Inside General Hospital Star Jon Lindstrom's Relationship With Ex-Wife Eileen Davidson
Jon Lindstrom has been a fixture on our television screens for years thanks to his role as twins Ryan Chamberlain and Kevin Collins in the long-running soap "General Hospital." In April 2024, Lindstrom and his wife, the Emmy-winning fellow soap star Cady McClain, shocked fans when they announced that they had decided to separate after 10 years of marriage. The actors first met on the set of "As the World Turns" in 2010 and married four years later at the Beverly Hills courthouse on Valentine's Day 2014. It was Lindstrom's second attempt at marriage: the "GH" alum was previously married to another soap actress and "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Eileen Davidson from 1997 to 2000. A two-time Emmy winner, Davidson is known for originating the role of Ashley Abbott in the CBS soap "The Young and the Restless, and as Kristen DiMera and Susan Banks on NBC's "Days of Our Lives."
Although their union was short-lived, it was also pretty drama-filled: Lindstrom and Davidson first met in 1994 after being introduced by a mutual friend. However, sparks didn't immediately fly, as Davidson didn't seem to be interested in pursuing a relationship with Lindstrom back then. He previously told People (via Soap Hub), "Yeah, there's an attraction, but I don't see a future in this." The pair didn't start dating until they crossed paths again four months later at a charity fundraiser; from there, they got engaged and tied the knot three years later.
Jon and Eileen got engaged during a fight
Jon Lindstrom and Eileen Davidson wasted little time in taking their relationship to the next level. The two were in the midst of arguing about the state of their relationship when they spontaneously agreed to get married during a ski trip in April 1996. "We were still arguing, and it became: 'I love you!' 'No, I love you, dammit! Let's get married!'" Lindstrom recalled in an interview (via Soap Hub). "Looking back, we were mad at being at the midway point between a commitment and not knowing what it was. Once we made the commitment, the walls broke down."
The pair said their "I dos" on May 3, 1997 at a small ceremony in Cambria, CA in front of their family and loved ones. "Things just feel better," Lindstrom told Soaps In Depth of how their relationship had changed since getting married (via TVMegaSite). "It feels simpler. It was the next logical step and it's a lot of fun." However, things came crashing down between the pair in November 2000, when Lindstrom filed for divorce from Davidson after just three years of marriage. In a statement, the "General Hospital" star stressed there was no bad blood and he and Davidson were calling it quits on peaceful terms. "This is an amicable situation. We remain the best of friends and hope that people will respect our privacy during this time," he said, per Soap Central.
Did infidelity play a role in their divorce?
Just one month after Jon Lindstrom filed for divorce, his ex-wife, Eileen Davidson, sparked rumors of a blossoming romance with her then-"Young and the Restless" co-star Vincent Van Patten after an eyewitness caught them jetting off to Las Vegas for a vacation. "They both looked like they were wearing disguises," the onlooker dished to Star magazine (via Radar Online). "It was obvious they were afraid someone might recognize them." And they had reasons to be, as Van Patten was still very much married to his first wife, Betsy Russell, at the time. Sources claimed that Davidson and Van Patten had been carrying on an affair for months: "[They] were overwhelmed by a mad passion for each other," a source told Star.
Ultimately, Davidson and Van Patten ended up together after the actor split from his wife in 2001. On "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" in 2016, Davidson spoke out about their rumored affair and confirmed what everyone had suspected about her and the former tennis pro. "I knew he was married and I was married and I was totally respectful of that," Davidson said. "But whatever. ... We just kind of fell in love." She also revealed that she came clean to Lindstrom regarding her feelings for Van Patten prior to their split, saying, "I was like, 'This isn't good. We've got to separate.'" She and Van Patten got married in 2003 and have since welcomed a son together, Jesse Thomas.