Chad Duell and Courtney Hope are individuals in the same profession: She’s Sally Spectra on The Bold and the Beautiful, and he plays Michael Corinthos on General Hospital. Ironically, they play some of daytime television’s most unlucky-in-love characters.
How Did Chad Duell and Courtney Hope Meet?
Like many a celebrity couple before them, Duell and Hope met each other at a party thrown by a mutual acquaintance – but unlike many oft-repeated stories about initial introductions, theirs required a familial helping hand.
“I wasn’t even going to go!” remembers Hope, “I had been working all day and I was really tired. My mom convinced me to go and I’m glad she did because I don’t think I would’ve met him otherwise!”
Also in attendance at that auspicious soiree was actor Bryan Craig [ex-Morgan, General Hospital], whom Hope knew quite well but, “I hadn’t seen him in a while, and I said to him, ‘I’m testing for your show.’ And he said, ‘Oh, that’s cool. Actually, there’s someone else from my show here. He plays my brother,’ and he pointed at Chad. That’s how we got to talking.”
According to Hope, the subsequent conversation that she and Duell engaged in included topics such as, “music, agriculture – real things.” Duell recalls discussing, “the fruit trees I was planting in my backyard,” and added, quite serious that, “It was a Hollywood party and we were talking about real stuff. That’s not normal!”
Early Days
At the festivity’s conclusion, Duell revealed that “I wanted to hang out with her [Hope] but part of me knew I would end up dating her. I guess I was scared.” For her part, Hope playfully persisted in pursuing Duell and even left him a message on Facebook.
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Duell quickly got over his nerves and asked Hope on a proper date and by the time she arrived for her prearranged screen test at GH – ironically reading for a role that would see her playing opposite Duell – they were a bonafide romantic item.
Chad Duell and Courtney Hope – Smoosh It
In the world of soap opera, the true test of any budding onscreen couple is the off-screen creation of a smoosh name – the blending of (usually first) names.
After deciding that turnabout was fair play, Duell and Hope set about creating a “soap couple nickname” of their very own. “We were joking about what ours would be,” Duell claimed, “and ‘Dope’ kind of stuck.”
Pup Parents
Though the couple has now made a cozy home for themselves – in what was once Duell’s private abode – marriage isn’t exactly a priority for either party. “If we’re going to spend the rest of our lives together,” Hope once demurred, “why rush it?”
But while they aren’t quite ready to take that long walk down the aisle, they have blended – and added to – their “pup pack.”
Separately, they were the proud parents of a single dog. She had adopted Stevie, a Cocker Spaniel/Terrier mix, from a shelter years before and he had Bella, a Bernedoodle. Together, they choose to adopt Bentley, a Pug Terrier from their local shelter… And family makes five!
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