General Hospital has tied Ethan Lovett to the late Delilah and her baby girl, Phoebe, and Nathan Dean says he did not know that was where the story was headed when he first agreed to return. The actor, who originally played Ethan from 2009 to 2013, said he had “no idea what the plan was” and was given very few clues about what his comeback would involve.
Dean said he saw the first script for Ethan’s return, including the reunion with Lulu and the mention of Luke, and that was “basically all” he knew at the start. Only later did he hear rumblings backstage about a baby storyline, before realizing, “Oh, wait! I am involved with that!” The reveal has since shifted Ethan from a familiar returnee into the center of a much more personal mystery.
That mystery matters because Delilah was introduced in March, one month before Ethan touched back down in town, and her story was built around Phoebe from the start. Brook Lynn and Chase found Delilah collapsed in the street while she was pregnant, Delilah died after giving birth, and the couple are now fostering Phoebe while hoping to adopt her. Ethan, meanwhile, had been leaving messages for an unknown person and waiting at a daily rendezvous for a no-show, a pattern that only now makes sense in light of the baby connection.
The plot turned sharply on May 13, when Ethan could hardly keep his eyes off Phoebe at the Metro Court Gardens with Kristina. When Brook Lynn later told him about Phoebe’s origins and Delilah’s name, he reacted strongly. After learning Delilah had died, Ethan secretly burned a photo of the two together and vowed to keep the secret safe. The show has not yet said whether Ethan is Phoebe’s father, but Dean made clear that the pull between Ethan and the child will only intensify as the storyline unfolds.
Dean said Ethan’s bond to Phoebe is already deeper than viewers may realize. “This is a stronger relationship than we’ve seen Ethan have or he wouldn’t be burning her photo and doing all of these things,” he said, adding that he cannot wait to see where it goes. He also said Ethan will be “making a lot of excuses” to visit the Quartermaine mansion, a sign that the baby mystery will keep drawing him toward the center of the show’s family drama.
That growing attachment gives the storyline its real weight. Phoebe is played by two twins, Luna and Lucia Creighton, and Dean said the scenes have their own pull: “Oh, my God, they’re both adorable,” he said. “When I’m with them in scenes, they steal all the focus.” For now, the show is holding back the one fact that matters most — whether Ethan is Phoebe’s father — but it has already made clear that whatever links him to Delilah and the baby, it is strong enough to reshape his return.
