The Failed And Flawed Love Life Of General Hospital's Ava Jerome
Sadly, on "General Hospital," Ava Jerome (Maura West) — the daughter of crime boss Victor Jerome (Jack Axelrod) and Delia Ryan (Ilene Kristen) — has had nothing but bad luck with romance. Her brother was Julian Jerome (William deVry), and the two battled mobster Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) for control of the territory.
Per Soaps, prior to arriving in Port Charles, Ava had a romance with serial killer and performance artist Franco Baldwin (then James Franco). She'd also had an affair with Dr. Silas Clay (Michael Easton), the husband of comatose Nina Reeves (then Michelle Stafford). Ava believed Franco was the father of her daughter, Kiki Jerome (then Kristen Alderson), and kept that fact hidden to protect Kiki from the killer.
When Ava and Kiki came to town, Franco Baldwin (now Roger Howarth) believed he was part of the wealthy Quartermaine family. Thus, Ava told him about Kiki, hoping to cash in on some of that money. Kiki's then-boyfriend, Morgan Corinthos (Bryan Craig), overheard a conversation Ava had with Silas and figured out that Silas was actually Kiki's father.
While Ava worked with Julian in the family organization to take down Sonny, she also tried to reignite her relationship with Silas. Ava attempted to keep Morgan quiet about Kiki's paternity so she could funnel some of the Quartermaine money into her brother's organization. After the truth came out, Silas dumped Ava, and Kiki and Morgan broke up. Ava and Morgan then had an affair (via Soap Central). However, Ava's love life didn't exactly get better after that.
Ava slept with Morgan's father
Per Soaps in Depth, Ava Jerome convinced Morgan Corinthos to help her take down his father, Sonny Corinthos. For a while, he worked with her and Julian Jerome, who wouldn't let the boy out of his organization when Morgan decided he'd had enough.
Per Michael Fairman TV, after Sonny killed A.J. Quartermaine (Sean Kanan) and Ava helped him cover it up, the two found themselves in the Quartermaine family crypt during A.J.'s funeral. There, they commiserated about their various heinous acts and, in a strange and twisted turn of events, ended up sleeping together. Morgan stumbled upon them, realizing what happened, and he was upset to later learn that Ava was pregnant with his father's baby.
While Ava and Morgan still had an attraction to each other, she realized that he and Kiki were starting to get close again. In an effort to sabotage their budding romance, Ava switched Morgan's bipolar medication with placebos, hoping he'd get out of control and be committed. What she didn't count on was that Morgan became so unmanageable that he stole Julian's car, not realizing a bomb had been planted in it. The car exploded, sending Morgan off a cliff to his presumed death (via Blasting News).
Ava was devastated when this happened, and things between her and Sonny got even more antagonistic.
She met Nikolas Cassadine
According to Soaps, on a plane to London, Ava Jerome discovered that the man she was seated next to was none other than Nikolas Cassadine (then Tyler Christopher) in disguise. She took a selfie of the two but agreed not to let anyone know she saw him as she felt they were both very similar people. Sparks flew between them, but before anything could happen, they ended up on Cassadine Island, along with several others who'd all been taken hostage by Valentin Cassadine (James Patrick Stuart). Valentin shot Nikolas, sending him over a balcony to his presumed death (via Soap Central).
When Ava returned to Port Charles, the truth about her switching Morgan's meds had been discovered. Carly and Sonny Corinthos (Laura Wright and Maurice Benard) blamed her for Morgan's death. They confronted Ava at her art gallery, and, during the struggle, an oil lamp got knocked over. Sonny and Carly escaped, but Ava was terribly burned. Despondent over losing her good looks, she found comfort with Dr. Griffin Munro (Matt Cohen), who was also a priest, per Soaps in Depth.
As Ava and Griffin started to grow closer, Valentin offered to give her details about a clinic in Russia that could restore her face — but she had to keep quiet about him having shot Nikolas.
Ava's misdeeds ended her relationship with Griffin
Per Soap Dirt, at the Boronsky clinic in St. Petersburg, Russia, Ava Jerome was taken in by the doctors who claimed to be able to reconstruct her face with an experimental procedure. There, she encountered a captive man known only as Patient 6 and was warned he was dangerous. Influenced by the fact that Griffin encouraged her to do more good than misdeeds, Ava helped Patient 6 escape. However, the doctors had nefarious plans for him and were enraged when he absconded.
Meanwhile, Griffin Munro had researched the supposed procedure that would fix Ava, and, suspecting that it wasn't on the level, he went after her. The doctors threatened Ava, but Griffin managed to show up just in time to rescue her. Back in Port Charles, Griffin used notes he acquired at the clinic to supervise the restoration of Ava's face, according to Michael Fairman TV.
Ava had drawn the wrath of Nikolas Cassadine's young son, Spencer Cassadine (then Nicholas Bechtel), because she protected Valentin Cassadine from the accusations that he killed Nikolas. She also started to combat Sonny Corinthos over custody of their daughter Avery. As Ava's misdeeds started to pile up again, her relationship with the good Griffin was severely strained, per Celeb Dirty Laundry.
Ava eventually dumped him, so Griffin then started an affair with Kiki Jerome. When Ava found out, she went ballistic, seeking revenge against both of them.
She fell in love with a killer
Devastated by the fact that her ex-boyfriend slept with her daughter, Ava Jerome turned to psychologist Dr. Kevin Collins (Jon Lindstrom) for help. She poured her heart out to him, even revealing that she secretly wanted Kiki (Hayley Erin) to pay for her affair.
Little did Ava know that she wasn't confiding in Kevin. His evil twin — the infamous serial killer Ryan Chamberlain — had imprisoned Kevin in an asylum and taken his place. Ryan was attracted to Ava's dark nature and took her meaning literally. While she didn't actually want Kiki dead, Ryan took it upon himself to kill the girl. He framed Griffin Munro for the crime and almost got away with it (via Soaps in Depth). Ava was horrified to eventually realize she'd fallen in love with her daughter's killer.
After three years of believing that Nikolas Cassadine was dead, Ava saw him on Halloween. Fearing for her sanity, she had herself committed, only to have Nikolas appear there, demanding to know where a painting of Helena Cassadine (Constance Towers) was located. The painting hid a codicil to his grandfather Mikkos Cassadine's (John Colicos) will. Realizing Nikolas wasn't a ghost, Ava checked out of the hospital and proceeded to work with Nina Reeves (Cynthia Watros) to take down Valentin.
Forces worked against Ava and Nikolas
Because Ava Jerome had the codicil to Nikolas Cassadine's (now Marcus Coloma) grandfather's will, she talked him into marrying her as a business arrangement. It wasn't long before the two realized that they were perfect for each other and fell in love.
However, Spencer Cassadine (now Nicholas Chavez) wanted to split up Nikolas and Ava because he was mad that his father faked his death, and he was angry that Ava sided with Valentin for her own vanity. He and his girlfriend, Esme Prince (Avery Pohl), terrorized Ava, pretending to be stalking her. Things got so bad that she fled to Europe, per Soaps in Depth.
The truth eventually was revealed, and Ava returned. She and Nikolas continued to have an on-again, off-again relationship, but any chance of reconciliation was dashed when he slept with Esme. Ava blisteringly let Nikolas have it, and then she confronted Esme. This time, it was Esme who went over the parapet and was seemingly dead. Nikolas helped Ava cover it up, and they almost reconnected — if it weren't for his uncle Victor Cassadine (Charles Shaughnessy). He had plans for the Cassadine family and worked to keep Ava and Nikolas apart. He blackmailed Nik into signing the divorce papers, granting Ava sole ownership of Spoon Island and Wyndemere (via Celeb Dirty Laundry).
Hopefully, Ava will one day find true love.