‘GH’ Maurice Benard Reveals Breakdown, Threatened To Kill Wife
GH star Maurice Benard is more than just a soap star. He’s a huge advocate for mental health. He’s struggled for decades with bipolar disorder. In a new interview, he revealed shocking details about threatening to kill his wife during a scary breakdown.
Maurice Benard Talks Favorite GH Love Interest
Maurice Benard has played Sonny Corinthos on GH for over thirty years. In those three decades, he’s been in his fair share of romantic pairings. Sonny is currently flirting with a relationship with ADA Turner (Nazneen Contractor.) Even if it does turn into romance, the couple has little chance of achieving the popularity of Sonny’s previous love interests.
If you ask any GH fan, they’d say Sonny has had two great loves on the soap: Brenda (Vanessa Marcil) and Carly, currently played by Laura Wright. Maurice Benard recently appeared on the We’re Out of Time podcast. He told host Richard Taite that Sonny isn’t currently in a relationship but was coy about Sonny’s future with the ADA.
He told the astonished host that he was paired with Carly through three different actresses in the role. Richard Taite asked what all fans want to know: who was Maurice Benard’s favorite on-screen partner. The actor dodged the question, replying, “You gotta love the one you’re with.”
Maurice Benard has shared many details about his mental health. He went public with his bipolar disorder in 2006 on The Oprah Winfrey Show. The actor advocated for the GH storyline that gave Sonny Corinthos a bipolar disorder diagnosis, too.
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He Recalls Breakdown Where He Threatened To Kill Wife
Sonny barely made it through a breakdown in 2024 after his medication was tampered with. The actor barely made it through filming the scenes in the studio in Los Angeles, California. He took a brief leave of absence but returned to the role. When he’s not filming for GH, Maurice Benard hosts the State of Mind podcast. He mainly discusses mental health issues with his guests.
Fans worry that he’ll leave acting and become a mental health advocate full-time. He recently addressed the speculation that he’s retiring from the ABC soap.
Maurice Benard has been married to his wife, Paula, for over thirty years. The couple tied the knot in 1990. She’s stayed with him through the ups and downs of his mental health struggles. One of the darkest moments of the actor’s life came shortly after he joined GH.
He recounted on the We’re Out of Time podcast that he threatened to kill his wife during the scary breakdown. He said that he drank too much wine and wanted to scare her. She handled the situation as best as she could and immediately called his psychiatrist, who confirmed Maurice Benard was having a breakdown.
The actor revealed that he had gone off his meds a few weeks earlier. He shared that every time he’s gone off his meds, he’s had a breakdown. Maurice Benard hasn’t gone off his medications in over thirty years.
He touched on the legacy he hopes to leave behind. “I want my legacy to be: I was the first man to come out and say he was bipolar … I’m not the first [person], Patty Duke was way before me,” he said.
Let us know in the comments if you think Maurice Benard will retire soon to focus on mental health awareness.
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