Five Things That Happened On December 13 In Soap History

In 1979, Monica gave birth to her son with Alan (Stuart Damon, l.), Alan, Jr., better known as AJ, on General Hospital. The baby was memorably delivered by Monica's archnemesis, Lesley Webber, while Monica was delirious with fever. This was particularly significant because Lesley was the wife of Monica's ex-lover, Rick Webber (Chris Robinson), who had cut off their affair when he pledged his devotion to Lesley. But Monica believed that Rick was the father of her baby, and blurted this out while in the throes of labor, shocking Lesley! When her fever broke, Monica had no memory of making the shocking confession. Alan, who was suspicious about Monica having been unfaithful, eventually accessed a sealed court deposition in which Rick and Monica had been forced to cop to their affair. He concealed this from Monica, and once he got what he thought was proof that Rick was AJ’s bio dad, he plotted to kill his wife and her lover. Ultimately, Monica got proof that Alan was indeed the father.

In 2006, Carolyn Hennesy made her General Hospital debut as Diane Miller. The actress recalled to Soap Opera Digest in 2023, "My first professional job, ever, was during the Luke and Laura heyday. Marvin Paige was the casting director and he cast me as Dora the photographer’s assistant during Laura’s Miss Star Eyes campaign. So I was Dora, and I watched the wedding and Luke and Laura being on the run from Port Charles, and then I sort of drifted away from it. And then [Casting Director Mark] Teschner cast me, maybe 25 years ago, as A.J.’s attorney for one day. Then he called me 17 years ago and said, ‘Two days of work, are you interested?’ And that was for Diane.” She teased that the gig continued because, "I chained myself to the studio door!"

In 2005, Nick Newman (Joshua Morrow) and Phyllis Summers (Michelle Stafford) made love for the first time on Young and Restless— and for Nick, that meant cheating on his spouse, Sharon. They had hit a rough patch in their marriage earlier in the year in the wake of the tragic death of their daughter, Cassie. He had taken her home following Michael and Lauren's wedding and accepted her invitation to come inside. They cracked open a bottle of wine and had a blast playing video games, their mounting attraction obvious. They had a hard time saying good night, and instead of parting ways, Nick and Phyllis began passionately kissing and stripping off one another's clothing.

In 2010, One Life To Live's Natalie Buchanan (Melissa Archer) accepted John McBain’s (Michael Easton) marriage proposal. When he popped the question, Natalie at first replied, "What do you mean?" John shot back, "It means what it sounds like. I just asked you to marry me." "This is happening?" gasped Nat. As their conversation progressed, John urged her, "Marry me, Natalie." She was speechless. "So now you're not saying anything — now you're kind of doing the crying thing," he observed. "What does all this mean? Is that a yes?" "Yes, that was a yes!" she exclaimed.

In 2018 on Days of Our Lives, Leo (Greg Rikaart, l.) forced Sonny (Freddie Smith), who he had sued for sexual harassment, to marry him. The ceremony was conducted by Sheila (Tionne Watkins). Sonny's grandfather, Victor Kiriakis, was stunned when he discovered the ceremony taking place. "You're marrying the bastard who tried to destroy our company?" he bellowed. "Has everybody in this family lost their minds?" Sonny privately filled Victor in on why he was being forced into the union. Leo then told an unamused Victor, "Let me just say I am so excited to become a part of your family, Uncle Vic. May I call you that?" Grumbled Victor, "Absolutely not. You sicken me, and I can't wait for the day very soon when you get what's coming to you. In the meantime, I won't stop this marriage. Let's get it over with."