Alexa Havins is known to TV fans as Lulu Spencer in General Hospital after joining in 2024 but she broke out in the early 2000s in All My Children as the original Babe Carey Chandler.
Her role as the iconic character saw her win a Daytime Emmy in 2005, and that same year she married her co-star Justin Bruening, who portrayed Jamie Martin.Here is all you need to know about their romance, on- and off-screen…
Early days
The pair met in 2003 when they both joined All My Children. Alexa originated the role of Babe Carey, a role that she loved working on for years.
“I love when she’s pumped and she’s like a cheerleader, seeing the good in everything,” she said of Alexa, who was supposed to be a bad girl for audiences to hate, but became a flawed good girl.
© Disney General Entertainment ConJustin had joined the show the same year as Jamie Martin, and the script called for Jamie to propose to Babe.
The pair had already been dating for some time and had discussed engagement but they were going to have to shoot the scenes in character before Justin could drop to one knee.
On-set proposal
© FilmMagicWhen Justin was told Jamie would propose to Babe, he realized he had the perfect opportunity for a real proposal as well, although it came together quicker than he expected.
“The executive producer [Julie Hanan Carruthers] told us what was going on in our storyline and she told us, ‘Jamie is going to ask Babe to marry him on Tuesday.’ And I’m like, ‘Really? Crap!’ Because I thought that was going to be in July,” he told Soaps Opera Digest.
Alexa was “upset” that the scenes had been brought forward as she wanted to be engaged before Babe, but they went ahead with shooting.
© FilmMagicOn the day, the stage manager told Alexa that they would shoot an “alternate ending” and then Justin walked in, and when he dropped to one knee he asked: “Marry me, Alexa?”
She thought it was a “sick joke” but when she turned around the crew had left and it was just the pair of them, with Justin waiting for an answer.
Wedding bells
© FilmMagicAlexa and Justin married on June 5 2005, and recently celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary.
For her wedding dress, Alexa wore a Monique Lhuillier gown.
Life after All My Children
Justin left the show in 2007 and Alexa soon quit, with her character being killed off in 2008. They moved to Los Angeles, and Justin now stars on the hit Netflix show Sweet Magnolias; he has also starred in the 2008 reboot of Knight Rider and had a recurring role in Grey’s Anatomy as Paramedic Matt.
Alexa once appeared alongside Justin in an episode of Sweet Magnolias and she’s currently playing Lulu in General Hospital. Lulu is the only daughter of the show’s super couple, Luke and Laura Spencer, and has also been played by Tessa Allen from 2004 to 2005, Julie Marie Berman from 2005 to 2013 ,and Emme Rylan for seven years until 2020.
Growing family
© Disney via Getty ImagesTogether, they have four children: three daughters and one son.
They welcomed their fourth child in 2020 during COVID-19 and kept the news of her birth secret until 2024.
“We have four [kids],” Alexa told TV Insider. “We’ve got a secret baby. Our oldest daughter is 14, and then our son’s 11, and then we have two more girls, ages eight and four.”
She added that having older children helped to encourage Alexa and Justin to try for a fourth, adding: “We involved the older ones and said, ‘Mom’s thinking about this. I just want you to know,’ and they were like, ‘We’re older now. We can be helpful.’ They were so sweet.”
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