Tracy finally swallowed her pride on General Hospital and gave Ronnie the apology she deserved — a small, softened moment before Ronnie slipped out of Port Charles as quietly as she arrived. And as the Quartermaine house filled back up again, the storyline left the same question hanging in the air that fans carried home: what pulled Erika Slezak back into the daytime world after so long, and why now?
Key Takeaways
- Erika Slezak nearly turned down the role of Ronnie after wondering if she could still remember pages of dialogue following more than a decade away from soaps.
- Her son echoed the same concern, and the early days back on set proved tougher than she expected.
- Frank Valentini’s pitch — a grounded, working-class character with ties to Monica — helped her step into Ronnie Bard with confidence.
- Once the dialogue rhythm returned, Slezak rediscovered the “fun” she hadn’t realized she missed.
- One Life To Live reunions with Chris McKenna and Josh Kelly added warmth and a few inside-joke nods to Viki’s past.
- As she wrapped, Valentini insisted she’d be back.
A Return She Didn’t See Coming
Slezak spoke with Soap Opera Digest about the call that nudged her out of retirement. When executive producer Frank Valentini reached out, she wasn’t instantly sure she could say yes. A decade away from memorizing monologues will make anyone hesitate, even someone who carried Viki Lord for over 40 years on OLTL. She remembered her first instinct clearly — that flicker of doubt when she wondered, “Wow, can I still do this?’” It wasn’t nerves as much as the muscle memory she wasn’t sure was still there.
Her son brought the same question to her door. He asked if she could still tackle pages of dialogue on short notice, and she brushed it off at first — she’d done this every day for decades. But once she stepped back into the rhythm on set, she realized his concern wasn’t unfounded.
Valentini’s pitch helped steady her. Ronnie wasn’t a splashy character built to stir trouble; she was a working-class woman with no polish, no pretension, someone who learned everything the hard way. Slezak respected that simplicity and the quiet ache behind her history with Monica — a reunion, a rejection, and a connection later rebuilt through letters.
Rediscovering the Fun — and Finding Old Friends
Once the dialogue clicked back into place, Slezak found herself enjoying the job in a way she didn’t expect. “It turned out to be so much fun. And you miss that when you’re not working,” she said. Her life in Connecticut is full and rooted, but losing her daughter nearly two years ago carved out a space in her heart that doesn’t close. She carries that weight, even in lighter moments. Still, returning to daytime added a little brightness; a reminder that joy can still surprise you.
And then came the OLTL callbacks: running into Chris McKenna (Jack) on set sparked an impromptu moment that made her laugh. “Chris did a very cute thing because when I walked into the diner, and I saw only the back of his head, and I said, ‘Joey?’” His response, “Mom, I’m working!” had her laughing. She also enjoyed working with Josh Kelly (Cody), who played OLTL’s Cutter. Her line she said to him, “I’ve always had a weakness for cowboys,” was a reference to Clint Buchanan (Clint Ritchie).
After the crew gave her flowers, Valentini called after her, saying that she’d be back. Slezak just smiled. Her answer for now is simple: “We’ll see, we’ll see.” It’s the kind of line that sounds like a closed door — but not locked. (Check out what Slezak had to say to her fans.)
