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The soap star got candid about their split, and how a tragic life event brought them closer as a family.
Cameron Mathison is opening up about the end of his 22-year marriage.
The General Hospital star revealed that his split from Vanessa Mathison after more than two decades together came as "a surprise," admitting the separation was far from easy.
"It was a tricky time when we separated," Cameron shared on Tuesday's episode of Jennie Garth's I Choose Me podcast. "And there [were] a lot of specific conditions that made it really tough."
The 56-year-old actor, who shares son Lucas, 22, and daughter Leila, 19, with Vanessa, 58, explained that while they’re "still working through stuff," the loss of their family home during the Los Angeles wildfires in January shifted their relationship.
"We had been separated for about a year and a half officially at that point -- maybe a little bit longer," he recalled. "But still felt very fresh. We have a lot of love for each other, but there was also a lot of pain at that time."
Despite the tragedy of the fires, Cameron said the loss brought them together in an unexpected way.
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"I really feel -- I think I can speak for Vanessa as well, because we've talked about this -- in that moment after the fire, I stayed in the kids' room in her place," he revealed. "It was as if going through that together just erased a lot of the negativity and just kind of shortened that timeline."
Being under one roof again, he added, created space for compassion.
"We were there for each other and cried and talked and hugged," Cameron said. "Not in a, 'Oh, we're going to get back together kind of way.' Just really close, nobody else knew what we were going through."
The All My Children alum previously said much of the same during a conversation with Us Weekly in March, telling the outlet that he and Vanessa still share a deep bond despite the split.
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View Story"Vanessa and I, we love each other. We're still super close," he said at the time. "My wife and I had a beautiful 22-year relationship, and then things fell apart."
Even in the middle of heartbreak, Cameron admitted their shared struggles brought them closer.
"In a way, this challenge and trauma brought us super close," he explained. "It was a way to move on and be there for each other. She and I only really knew what each other were going through, so it was very valuable for both of us. I literally couldn't have gone through this without her."
