What We Know About General Hospital Stars Steve Burton And Kelly Monaco's Relationship
Over the years, Steve Burton and Kelly Monaco have become two of "General Hospital" fans' favorite stars. The two have appeared as Jason Morgan and Sam McCall for decades, but their time playing the beloved characters hasn't been without speculation they aren't so close in real life. Back in 2007, rumors were rife on soap opera message boards that the actors didn't get along outside of the show despite playing an on-again-off-again supercouple. That same take on their relationship then surfaced on Reddit in 2021. Around the same time, General Hospital Blog suggested Burton and Monaco's friendship may have actually become strained around 2014. That was when the late Billy Miller was cast as a man with amnesia who thought he was Jason, but it later turned out he was his long-lost twin, Drew Cain.
But are all the drama rumors true? No, according to Monaco. In January 2021, the actor took to X, formerly Twitter, to shut down the speculation she and Burton aren't on good terms after a fan shared a podcast clip suggesting they didn't like each other. As for what Monaco had to say about the chatter? "This is total speculation and bulls*** if you ask me!"
Notably, Burton and Monaco have spoken about one another multiple times in interviews both before and after the post, and it certainly doesn't seem like there's any drama here. In fact, the co-stars have always appeared, on the surface at least, to have quite a sweet friendship.
Steve Burton has shared his respect for Kelly Monaco
Playing longtime on-screen "General Hospital" lovers has meant Steve Burton — who returned to the soap opera in March 2024 and will be sticking around for a while — and Kelly Monaco have spent a good amount of time working together on the set. During that time, Burton has shared how much he admires his co-star. Speaking about Monaco to Soap Opera Digest in July 2021, around six months after she hit back at the feud rumors, Burton said, "Everybody knows that I have the utmost respect for Kelly Monaco. We worked together for so long. We worked together every day for, like, eight years, and we created something awesome, for sure. There is no doubt about it."
Burton's comments came a decade after he and Monaco opened up during a joint about how excited they were to be gearing up to shoot a big storyline for their characters. At the time, Jason and Sam were finally getting married after years of relationship ups and downs. "I don't even know how many years it's been for us, but we were ready — and the show was ready to take it to the next step," Burton told TVLine. "It was time. We're excited, and we're having fun on the show — that will definitely translate for the fans," he added.
Kelly Monaco has also dished on her friendship with Steve Burton
It's not just Steve Burton who's opened up about his friendship with Kelly Monaco, though, as that respect seems to be very much mutual. Monaco spoke about her long friendship with her co-star in a Soap Opera Digest interview from October 2023. She shared how much she's enjoyed working with Burton and playing one-half of the soap opera's favorite couples. "With Steve, our natural chemistry together as actors translated really well on screen, and everyone — the writers, the producers, the directors, and the actors — worked to be able to form that unconditional love that the characters had for each other," she said. Monaco even revealed how she always felt their characters Sam and Jason should end up together.
But "General Hospital" fans may have noticed that, despite Sam and Jason's epic love story, we've not seen them get between the sheets a whole lot — aside from an intimate scene during their honeymoon. That's because Monaco revealed Burton has made a point of not filming love scenes with his co-stars. "I think something with his belief system, his stance in life. I just don't think it's necessary," Monaco told Dirty Soap in 2011 (via The General Hospital Wub Tub). "And we have remained a very high-rated couple without having to have a love scene," she pointed out.