Stunning Soap Opera Paternity Dramas

Published on October 7, 2021. Updated July 20, 2022

Two men, one woman and a baby. Sounds like a cute ’80s movie, but in actuality, it is the basis for countless soap storylines over the years. Figuring out the paternity of a baby seems like a rite of passage for some characters. In fact, if a woman is expecting on a soap opera, more often than not, she’s either in danger of losing that baby, having it swapped with another, or not knowing the child’s true paternity. Below is a list of stunning paternity dramas in soap opera history.

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6. John Black – Days of Our Lives

For almost thirty years now, ever-popular Days of Our Lives (DOOL) character John Black has been everything under the sun. He’s been a priest, art thief, super spy, police officer, mercenary, and so much more. In his age-old quest to find out his true identity, it was revealed (in 2008) that he was in fact part-Brady, and ironically, part-DiMera. It turned out that John was the love child of Colleen Brady (Shawn Brady Sr.’s sister) and Santo DiMera (Stefano’s dad). The child was originally named Ryan Brady, therefore making John a bonafide DiMera, and half-brother to Stefano. Then, in 2014, it was revealed that John Black was not Colleen’s baby boy, after all. It seems that in the end, Ryan Brady passed away at the orphanage where he was left, leaving John Black’s identity a mystery once again!

5. Georgie Jones – General Hospital

Digging way back into General Hospital’s (GH) history, a paternity outrage rocked Port Charles in 1995. Georgie Jones was born under a table at a club owned by the infamous Luke Spencer. At one point in time, Georgie’s mom Felicia didn’t know if her fiancé Mac Scorpio was the baby’s father, or ex-husband and long-time love Frisco Jones. While Felicia was involved with Mac at the time of conception, Frisco rolled into town when the couple’s first child (Maxie) needed a heart transplant. With overwhelming feelings around this situation, Frisco and Felicia slept together shortly after they learnt Maxie was going to be okay. The DNA test proved Frisco was Georgie’s dad; however, over the years both girls grew a strong bond with Mac. Given Frisco’s absence — plus the fact that Mac had always been there for them, raising them even when their own mother took off too – the girls have always considered Mac to be their father.

4. Summer Newman – Young and the Restless

Was she an Abbott? Was she a Newman? The paternity of sweet little Summer seemed to drag on for years, because it literally did! In 2005, Phyllis Summers and Nick Newman had a crazy love affair, during which Summer was conceived. Still, there was the question of paternity… Nick or Jack… as Phyllis was fooling around with both at that time. DNA results showed that Nick was the father; however, fast forward to 2012, and the young girl’s paternity resurfaced as it was revealed that the DNA test conducted all those years back had been inconclusive. As it turns out, she was Nick’s daughter, but thanks to Sharon tampering with the test, an entire year went by where Summer thought her father was Jack. Alas, the truth came out, as it always does, and hopefully the issue of Summer’s real father has finally been put to rest.

3. Avery Corinthos – General Hospital

Only a few months old, sweet Avery Corinthos had been through a lot in her little life. The chaos ensued shortly after her mom, Ava Jerome, found out she was expecting with her. What makes this paternity storyline so stunning is the fact that it was a true family affair when it came to figuring out who Avery’s father was. Ava was involved with Morgan when she conceived her, but she also had an affair with Sonny behind Morgan’s back. Either way, Avery would end up with the last name Corinthos, but was her father mob-boss Sonny Corinthos, or his son Morgan? Would she be calling Sonny grandpa or Morgan her brother? In the end, it turned out that Avery was the daughter of the more senior Corinthos male, Sonny.

2. Faith Newman – Young and the Restless

Cassie Newman had prophesized that Nick and Sharon would have another baby girl before she passed away in 2005. Still, fans questioned the paternity of Sharon’s unborn child when she found out she was expecting in 2009. That’s because Sharon had lost it for a while (she seems to go through these phases now and again), and slept with three different men during a short period of time: Billy Abbott, Jack Abbott and Nick Newman. While it turned out that Nick was the father of Faith, Sharon also lied about the true paternity for a while to ensure Nick focused on his other daughter, a sick Summer. The truth was eventually revealed, although Faith was stolen at birth and spent the first six months of her life thinking Ashley Abbott was her mom. Alas, that is an entirely different story that belongs on another list.

1. Ally Horton and Johnny DiMera – Days of Our Lives

Two babies, one womb… two different fathers. Yes, the contentious paternity of Ally and Johnny, Sami’s twins in 2007, tops this list. First and foremost, while the chances of this happening are one in a million, it is possible for two fraternal twins to have two different fathers. Still, the fact that Sami was forced to sleep with a blackmailing E.J. to conceive one of those children is contentious enough. Mix in the fact that (at one point) fans thought that both children were in fact Lucas Horton’s and you have some crazy daytime DNA drama. Once the babies were born, a suspicious E.J. was convinced that little Johnny was his and it turns out, E.J. was right.