Character of the Month

info c/o soap central

Ryan made has debut in Pine Valley Hospital's Emergency Room, on the night of the Crystal Ball at Wildwind. Nurse Gloria Marsh was rendering aid to victims of a bus crash, and Ryan claimed to be a passenger who had suffered whiplash. Gloria, a former con artist herself, saw right through him (that he hadn't even been ON the bus) and warned him to drop the act or else. Dimitri was admitted that night, injured after being trapped under a tree. He had suffered massive blood loss, and there was a blood shortage of his type. Gloria realized that Ryan was a match and threatened to turn him into the authorities if he didn't "donate" his blood. He did, and this helped save Dimitri's life.

With elaborate claims and figures, he convinced Liza Colby to give him a chance to increase WRCW's advertising profits. After witnessing Kelsey's pathetic attempt at flirtation with Scott at WRCW, he volunteered to coach her in the love game. Ryan also went along with Kelsey's scheme to make Scott jealous by pretending to be her new love interest, to help her get Scott away from Princess Gillian Andrassy. Ryan was attracted to Gillian from the start, and what started as his helping Kelsey land Scott turned into Ryan trying to help himself to a piece of Gillian. It was just fun and games, though, and he and Gillian both enjoyed the double entendres and heavy flirtation which ensued.

When Ryan solicited kickback money from Erica Kane for enchantment advertising, she went along with him just long enough to get the evidence to turn him in. When he realized the threat, he tried to seduce her into silence. Off course she laughed at this, so he tried to accuse her with sexual harassment. Erica was not intimidated, and she went to Liza with a list of other victimized accounts, accusing her and the station of unethical practices, and threatening to go to the FCC. Liza finally convinced Erica that Ryan acted alone, that she would make recompense and take care of Ryan Lavery. When confronted, at first Ryan tried to lie about, then to minimize his crimes. Liza was deciding exactly what to do to him when she found out that Scott Chandler was about to marry Gillian in order to save her from being deported. She decided that Ryan and Gillian deserved each other, and blackmailed Ryan into either marrying Gillian or going to prison for is crimes. Liza reminded him that marrying a beautiful, rich princess was not exactly torture. However, Liza left out the little fact that Gillian was now flat broke. Liza concocted a scheme, and on the wedding day 'proved' to gold digging Gillian that Ryan, truth be told, was really the heir to billions - much richer than Scott. As Gillian and Scott were in the middle of taking their vows, Ryan charged down the aisle, declared his love, and literally swooped out the bride. He convinced her that he loved her, gave her a huge ring (cubic zirconia), and she agreed to marry him instead of Scott (To all the guests' relief [and Scott's).

Ryan and Gillian had a few hot days of marital bliss before Immigration and their financial facts came out. Both were shocked and enraged. Gillian overheard Ryan arguing with Liza about his being tricked into marrying a woman with no money who meant nothing to him. She wanted to end the marriage, but was convinced by Ryan, her grandmother, Dimitri and Edmund that the best thing for both of them would be to remain at Wildwind and make the best of things for the year-period that Immigration required to prove the marriage was valid. Otherwise, both of them would suffer legal consequences.

Both of the young newlyweds started to fall for the other, keeping their feelings hidden as neither of them thought the other cared. Ryan openly flirted with Hayley, angering Mateo and Gillian. Hayley and Ryan became good friends, and she and Eugenia convinced Ryan to profess his love to Gillian. Ryan came close to telling her a number of times, but was unable to actually use the word 'love'.

A frustrated Gillian flirted with slimy Dr. Hayward, and eventually ended up in bed with him. Ryan, ready to express his feelings to his wife, discovered them the next morning. Devastated, he ended up at a sleazy bar on Halloween and got tanked. He came on to and dirty danced with Pine Valley newcomer Kit Fisher. Soon after, she accused him of rape. The town was split over who was telling the truth, especially when it came out that Kit had previously falsely cried rape. Dimitri, Gillian, Erica, Tad, and Hayley believed Ryan's innocence, while Edmond and Jack stood adamantly behind Kit (who was revealed to be Jackson's supposedly dead baby sister).

Ryan hid out when a DNA test matched him and the rapist at 80%. Hayley and Gillian devised a plan to get Ryan and his wife out of town, but Hayley was jailed for refusing to give up Ryan's whereabouts. Gillian, desperate for the money that Hayley was supposed to leave for her, swallowed her pride and went to David Hayward for money. David agreed, as long as Gillian would sleep with him. She did, and David followed her and led the police to the Laveries' hideout, as well as cruelly telling Ryan how Gillian got the money. An extremely sick Ryan was jailed. He was surprised when his brother Braden came to visit him, and they reminisced about growing up with their abusive, alcoholic father. Ryan was horrified when something Braden said ('Score one for the kid') made him realize that his brother had committed the rape, and confessed to the crime, feeling he owed Braden for saving him from his father's wrath. Tad and Dixie, suspecting Braden, found the connection between the Lavery brothers and cleared Ryan's name.

The lies and unspoken feelings between Ryan and Gillian began to take their toll, and Hayley's defense of him and their shared childhood created a strong bond between her and Ryan. Ryan eventually filed for divorce from Gillian, and she reluctantly signed them. Ryan began working at Hayley and Mateo's new nightclub, Holidays, and Hayley and Ryan continued to get closer when Mateo's attention was taken by his first wife and newfound son, Max. Ryan continued to be there for Hayley as she came closer to losing her sobriety, and they kissed on the beach on the Fourth of July. Gillian spied the kiss, and eventually Mateo found out. Mat and Ryan became fast enemies, and Ryan was fired from the nightclub and rehired at WRCW by Liza.

Ryan would once again leave WRCW after starting his own Internet startup company, IncredibleDreams.com, an Internet site that helps fulfill users' dreams and fantasies. Ryan and Gillian would also find their way back to each other --- but that road was not as smooth.

Gillian and Ryan were involved in a car accident after Gillian learned that Jake was not Colby's biological father. As a result of her injuries, Gillian was left unable to speak. Jake stood by her side and helped nurse her back to health. As a result, Gillian was unable to tell Jake the truth that she'd learned. Gillian and Jake were later married, but when Jake learned the truth about Colby --- and that Gillian knew the truth and kept it from him --- he went on a rampage. Jake left Pine Valley and during this time Gillian and Ryan found their way back to each other. Gillian anxiously awaited Jake's return to Pine Valley so that she could tell him that she wanted a divorce. What she did not count on was Jake being injured while trying to rescue dozens of orphans in war-torn Chechnya. Gillian didn't want to hit Jake up for a divorce while he wasn't in tip-top shape… and Ryan slowly started to drift away as Gillian devoted most of her time to Jake. Finally, in October 2000, Ryan told Gillian that their relationship was over.

On February 23rd, 2001, Ryan and Gillian were engaged and there were plans to have an elaborate wedding in Hungary. However, money problems forced the couple to consider eloping at Town Hall. Dimitri caught wind of their plans and threw a wedding to remember for the couple

Married life proved rather uneventful for the couple. In fact, Ryan and Gillian acted as young adults, offering advice and other assistance to the likes of Laura, Leo and Greenlee. Troubled by Laura's life-and-death battle, Gillian decided to become an organ donor. It was her way of showing Laura that she was wishing her the best. At about the same time, Gillian befriended television producer Ilene Pringle, a woman who produced a reality television show set on Ryan's yacht. Ilene promised Gillian easy money if she'd allow her to produce a biography of her life. Wanting to be able to help Ryan with his financial difficulties, Gillian agreed - against Ryan's wishes. As it turned out, Ilene was not a television producer, but rather an assassin hired by Charlotte Devane to gun down Anna Devane. On Monday, June 18th, Ilene mistook Gillian, who had her back turned towards her, for Anna and shot and mortally wounded her. On June 25th, Ryan made the difficult decision to have Gillian removed from life support so that her heart could be donated to Laura English.

Life after death proved extremely eventful for Gillian, who refused to believe that she was really dead. Jesse Hubbard, Natalie Dillon, Harold the dog, Jeremy Hunter and Travis Montgomery -- all beloved Pine Valley residents who have passed away -- showed up in a pre-Heaven waiting area to help guide Gillian to Heaven. Gillian remained convinced that she could return to life and to Ryan and reached out to Opal to deliver her messages to Ryan. As a coping mechanism, Ryan found comfort in the arms of an equally distraught Liza Chandler, who had just learned that her husband, Adam, had been cheating on her. The pair made love on several occasions.

As Ryan tried to come to terms with Gillian's death, he was hit by yet another loss. On September 26th, 2001, Ryan's mother died of lung cancer. Shortly after his mother's loss, Ryan learned that his mother had been keeping a secret from him. Gail Lavery had a sexual relationship with Christopher Stamp. Nine months after the affair, Gail had a baby - Ryan. Ryan's life was turned upside-down when he learned that Chris, a man whose arrogance he loathed, was his father. Things were further complicated by the fact that Chris had shot and killed Ryan's abusive "dad," Patrick Curry during a drug bust several years prior.

When Erica's daughter, Kendall, returned to Pine Valley she became Ryan's neighbor at the Pine Cone Hotel. Their mutual antagonism eventually turned to affection. Ryan got caught up in the Proteus investigation and was shot by a sniper who was aiming for Chris. After he recovered Ryan returned to a job bartending at SOS.

Chris went to Ryan with a letter he received posthumously from Ryan's mother, in which she talked about her love for both of them and her guilt over keeping Ryan from his real father. Chris gave Ryan a ring that he once gave to Ryan's mother. When Kendall accepted his marriage proposal, Ryan gave the ring to his new fiancé and they made plans to leave Pine Valley as soon as her name was cleared. Ryan's faith in her innocence became a source of contention between him and Chris. On his wedding day, Ryan looked for his father to invite him to the ceremony but he instead found Kendall trying to seduce Aidan Devane. Instead of leaving Pine Valley with his new wife, Ryan roared out of town on his motorcycle - alone -- as Kendall stood in the rain begging for him to stay.