A Look Back At General Hospital Star Cynthia Watros' Legal Trouble

"General Hospital" star Cynthia Watros has had some legal trouble over the years, but it's not the same kind of trouble that her on-screen alter ego Nina Reeves has dealt with in Port Charles. In general, Watros is the kind of daytime television star who likes to stay out of the headlines by focusing on her work, her twin daughters, and even her adorable pooch, according to her Instagram account. And if she's not creating the kind of fictional friction that only a character like Nina could get into, then Watros is serving all kinds of belly laughs with her web show, "Cynthia Watros Gets Lost."

Now, hearing the words 'Cynthia Watros' and 'lost' in the same sentence might sound very familiar, because many fans remember her as her character Libby when she was on the hit ABC series "Lost" from 2005 to 2006. Before she was a daytime television star on "General Hospital," Watros was a primetime star who was also in the headlines ... for the wrong reasons. The actor got into some legal trouble back when she was filming "Lost" that some of her soap fans today might not even be aware of.

Before she joined the cast of "General Hospital," Cynthia Watros was a widely-known television actor who guest starred on a handful of hit primetime shows like "Grey's Anatomy" and "Desperate Housewives." But even before then, Watros was on the highly popular series "Lost" back in 2005. The series was filmed in Hawaii, and according to Fox News, Watros and her then "Lost" co-star Michelle Rodriguez got busted for drunk driving. The two women were driving in separate cars and were both pulled over only 15 minutes apart. Watros' attorney, Lanson Kupau, stated that the actor accepted culpability for her behavior, and she pled guilty to the crime. Kupau said, "She made a mistake. She's very remorseful and she wants to take responsibility for her actions. She realizes, understands and appreciates the seriousness of the charges."

But Watros' troubles didn't end there. Even though she offered an apology to the judge in her case, the actor was fined and sentenced to 14 hours of counseling, per The Sydney Morning Herald. Watros also got her license suspended, says Hawaii News Now. Watros' co-star Rodriguez wound up serving a short sentence behind bars as well, per CBS News. And while some people would want to bury that moment in the past, Watros brought it up again in her "State of Mind" interview with Maurice Benard.

Cynthia Watros and her "General Hospital" co-star (and fellow Nina defender) Maurice Benard certainly have a strong bond both on and off screen, which is probably one of the many reasons why she agreed to open up about her struggles on his YouTube series, "State of Mind." When asked about her arrest, Watros offered this explanation (via Soap Hub): "We would all get together to watch the show and I probably had one too many drinks and got arrested for a DUI. It is unfortunate. You know we all make mistakes. You learn and you go, 'I wish I had done something better.' But I definitely learned from it and that is all you can take from mistakes."

Luckily, Watros has managed to stay on the right side of the law since that moment. The only drama that Watros has in her life is of the on-screen variety, and maybe just like her portrayer, Nina will live and learn, too. There's always a chance that Sonny might provide some much-needed guidance as well.