by: Leigh Russell
All My Children's Gillian hasn't had
much reason to smile, lately. What
with her husband off in a war-zone, and the man she loves right there in Pine
Valley with her, yet she's unable to be with him, who could blame her?
As if having her heart torn between obligation, to Jake, and passion for
Ryan weren't enough, Gillian is now fearing for both Ryan and Jake's lives, as
Ryan heads to Chechnya to bring Jake back--so he can end Gillian's heartache
once and for all.
From the moment she arrived in Pine Valley, Gillian has had a way about
her that has captured the heart, and imagination of every man she's been
involved with. Even David and Scott were taken with the princess' charms,
though her relationships with them hardly reached the level hers did with Jake
and Ryan respectively. Falling in
love was something Ryan and Gillian never planned to do. They married for her green card, and so that he could get the
money he was craving. But hearts
don't lie, and neither do bank accounts. Though
Ryan and Gillian initially married to run a scam, their passion for each other
ignited on their honeymoon night, and the fire these two burn when together--it
shows no signs of slowing. But all
good things must come to an end, at least for a little while, in the soap world.
Gillian's world came crashing down around her, when her beloved Ryan was
accused of raping and assaulting Kit. Ryan
beat the wrap, but not before demons from his childhood past came back to haunt
Ryan so severely, he ended things with Gillian.
The months that Ryan and Gillian were married, this Hungarian faux
princess turned into the real thing. But
her break up with Ryan brought out a defensiveness in her that was long buried.
She quelled her passion for Ryan by resuming an affair with David that
she had ended. It also broke
Gillian's spirit when she, in effect, prostituted herself to David, in order to
get money for Ryan's escape. Her relationship with Ryan remained as complicated as it was,
steamy, and sensual. Ryan and
Gillian's break up was almost as methodical as a recipe--through a string of
arguments, misunderstanding, and miscommunication, Ryan and Gillian were
divorced.
Unable to imagine her life getting any worse, Gillian was shocked to hear
her cousin, and father figure, Dimitri, was dead.
After having been orphaned by her mother, and neglected her entire life
by her gambling-addicted father, and then being divorced from Ryan, Gillian had
no one left to turn to. Enter Jake
Martin, who gave her the attention and respect that a princess deserves. A good natured friendship developed between the two, and once
Gillian was sure her marriage to Ryan was over, and she suspected him of seeing
Hayley, Gillian went ahead with a tentative relationship with Jake.
They were off to a very slow start, not even sure if they were seriously
dating, when Gillian found out a shocking secret about Jake. The child he was
supposedly the father of, Colby, had really been sired by Adam Chandler, Jake's
biggest rival. Gillian and Ryan
couldn't stay away from each other, and were in the middle of one of their
usually explosive exchanges, when Gillian rushed out to find Jake, and tell him
the truth. Ryan, now somewhat over
his feelings for Hayley jumped into the car with Gillian, and she sped them
straight into the horrible car accident that would take her speech and keep her
from telling Jake the truth about Colby.
Jake was Gillian's rock, and he kept her going, eventually helping her
learn to speak again. As she began
to grow and change, Gillian became the sophisticated woman that was so obviously
inside. She chose loyalty over
passion, and agreed to marry Jake and help him present a united front to the
judge, who would decide little Colby's fate in a custody battle. Jake found out the truth about Colby, however, and at the
same time, he found out Gillian, his wife of mere weeks, had kept this
information from him. Heartbroken,
Jake pulled away from Gillian, unsure of whether or not he would continue their
marriage. Ryan, on the other hand
decided to pursue Gillian relentlessly, and let her know in no uncertain terms
how much she meant to him, and how much he loved her.
Jake flew to Chechnya to be of some use to war refugees,
and to get away from his problems in Pine Valley.
This opened the door for Ryan and Gillian's reconciliation, once they got
past Greenlee's manipulations.
But what is it they say about good intentions and the road to hell?
Gillian and Ryan's relationship, though rekindled with an unbridled fire,
has been an uneasy, and secret one. Their
hideout in one of Wildwind's gothic towers is romantic, but it's not the one
thing they need it to be, and that's public.
Now Jake has gone missing, and Ryan is off to Chechnya, to bring Jake
back once and for all--so he and Gillian can say their goodbyes, get their
divorce, and Ryan and Gillian can move on to the love they so richly deserve.
But will it happen? Will Ryan come back alive, and with Jake? Or will she
lose both men? And what about
Dimitri? Other than the end of her marriage to Ryan, Dimitri's loss was by far
Gillian's most devastating blow. How
will she react to the knowledge that he's actually alive.
This has never been a better time for Esta Terblanche, who has brought a
beauty, sexiness, and vulnerability
to Gillian that makes her one of daytime's favorite stars.
Gillian has grown in so many ways, no longer the selfish princess who
came to the Emergency Room for a splinter, but now the hospital volunteer, who
takes her job so seriously, and is so dedicated.
If it seems as though Gillian's life has revolved around her
relationships, it is because it has. Ryan
was and continues to be her life, and protecting Jake, at one point in time, was
all that matters. This woman is completely selfless when it comes to the men in
her life, that she loves. Whatever
challenges lie in Gillian's wake, we know she's strong enough to weather the
storm.