GENERAL HOSPITAL’s Sonny and Carly — The Past, Present, and Future of the Supercouple!
Over the years, Carly and Sonny Corinthos have become one of GENERAL HOSPITAL’s most popular supercouples, and their devoted fans have followed them through all of their ups and downs. While Maurice Benard has played Sonny since 1993, there have been four different actresses in the role of Carly. Sarah Brown originated the role in 1996, and when she left GH in 2001, she was replaced by Tamara Braun. After her exit in 2005, the role was briefly played by Jennifer Bransford until Laura Wright took over the part she continues to play to this day.
After Sonny Corinthos discovered his girlfriend Hannah was an undercover FBI agent working to bring him down, he went into a downward spiral. Jason Morgan’s girlfriend, Carly Benson, went to check on him and they ended up having sex. Upset to discover them together, Jason split up with her. Carly discovered she was pregnant and tried to persuade A.J. Quartermaine it was his, but she fell down the stairs and Sonny chose to save her life instead of the unborn child’s. Grief brought them closer, and Carly married Sonny so she couldn’t testify against him.
But after Sonny was shot and a bomb was delivered to their penthouse, Carly conspired with the feds to try and get her husband out of the mob. Feeling betrayed, Sonny split up with her and slept with his attorney, Alexis Davis. Heartbroken, Carly drove her car into the river and everyone feared she was dead until she showed up at her own funeral! Sonny and Carly reconciled and remarried, but their happiness was short-lived.
Carly caught Sonny kissing ex-girlfriend Brenda, so she got mixed up with Ric Lansing and was surprised to find herself pregnant. But Ric revealed that not only had he and Carly never had sex, he was also Sonny’s brother! Out for revenge on Sonny, Ric kidnapped Carly intending to steal the baby! Lorenzo Alcazar was helping Carly through her labor when Sonny fired his gun and accidentally shot her in the head! After giving birth to Morgan, Carly fell into a coma for a time.
Later, as Carly became involved with Lorenzo, Sonny slept with Sam McCall, and the estranged couple fought for custody of their children. When Sam got pregnant, Jason stepped in to pretend to be the baby’s father to protect his best friend. After Alexis confessed that Sonny was Kristina’s father, Carly kept the secret until the girl was diagnosed with leukemia and she told Sonny so he could be tested as a possible donor. Tragically, Kristina’s life was saved by the stem cells from Sam’s stillborn child.
Once Carly and Sonny made their separation official, he enjoyed brief flings with Reese Marshall and Emily Quartermaine, but Carly was always a part of his life despite her relationship with Jasper “Jax” Jacks. After Carly saw him shoot Lorenzo, Sonny forced her to marry him to avoid having to testify in court. After surviving a hostage crisis, Sonny declared his love for her and they made love, but she divorced him in order to marry Jax.
When Jax wanted custody of their daughter Josslyn in the divorce, Sonny tried to help Carly by framing the Aussie for drug possession. After discovering that Sonny had caused Jax’s plane to crash, a furious Carly cut him out of her family’s life and sent Morgan to military school for his own safety. She also had ill-fated relationships with Johnny, Todd, and Franco. Not that Sonny did much better. But ultimately the pair found their way back to each other and remarried once more.
But the tragic death of their son, Morgan, drove a wedge in between Sonny and Carly and they reverted to their self-destructive behavior. Carly threw herself at Jax again while Sonny bedded Martina, who turned out to be Carly’s divorce attorney! (And don’t forget Nelle convincing everyone she and Sonny had slept together!) But the revelation that Ava had tampered with Morgan’s meds put Carly and Sonny back on the same side against a common enemy and they realized they were better together.
The next test of their bond came when Carly became pregnant again and not only was it high-risk, their daughter would be born with spina bifida. Carly went into premature labor and she and Sonny welcomed Donna into the world before quickly sending her into surgery in the hopes of correcting the spinal condition. But their happiness wouldn’t last long as a new mob war started brewing that put their lives in jeopardy.
What will be next for the popular pairing? You’ll have to stay tuned to find out!
Take a look back at some classic Sonny and Carly moments from the past years in our special flashback gallery below!
