General Hospital reveals Nathan Dean is coming back to GH as Ethan Lovett after a six-year absence and we’re so excited to see him return.
We’re going to talk about what could be bringing Luke Spencer (Anthony Geary) and Holly Sutton’s (Emma Samms) son back to Port Charles. Plus, it’s cool they got the original actor back in the role.
OG Ethan Lovett Returns to General Hospital!
Ok so, first off, I just want to mention when I saw this news, I was like who the heck is Nathan Dean—because when he was last on GH and when he was on The Originals and Roswell, New Mexico, he went by the name Nathan Parsons.
His full name is Nathan Dean Parsons by the way. The character was briefly recast once in 2023. But now the OG Ethan is back and this should be exciting. Nathan’s return is in April and although we don’t have his first airdate yet, May sweeps kicks off April 23rd.
With General Hospital‘s bloated cast, I’d be surprised if Ethan was coming back to stay. Plus Frank Valentini said Nathan Dean’s back “for a story” so he may be doing a limited arc for this particular story and we’ve got some ideas on why he’s coming back.
He could be back for a tragedy or a hot romantic pairing and maybe a little mystery. Let’s get right to it!
Ethan Returns to GH for Robert Scorpio’s Funeral
So first, there’s a chance that Holly’s son might be back for Robert Scorpio’s offscreen death and funeral. Sadly, Tristan Rogers passed away in August 2025 and his character Robert’s death will be coming in the next few months. It’ll obviously be offscreen.
So, Ethan could come back on his mom Holly’s arm to escort her to Robert’s funeral. Or if for some reason Emma Samms can’t be back to film funeral scenes, they could use Ethan as her representative.
If you recall, Holly first claimed Robert was Ethan’s father before admitting that he’s Luke’s son. So, I think Ethan would definitely want to be there to support Holly as she grieves Robert. So, that’s a perfect reason for Ethan to return to Port Charles.
Ethan & Kristina Corinthos Reunion Romance Ahead?
Second, if Ethan is coming back for romance, the question is who might he be paired with. Most of his past love interests aren’t on General Hospital anymore, but one is. One that Ethan’s got a contentious past with.
That’s Kristina Corinthos-Davis (Kate Mansi). She had a major crush on Ethan back in her late teens but then she did him dirty. When her abusive boyfriend Kiefer beat Kristina severely, Ethan actually took her to the hospital. But then Kristina lied and said Ethan assaulted her.
Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) threatened to kill Ethan and he was arrested and made into a town pariah. Kristina later apologized and Ethan forgave her even though she nearly ruined his life. That happened 16 years ago.
And we know Kristina hasn’t had a romance in quite some time. And while her last couple of romances were with women, she’s sexually fluid and also dates men, so Ethan’s a possibility, especially because of their twisted history.
Ethan’s Cassadine Connections and Potential Intrigue on General Hospital
Ok the next reason Ethan may come back is that he has ties to the Cassadine family because Victor Cassadine (Charles Shaughnessy) kidnapped him a few years back and put him up for sale at an auction where the winner would get to kill him. Thankfully Tracy Quartermaine (Jane Elliot) bought him and he was saved.
Plus he had a thing with Helena Cassadine’s daughter, Irina Cassadine AKA the woman in white (Alyshia Ochse). So, Ethan could wind up involved with Valentin Cassadine (James Patrick Stuart) or Cesar Faison’s (Anders Hove) final project on cold fusion.
Although, I don’t think Ethan would be involved with Ross Cullum (Andrew Hawkes), the WSB, or Jenz Sidwell (Carlo Rota). But Ethan is known to get into trouble quite often so you never know, it is a possibility he could be involved in something shady. But since the Marco-Sidwell-Cullum stuff is supposed to wrap in May, the timing aligns.
Ethan Reunites with Sister Lulu and Grieves Luke Spencer
Another reason they may bring back Ethan is for him to see his sister Lulu Spencer (Alexa Havins Bruening) and to also grieve the loss of his dad, Luke, with her, Tracy, and others. Although we just had a tribute episode for Anthony Geary who passed in December 2025, I’m sure Ethan will discuss his grief once he’s back.
Also, our GH leaker recently mentioned that Frank Valentini wanted Jonathan Jackson to come back as Lucky Spencer, but he declined to return for anything more than a very short stint, because he doesn’t want to be too far from his home and family in Nashville for too long.
So, GH might have decided to bring Ethan back to do whatever storyline they had in mind for Lucky. That way, Lulu at least has one of her brothers there to support her. She’ll be thrilled to see Ethan, and he and Lulu will have a lot to catch him up on.
GH Shocker: Ethan Teams Up with Josslyn to Take Down Sonny?
The final possibility is that Ethan may end up plotting with Josslyn Jacks (Eden McCoy) to take down Sonny. This week, Josslyn raged at Carly Corinthos Spencer (Laura Wright) and claimed that she joined the WSB because she wants to take down Sonny and everyone like him once and for all.
If you recall, Josslyn mentioned taking down Sonny when she first signed up with the WSB. But then GH hasn’t circled back around to it. But Ethan definitely could be holding a grudge since Sonny was going to kill Ethan back in the day because of Kristina’s false accusation.
It’s understandable since Sonny thought Ethan had beaten Kristina. But Ethan was arrested and Sonny could’ve let the justice system do its job. Instead, he almost had Ethan killed. And he and Josslyn are cousins so I’m sure they’ll cross paths because they’re family.
While Ethan might come back to Port Charles for a different reason, he could wind up conspiring with Josslyn if they figure out they both have taking down Sonny in common. But no matter why Ethan’s back, I can’t wait to see what GH has in store for him!
