GH’s Maurice Benard & Lacy Weston Talk Surviving Complicated Families

You never know what you are going to get when you sit down for an episode of General Hospital star Maurice Benard’s video podcast, State Of Mind. What you can count on is a story that will knock your socks off, and his Mother’s Day episode with Bodybuilder and Mr. Universe Natural Pro, Lacy Weston, did not disappoint.

Lacy Weston: An Epic Tale Of Deceit And Survival

The NASM (National Academy Of Sports Medicine) and PROPTA (Professional Personal Trainers Association), three-time Mr. Natural America winner and best-selling author, sat down with Benard and told an epic tale of secrets, lies, a spiritual awakening, and ultimately, healing.

Benard (who plays Sonny on GH) asked him about his background in his own words. “It was 1968.” Weston began, “I will fast forward a bit here, so there were four girls and five boys. I was raised to believe that all of the girls were my sisters and all of the boys were my brothers. They were not. They were my uncles and aunts.” 

*Trigger warning: Content contains sensitive subject matter.

The future bodybuilder did not know it at the time but found out later that one of those sisters was, in fact, his mom. “So, the oldest sister, whom I slept with, her name is Eva, she always took care of me, changed my clothes, fed me, you know, everything you could think of.” 

Deadly Secrets, Tragic Lies, And Abuse

Later, friends and relatives laid out the cinematic-like backstory that reads darker than any soap opera. Weston found out truth bombs that ranged from illicit affairs, revenge, abandonment, organ donation, incarceration, and discovering who his father was after 27 years. 

But that wasn’t the end of the secrets that riddled his childhood. The two-time author finally revealed the incident that drove his grandmother mad and made him a target for abuse as the matriarch sought an object to focus her pain and anger on. “I am 4 years old, and that is when she laid the hammer down on me, and that is when the beatings began. From age 4 until about 16. Nonstop. Belts, extension cords, race tracks, shoes, whatever she could grab, she would use.”

Lacy Weston: Healing Through Self-Care

It is an intense story of survival, but Benard and Weston continued their conversation, revealing so much more, including the inner workings of the dysfunctional family, his relationships with his siblings/aunts and uncles, other horrors that occurred in their home growing up, and how a biology class helped him solve a riddle in his life.

Find out how he reacted when his mom returned 10 years later, looking for an organ donor, a spiritual experience that he had in childhood that helped him feel protected and gave him faith, meeting his real father for the first time at 27, his problem with Mother’s Day, and how he reconciled his relationship with his real siblings after his mother’s passing.

The two discussed his bodybuilding career, inspiration, and accolades, the surrogate father figure he found in writer-producer, Stephen J. Cannell, and the importance of taking care of yourself so that you have more to give. Viewers will be astounded to witness how such a dark history could unveil such an inspirational soul. Watch the full episode here.

Follow Weston on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and his Official Website. Follow Maurice Benard on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok. To follow State Of Mind and subscribe, go to YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter. Fans can now purchase inspirational merchandise for Benard’s State Of Mind. Check it out.