Look Who’s Here: Surprise Children Who Have Rocked Their Soaps

Manipulative Gwen dropped a bombshell on Days of our Lives’ Jack — and Jennifer — when she announced that she was his biological daughter. The explosive parental secret is one of many that has rocked soaps over the years and thrown families into chaos.

Surprise Kids On Soaps

Here’s a look at a few other surprise “kids” who arrived on the scene to meet their parents and siblings when they were full-grown adults.

1. “Dominic”/Dante, General Hospital
Sonny’s (Maurice Benard) world was upended when an undercover cop named “Dominic” arrived in Port Charles determined to take down the alleged mobster. The two men were instant adversaries and totally clueless about their relationship with one another.

That is until the day Sonny confronted “Dominic” about his undercover assignment, pulled a gun out, and shot him. Olivia (Lisa LoCicero) raced in to find her firstborn, Dante (Dominic Zamprogna), lying on the floor and screamed, “You just shot your own son.” The reveal would lead to months of anguish and guilt for the two men.

2. Dylan, The Young and the Restless
Dylan (Steve Burton) was floored when Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) blurted out that he was her biological son, while he was brawling with Nick (Joshua Morrow). Not only did it mean his adoptive parents had lied to him his entire life, but also that his half-brother was his rival for his beloved Avery’s (Jessica Collins) affections. The reveal wreaked havoc on the Newman family, especially when Nikki divulged that her old flame Paul (Doug Davidson) was Dylan’s father, stunning her husband Victor (Eric Braeden).

3. Wyatt, The Bold and the Beautiful
Wyatt (Darin Brooks) had spent his entire life believing his father was dead, courtesy of his mother Quinn (Rena Sofer). So finding out mogul Bill Spencer (Don Diamont) was his dad came as a total shock.

At first, he rejected him, learning Bill had given Quinn money for an abortion. Couple that with his anger toward his mom for keeping such a major secret from him and his rivalry with Liam, who was suddenly his half-brother, and Wyatt’s life was in a state of instant disarray. It took months before he fit into the Spencer clan, and years before he and Liam mended fences.

4. Tripp, Days of our Lives
A year after finding out Ava (Tamara Braun) had bore him a son, who was sold on the black market and died, Steve (Stephen Nichols) learned he was actually alive. Upon tracking down Tripp (Lucas Adam), who was now a young man, Steve brought him to Salem, where DNA tests proved he was his son.

However, things went awry with the new addition to the family when Tripp wrongly came to believe Kayla (Mary Beth Evans) had murdered his “late” mother. So he attempted to ruin her career and kill her. Joey (James Lastovic) ultimately confessed to smothering Ava and explained why. Realizing the error of his ways, Tripp apologized to Kayla, who kept mum about what he’d done.

5. Hayden, General Hospital
Con artist Hayden (Rebecca Budig) first surfaced in Port Charles when she was hired by Ric Lansing (Rick Hearst) to pretend to be Jake Doe’s (Billy Miller) wife and lure him away from Elizabeth (Rebecca Herbst). There was instant animosity between the two women, which only grew as Hayden continued to plot and manipulate her way around town.

When she was revealed to be Elizabeth’s half-sister, the product of her father Jeff’s affair with Naomi Berlin, both women were stunned and unwilling to bond as siblings. Their relationship ultimately changed, when Hayden discovered she was pregnant, and Elizabeth found herself guiding her terrified sister through impending motherhood.