Fans of General Hospital have lately been wondering whether Ric Lansing (Rick Hearst) and Ava Jerome (Maura West) are really over for good. Now, Hearst is weighing in on where he thinks the relationship stands and whether this is truly the end.
Rick Hearst on whether Ric & Ava can get back together on General Hospital
Ric and Ava’s romance took off when he served as her attorney, and what started as flirtation grew into a full-fledged affair. By teaming up to blackmail Alexis and indulging in schemes together, the duo seemed well-matched in cunning and ambition. Yet cracks began to show almost immediately. Most recently, Ava, Alexis, and Kristina impulsively held Ric hostage in Alexis’s basement — with Ava knocking him unconscious in the process.
“This is going to sound really screwball, but I really hope this isn’t the end for the two of them,” Ric Hearst told Soap Opera Digest. “I feel like Ava and Ric were just getting started! … But this is a soap, right? Anything can happen, anything is possible.”
Despite the betrayal and manipulation, Hearst believes there’s something real beneath it all. “With Ava, he can be who he is,” he explained. “They see each other without pretense.” That authenticity, according to Hearst, sets them apart from Ric’s other romances.
Still, he admitted Ava wasn’t wrong to question Ric’s commitment. His character’s lingering feelings for Liz cast a shadow over the relationship, making Ava wary of being just a partner-in-crime rather than a true love. “He was seeing it as a partnership and obviously very much a physical attraction,” Hearst said, noting Ava’s perspective matters. “Why should she allow somebody to take advantage of her?”
While the current storyline has driven a wedge between the pair, Hearst hasn’t given up hope. He emphasized his admiration for working with Maura West, pointing out that both their chemistry as actors and the dynamic between their characters make “Rava” too compelling to write off permanently.
“As one of the directors said to us, ‘I think they’re just delicious together,’” Hearst recalled.
