and Maeve found love again with Fletcher. In 1988, she was tragically killed in a helicopter crash right after she married Fletcher, who took Ben under his wing.
Everything was rosy back in 1996, when Blake gave birth to twins Kevin (Shane/Brett Harder) and Jason (James/Michael Mackonockie). Ross (Jerry verDorn) had no idea that Blake had slept with Rick mere hours before she and Ross hit the sheets. A paternity test showed that Ross and Rick had each fathered a twin. Overjoyed to finally have a child, Rick tried to be a big part of his boy’s life. In 1999, Ross’s brother, Ben, actually did a nice thing and revealed that Annie had messed with the paternity. Turns out Ross is the biological father of both boys.
Hoping to help his wife, Reva, overcome her postpartum depression, Josh (Robert Newman) took the family on a vacation to the Florida Keys in 1990. Unfortunately, Reva’s condition got worse and she plummeted to her presumed death off a bridge. Becoming a single parent to his two children, Marah (Ashley Peldon) and Shayne (Travis Cartier), Josh relied on babysitter-turned-lover Harley to help him through this rough time.
Henry (William Roerick) doted on his daughter, Vanessa (Maeve Kinkead), and she idolized her father. Their relationship hit a rocky patch when they learned in 1983 that Quint was also Henry’s child, but Henry assured Vanessa that she always held a special place in his heart. Henry’s unexpected death in 1996 shook Vanessa to the core, although she didn’t break down until she read aloud the last letter her father ever sent her.
Ed (Peter Simon) had a hard time connecting to his daughter, Michelle (then-Rachel Miner), after her mother, Maureen, died in early 1993. Ed had had a a brief affair with Lillian and months later, Maureen found a letter that revealed the tryst. Feeling betrayed, Maureen hopped into her car and the icy road caused her death. Michelle couldn’t forgive her father for his indiscretion, and instead looked to Holly as a parental figure. Finally, after months of therapy, Michelle and Ed were able to bond again.
Conversation
All comments are subject to our Community Guidelines. Soap Opera Digest does not endorse the opinions and views shared by our readers in our comment sections. Our comments section is a place where readers can engage in healthy, productive, lively, and respectful discussions. Offensive language, hate speech, personal attacks, and/or defamatory statements are not permitted. Advertising or spam is also prohibited.