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Sonny’s Most Memorable General Hospital Weddings – The List

You’d think that being the most powerful mob boss in the U.S. that Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) would have everything he wanted on “General Hospital.” For the most part, that’s true. Yet, he’s had extremely bad luck in the marriage department as the fickle finger of fate has often given him a major backhand, as if to remind him that he really can’t have everything. He’s had several marriages, none of which have stood the test of time, since soap couples can’t stay happy for very long. Sonny has been married to four women, one of which he was wed to many times. When it comes to that one, it can get confusing, so we’ll try to clarify everything for you.

As a child in Bensonhurst, Sonny suffered physical and mental abuse by his stepfather, so as a teen, he and his then girlfriend Connie Falconeri planned to run away together and get married. However, unbeknownst to Sonny, she had also suffered even worse abuse and trauma, and left town leaving him to wait alone at their meeting spot. Had they jointly ran off, Sonny’s life would have been completely different. Instead, he ended up in the path of mobster Joe Scully (Robert Miano) who became his mentor. Sonny worked his way up the ranks of the mafia world, eventually reaching the top.

In 1996, one of his legitimate business partnerships was with L&B Records, which would change the course of his life.

Lily Rivera

ABC

L&B was started by Sonny’s childhood friend Lois Cerullo (Rena Sofer) and his then-love interest, Brenda Barrett (Vanessa Marcil). Their top singer was Miguel Morez (Ricky Martin), who had escaped the clutches of Puerto Rican mafia boss, Hernando Rivera (Ismael “East” Carlo). After his daughter Lily Rivera (Lilly Melgar) got pregnant, Hernando put a hit on Miguel and forced her to give the child up for adoption. Sonny located Lily, reuniting her with the pop singer. The two quickly reconnected and got engaged. When she overheard several people convincing Brenda to wear a wire in order to gather incriminating evidence against Sonny, Lily immediately warned him. Sonny and Brenda’s relationship was then kaput, and Miguel broke things off with Lily because she’d helped the good-hearted godfather.

When Sonny was in trouble with the law — as often happens with mobsters — Lily patched things up with her dad and asked him for help. Seeing this as a strategic alliance, Hernando agreed to make all of Sonny’s legal problems go away as long as he married Lily, so they did. Because Sonny later wanted to reunite with Brenda, Hernando felt he was reneging on their deal, and had a bomb planted in Sonny’s car. However, it was Lily — and her unborn child by Sonny — who got blown to bits instead. A distraught Hernando had a heart attack and wanted to die, so Sonny obliged by giving him a gun. The mobster then killed himself.

Carly Corinthos

ABC

This is where things start to get tricky. Sonny and Carly Corinthos have technically only been married four times, but they see it as six weddings because they count their two vow renewals as weddings also. So, we’ll start here with their first wedding and first vow renewal. Carly was going by the name Caroline “Carly” Benson at the time, and was played by Sarah Brown. She was in love with Sonny’s best friend and chief mob enforcer, Jason Morgan (Steve Burton). However, she was married to Jason’s brother A.J. Quartermaine (then Billy Warlock) at the time, but was also angry that Jason loved Elizabeth Webber (Rebecca Herbst). So, to get back at him, she slept with Sonny and got pregnant. While having an argument with A.J., she fell down a flight of stairs and sadly miscarried. Sonny soon helped her get away from A.J., and even helped her gain full custody of their son, Michael. 

Because she’d overheard information about his criminal activities, she and Sonny got married so she wouldn’t have to testify against him in 2000. They didn’t like each other at first, but after Sonny got shot, they fell for one another and renewed their vows in 2001, which they considered another wedding. However, Carly plotted with an undercover agent named Roy DiLucca (A. Martinez) to get Sonny out of the mob, and when he found out, he was so angry that he divorced her. 

Carly Corinthos — again

ABC

In 2002, Carly was played by Tamara Braun. After both had separately faked their deaths for various soap opera reasons, she and Sonny reconnected and got married again. After which, Carly got pregnant. When Sonny accidentally shot her in the head, that put a damper on things, as one would imagine. After she recovered, they each ended up cheating on one other, but managed to work things out. However, Sonny had previously gotten his lawyer, Alexis Davis (Nancy Lee Grahn) pregnant, and pulled the plug on their marriage when he learned that Carly hid the truth about the baby’s paternity in 2004.

In 2007, Carly — now recast with Laura Wright — was planning on marrying Jasper “Jax” Jacks (Ingo Rademacher). However, he had to leave town to find his villainous brother, Jerry Jacks (Sebastian Roche), and didn’t tell her. On top of that, she and Sonny ended up having sex after facing death in a hostage crisis at the Metro Court Hotel. She then had to marry him again because she knew he’d shot Lorenzo Alcazar (Ted King) and didn’t want to testify against him. Needless to say, things changed when Carly realized she shouldn’t have slept with Sonny and that she really wanted to be with Jax, who had recently returned to Port Charles. She soon divorced Sonny, and married Jax. The two had a daughter named Josslyn.

Brenda Barrett and Claudia Zacchara

ABC

Sarah Brown returned to “General Hospital” in 2008, not as Carly, but as mobster Claudia Zacchara. She and Sonny first met at a bar and not knowing who each other were, they had a one-night stand. Claudia had taken over her family’s criminal organization because her father, Anthony Zacchara (Bruce Weitz), was dealing with mental issues. When it was revealed that she intended to take over his territory, she and Sonny became rivals, but still shared an attraction. Claudia previously tried having Sonny killed, but his son Michael Corinthos (then Dylan Cash) was accidentally shot instead, ending up in a coma. Anthony recovered and told Sonny that if he married Claudia, he could also control the Zacchara’s territory, and the two were wed. Of course, the truth eventually came out, and Claudia panicked, kidnapping a pregnant Carly. However, when Carly gave birth and she tried to steal the baby, a recuperated Michael killed Claudia.

Sonny and Brenda had danced around each other over the years, but things stood in their way such as Sonny’s dangerous lifestyle, the pesky fact that she was presumed dead for a time, and that she was married to Jax for a while. After she was rescued from an international criminal called The Balkan (Daniel Benzali) in 2011, the two tied the knot. However, when Sonny had Jax drugged in an effort to help Carly gain custody of Josslyn, Brenda got fed up with his schemes and left town.

Carly Corinthos redux

ABC

If you’re keeping track, in 2015, Carly (still Laura Wright) and Sonny had gotten back together and were headed to their fourth marriage, or fifth wedding if their 2001 vow renewal counts as one. While saving the life of T.J. Ashford (then Tequan Richmond), Sonny was shot and ended up in a coma, delaying the wedding. When he awoke, he was paralyzed and had to use a wheelchair. Eventually, Carly encouraged him to go through with their wedding. They got married in the chapel in General Hospital, and successfully entered into wedded bliss, yet again. In the two years that passed, Sonny and Carly had a baby daughter named Donna whose life was in jeopardy due to spina bifida, but she got through it. They were also dealing with the fact that his dad, Mike Corbin (Max Gail), had Alzheimer’s disease and was quickly starting to forget who people were, including Sonny. So, he and Carly decided to once again renew their wedding vows in 2019.

But, after Sonny ended up in the town of Nixon Falls with amnesia for a few months and fell in love with Nina Reeves (Cynthia Watros), it was splitsville for him and Carly. She has since changed her last name to Spencer, seemingly done with Sonny once and for all. Sonny and Nina are now engaged, but because of her secrets, they may not make it to the altar. Only time will tell.