From the August 18th Soap Opera Update:

I'm A Soap Star
& My Spouse Is Too!

Real-life couples reveal whether it's a burden or a blessing

Earlier this summer, the long-married Demi Moore and Bruce Willis announced that they were splitting up. Even after 11 years and three kids, the news was hardly surprising. What's more shocking is when a celebrity couple is actually able to go the distance.
     Truth is, the odds of a happily-ever-after union seem to plummet when actors marry other actors - thanks to only-in-Hollywood pitfalls like dueling egos, sexy co-stars and built-in job instability. But Update was able to find some lucky couples who have been able to combine work, love and family and are going strong.

MP's Jack Wagner (Peter)
and GH's Kristina Wagner (Felicia)

The real-life courtship of one of soaps' biggest-ever couples was, appropriately, filled with drama. The two actors met on the set of GH in 1984, while he was playing supercop Frisco Jones and she - then going by her maiden name, Kristina Malandro - was cast as his sidekick. For months after they began their off-screen romance, mum was the word - that is, until Mom became the word.
     "We didn't star seriously dating until I got pregnant - well maybe a couple of months before," Kristina cracks. Seriously, though, "Jack has always been my true love," she says. "There was always a strong passion, and that passion grew into a more respectful, loving relationship.''
     The relationship has been tested over the years. The first time was in 1992, two years after the birth of their first son Peter, when the couple - who were living together but not married called it quits. Time apart helped them work through their differences, though, and a year later, they married in a private ceremony overlooking California's beautiful Lake Tahoe.
     Their love was tested again in 1994 when Kristina suffered a miscarriage. "We were both so sad," she recalls of the tragedy. But later that same year, she gave birth to their second son, Harrison, now 4.
     So what's the secret to their success? It sounds like keeping some space apart has something to do with it. Though the Wagners enjoyed their time together on GH, they have found it's much easier on their home life when their careers are separate.
     "Its great when your scenes together click," says Jack, who left Port Charles in 1991. "But when they don't, you have to carry that home with you. I don't think it's healthy to work together day in and day out."


The other couples were B&B's Ronn Moss (Ridge) and Y&R's Shari Shattuck (Ashley); OLTL's James DePaiva (Max) and Kassie DePaiva (Blair); PC's Wayne Northrop (ex-Rex) and Lynn Herring (Lucy); AMC' Mark Consuelos (Mateo) and Kelly Ripa (Hayley); SUN's Michael Sabatino (Phillip) and OLTL's Crystal Chappell (ex-Maggie)


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