Tyler Christopher, known by soap opera fans for his role in General Hospital, died at his San Diego apartment on October 31st. He was 50 years old.

Word came down on Tuesday from Paula Smith, who is the wife of former General Hospital co-star Maurice Benard. She confirmed Christopher’s death on Instagram.

“It is with great sadness that we share the news of the passing of Tyler Christopher,” Benard wrote. “Tyler passed away this morning following a cardiac event in his San Diego apartment.

Benard continued, according to People Magazine, “Tyler was a truly talented individual that lit up the screen in every scene he performed and relished bringing joy to his loyal fans through his acting. Tyler was a sweet soul and a wonderful friend to all of those who knew him.

Benard also said, “Tyler was an advocate for better mental health and substance use treatment who openly spoke about his struggles with bipolar depression and alcohol. We are beyond devastated by the loss of our dear friend and pray for his children and his father.”

Tyler Christopher Played Nikolas Cassadine on ABC Soap

So, Tyler Christopher portrayed Nikolas Cassadine on the ABC soap opera between 1996 and 2016. Then, on NBC’s Days of Our Lives, Christopher portrayed Stefan DiMera between 2018 and 2019. For that performance, he won a Daytime Emmy Award. It marked Christopher’s fifth one.

Back in 2008, Christopher got married to former ESPN reporter Brienne Pedigo. They reportedly divorced in 2021. The two share two children between them. They are Greysun James Christopher and Boheme Christopher. Also, Christopher was previously married between 2002-04 to Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria.

In July 2023, Tyler Christopher talked about being put into guardianship by his sister, Susan Asmo Baker, in 2019. He talked about regaining control of his life after going through a rough stretch in an interview with Bloomberg.

“I never thought in a million years that I would be taken advantage of by a family member,” he said.

After the Bloomberg article came out, Christopher captioned a photo of himself on Instagram, writing, “Sharing is part of the healing process.”

The actor happened to be first placed under his sister’s guardianship while going through alcohol withdrawal. He suffered a fall, hit his head, then underwent life-saving surgery after internal bleeding took place. It was while Christopher was in the hospital that his sister filed for guardianship.

There’s more to the story. In a court filing, Christopher alleged that Asmo Baker used up to $40,000 of finances that should have been for his guardianship to pay off her own credit cards and buy her son a laptop, among other things. Asmo Baker denied the allegations.