Soap sweethearts Michael Corinthos and Willow Tait's relationship has been one to root for during their tenure as one of the fan-favorite couples on "General Hospital." Expertly portrayed by Chad Duell and Katelyn MacMullen, respectively, Michael and Willow have come a long way from the first time they entered into each other's orbit.
Katelyn MacMullen joined General Hospital in 2018 as Willow Tait and almost immediately began working regularly with Chad Duell; his character, Michael Corinthos, met Willow in a bereavement group and in time would become her on-screen husband (more than once).
Daytime Emmy-Award-winning actor Duell celebrated his 12-year anniversary on the popular soap opera in April 2022 and is now a seasoned pro, per SheKnows Soaps. MacMullen has matched his energy since her debut in 2018 and was also nominated for a Daytime Emmy, as reported by Soap Central. But Michael and WIllow have also been tested over the years.
The Beginning of "Millow"
The start of Michael and Willow's relationship is as unconventional as it gets. In 2018, before the pair connected romantically, they started off as friends. Michael and Willow crossed paths at Kelly's Diner after their grief support group, where they open up about their shared loss. At the time, Michael's son Jonah was believed to have died at birth, and Willow gave up her son Wiley for adoption. Though their relationship was purely platonic, the universe kept bringing them together.
Feelings stirred when Michael ran into Willow at Port Charles Elementary where she worked as a teacher. Per Soaps in Depth, before their friendship could turn into something more, Josh Swickard's Detective Harrison Chase arrived on the scene and tossed a wrench into their dynamic. Michael wasn't the only one who had chemistry with Willow. Willow's tragic background helped endear her to Michael. Her arrival in Port Charles was fueled by her need to escape from Dawn of Day cult leader Shiloh Archer (played by Coby Ryan McLaughlin) and her mother Harmony Miller (played by Inga Cadranel) to start over.
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During that time, Chase and Willow also gravitated toward each other. Shiloh eventually found out that he fathered her child, according to SheKnows Soaps. This revelation led to a huge confrontation between Shiloh and Willow, per Soap Hub, and Michael came to her rescue. This upsetting moment helped build Willow's trust in Michael.
Major Plot Twists and Relationship Developments
Things came to a head when Shiloh kidnapped Wiley, per Soap Hub. Then, the big secret finally came out. In February 2020, it was revealed that Wiley is not Willow's son - he is Michael's son with resident baddie Nelle Benson (Chloe Lanier). In classic soap opera fashion, Nelle orchestrated a switch-up between Wiley and Jonah with the help of Parry Shen's Brad Cooper, which led to the sad truth that Willow's birth son passed away after he was born.
Willow was completely devastated when Chase broke the news to her, according to SheKnows Soaps. Nelle, who was sitting in prison for killing her ex-fiance, stirred up trouble again once she was released, according to Showbiz Cheatsheet. After the baby reveal, Nelle sued Michael for custody. Soap Hub reported that this plot line didn't go down well with fans, but relationship shake-ups are par for the course on "General Hospital".
This was the catalyst for "Millow" falling for each other. Sasha and Chase were heartbroken, but took a step back for the sake of keeping Wiley with his family. Michael and Willow found out the truth about Sasha and Chase's fake affair and got their marriage annulled, but according to Soaps in Depth, feelings were already involved by then. The couples couldn't rekindle their spark.
Challenges and Public Pursuit of Love
Chase proposed to Willow, who hesitantly said yes because she didn't think he had much time left, but she was still in love with Michael, per SheKnows Soaps. Michael and Willow agreed to wait out her marriage until Chase got better. Chase eventually found out about Willow's feelings for Michael and that they slept together on their son Wiley's birthday, according to Showbiz Cheatsheet. To get back at them, he faked his paralysis even after he healed and was able to walk again.
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In August 2021, "Millow" finally pursued their relationship - publicly, this time - and eventually ended up moving in together in the gatehouse. After they faced many challenges being together, they were in a good place. Enter Nina Reeves, Wiley's maternal grandmother. Since she found that the late Nelle was her long-lost daughter, Nina tried to be a part of Wiley's life, according to Soaps in Depth. But her history and animosity towards Wiley's other grandmother Carly Corinthos made this almost impossible.
Per Soaps in Depth, after Sonny regained his memory and returned home, Willow overheard a shocking conversation between him and Nina about their relationship back in Nixon Falls, but didn't immediately tell Michael. Nina's deceit had already sparked a vicious battle between her and the Corinthos family.
Michael used his connections to press fraud charges against Nina, according to Soap Dirt. Willow and Michael disagreed on his methods as she feared it would force Nina to fight for visitation rights. Since her return to Port Charles, Harmony's relationship with Willow has been strained.
"General Hospital" took a layered approach to revealing the secret. Michael surprised Willow with a trip to Paris. Willow, who grew up on the commune and has never left the country, desperately searched for her birth certificate only to come up empty handed, per Soap Hub. Harmony told Nancy Lee Grah's Alexis Davis an elaborate lie about why she didn't have her birth certificate. Her original story was that Willow's birth mother was someone from the commune, according to Soaps in Depth.
Chad Duell's Exit and Co-Star Reactions
General Hospital (GH) fans were completely thrown for a loop on Saturday, November 23 when actor Chad Duell announced he was exiting the role of Michael Corinthos, on Instagram. Now, Duell’s co-star, Katelyn McMullen, who plays Michael’s love interest on the soap, Willow Corinthos, has commented on her partner in crime, leaving the show.
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GH fans and co-stars alike, commented on Duell’s IG exit post, with sadness, support, and well wishes. Cameron Mathison (Drew Quartermaine) wrote, “Love you brother (fist bump emoji),” while Laura Wright, who plays Carly Spencer (Michael’s mom), commented with three heart-faced emojis, noting, “Still mad!! But I adore you!!” Meanwhile, Sofia Mattsson (Sasha Gilmore) commented with, “You will be missed!!! (heart emoji) Excited to see what’s next (star-faced emoji)” and Dominic Zamprogna jokingly wrote, “Who wrote this for you … just kidding. I love you Cheddar (heart emoji)”
MacMullen was also a GH colleague, who added some words in the comment section. She wrote, “Love you, Chad (three heart emojis)”. Still, MacMullen didn’t stop there.
MacMullen posted an Instagram Story after Duell’s announcement, commenting on his exit. With a photo of her and Duell (both in character as Michael and Willow), the actress tagged Chad’s IG account and added a hand-heart emoji, a heart emoji, and clapping hand emoji.
Chad has created quite the impact on the show, as it’s clear his GH colleagues are going to miss him. Shortly after his IG departure announcement, the soap’s Executive Producer, Frank Valentini confirmed Chad’s exit on the social media platform X and relayed how much the actor would be missed.
Valentini also stated in the tweet, “There are no plans to recast his role at this time, but you never know in daytime. I can promise a great story for Michael and his family when Chad exits in the new year.”
Duell shared the news with MacMullen one day at work. “How I found out is that we were on set and we pulled each other to the side and we were like, ‘What’s going on? What are we thinking?’ And that’s when he told me,” she shares. “On the one hand, I was so sad because I was like, ‘Wait, I can’t even imagine this.
“There’s definitely been a feeling of, ‘It just feels different,’ ” she acknowledges. “But honestly, maybe I’m in denial, because I still feel like he works here! I don’t know if it’s fully hit me yet, because it’s only been a few weeks at this point. I’m sure at some point, it is going to hit me. But I also think that because it might be more of a temporary situation,” given that Duell has indicated that he’s open to returning to GH down the line, and Executive Producer Frank Valentini said he had “no plans to recast” the role.
General Hospital Tease | November 7th, 2025
“I’m not letting my brain go to the place of, I’ll never see him in these halls again, you know what I mean? Still, she notes, “I do notice that it feels different because I’ll be like, ‘Oh, that’s weird. Usually, Chad walks up to me at this point, or we have a little conversation here or there, or we’d give each other fake dirty looks in the hallway.’ You know what I mean? There are just these little things that happened with Chad and me throughout the day and I’m like, ‘Oh, weird.
Ultimately, MacMullen is just excited to see where Duell’s post-GH life takes him. “Whether he comes back or not, I’m just rooting for him in any capacity,” she enthuses.
In terms of where Michael’s absence from the canvas leaves her character - Willow and Michael are still married, but their union came apart at the seams when Willow couldn’t resist her attraction to his uncle, Drew, leading Michael to file for divorce and for full custody of their two children, Wiley and Amelia - MacMullen says, “Michael has pretty much been part of Willow’s journey from day one, or maybe week one. They were friends, and then they were husband and wife…. It leaves a lot of questions for me, like, ‘What would Willow’s life look like without Michael in the picture? How will that leave her feeling? What could that lead to?
The Bond Between Actors
MacMullen reflects, “We’ve been through a lot of story together and we’ve been through a lot together just in general - not with each other, but I mean that we’ve seen each other in our personal lives for six years now and then we’ve obviously worked together for six years, as well, in a [close] capacity. It will certainly, I think, be an adjustment for me for him not to be here because I’m like, ‘I’m so used to seeing this face and hearing this voice.
The actress says that her bond with Duell began to form from the day they met. “It was even before I started,” she recalls. “Even during my screen test, so before I even got the role, he was giving me little tips under his breath; he was helping me navigate being on camera.
Duell’s well-earned reputation as an on-set jokester has also brightened MacMullen’s work life over the years. “Chad is extremely funny; he’s a goofball,” she says affectionately. “That is so nice because it breaks the dramatic tension that can exist when we’re all in this environment. It’s nice to have someone who can make you laugh. I’ll definitely miss the surprise pranks and the little jokes that he’s so good at saying in between scenes. Sometimes you just need a good laugh, because what we’re doing can be quite serious. So I think I’m going to miss laughing with him the most.
You know those workplaces where colleagues barely tolerate one another, if barely? General Hospital doesn’t seem like one of those. Like, at all. Case in point: On January 30, Chad Duell dropped a festive photo from a night out with three of his co-stars. On hand was Katelyn MacMullen, who of course plays Michael’s boo Willow, as well as Eden McCoy, who plays his sister Josslyn, and her new on-screen significant other, Evan Hofer, aka Dex. “Fun hanging with this crew,” Duell captioned the picture.
Back in October, Duell & Co. Nice to see the gang getting to blow off some steam, considering how fraught things are on the show. While Michael and Willow absorb the news that her biological mother is their least favorite person on the planet - Nina - they’re also hoping against hope that she’ll live to raise their unborn baby. Josslyn, having just broken Cameron’s heart in a million pieces, is keeping her fingers crossed that he won’t reveal that she’s now hooking up with Dex.
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