The Truth About Anna And Valentin's Past Together On General Hospital

In 2022, Anna Devane (Finola Hughes) and Valentin Cassadine (James Patrick Stuart) seem destined for a sweeping, mature romance on "General Hospital." Valentin had pined after Anna for decades, and she blocked out who this man even was. It was an odd relationship that began in Port Charles time back in 2016 when Valentin first arrived in town (via Soaps In Depth). That relationship gradually took them from enemies, to frenemies, to friends, and finally to more than friends.

The arrival of Valentin revealed more about Anna than we ever knew before even though her character has been around off and on since 1985 (via IMDb). She also existed on another ABC soap, "All My Children." The storyline Anna and Valentin share even revealed a lot about Alex Devane Marrick, a character who got her start on "All My Children" and met her end on "General Hospital." 

So, how did it all begin for Anna and Valentin?

Valentin Cassadine was supposed to be the most evil Cassadine of them all, according to the family matriarch Helena (Constance Towers). Ironically, she really was the most evil Cassadine. When he first arrived on the Port Charles scene, he had just allegedly killed Nikolas Cassadine (then played by Tyler Christopher) and was considered a full-fledged villain, according to Soaps In Depth. However, he couldn't keep his eyes off Anna Devane and kept insinuating that they once knew one another.

Anna couldn't figure out how she knew him so she went to her psychiatrist friend Andre Maddox (Anthony Montgomery), and he put her under hypnosis. That's when Anna remembered she knew him when he worked for the WSB spy agency; at the time she was an agent in training. Valentin wanted her then, but she rejected him. He believed it was due to his spina bifida and resented Anna (via Daytime Confidential). Later in life, he had surgery to correct the problem and gained the confidence he needed with women.

Valentin then revealed that Anna had put him on a WSB kill list, but Anna's recollections of that time were still fuzzy and she couldn't imagine that she had done such a thing (via Soaps.com).

The audience eventually learned that Valentin Cassadine truly believed he had slept with Anna Devane during their WSB days and was surprised when Anna seemed to want to pick up where they left off. She even told him they could be a powerful pair together, but that didn't seem like Anna to him. It wasn't; Anna was in a London hospital while her twin, Alex Devane Marrick, had taken her place in Port Charles (via Soap Central).

Valentin eventually learned that it was Alex who seduced him all those years ago. He never shared a night with Anna, despite how much he wanted to believe he did. She did it all due to a mystery they were trying to solve involving a Chimera (via Soaps In Depth) that turned up again in 2017. 

That's not the only thing Valentin thought Anna did that she really didn't do. Even Anna thought she did this thing — and it led Valentin to do something that would haunt him forever.

In 2018, a story seemed to come out of nowhere on "General Hospital." Anna Devane was remembering more things from her past that she was sure Valentin Cassadine knew and could fill in the blanks. She went to him one night, and he told her about the time long ago when he witnessed her spending intimate time with the criminal Cesar Faison (Anders Hove), better known as Faison, in order to get the goods on him, according to Soaps.com. That all seemed so out of character for Anna because Faison had been her stalker for years, and she was disgusted by him (via Soaps In Depth).

Valentin said he would follow her back then when they were young, and he tried to tell himself it was Alex Devane Marrick who was with Faison instead of Anna. He also knew the woman he followed had given birth and given the baby away; Anna admitted it was her. Valentin revealed the baby was a girl, but we later learned that baby was Peter August (Wes Ramsey), and Valentin had taken the baby from its adoptive home and given him to Faison to raise (via Soap Central).

In a story only fit for a soap opera, it turned out that a mad scientist with the WSB had been conducting memory experiments on twins. Alex Devane Marrick happily underwent the experimentation, and Anna Devane was unaware she was being given some of her sister's memories. It seems Valentin Cassadine had been right at the start — it was Alex who slept with Faison and had his child. When Anna finally learned the truth, she told Valentin, as by that time they had become friends, but she didn't tell Peter August because she didn't want to break his heart (via Soaps In Depth).

Anna and Valentin did not know at the time that Peter was just as evil as his father, according to Soaps.com. As they began to suspect Peter was up to no good, they kept it a secret until they could gather enough evidence, but by then Peter was out of control and had hurt too many people.

In the six years since Valentin Cassadine arrived on "General Hospital," he has gone from evil villain to semi-reformed, semi-hero. There are many shades of grey with the character who knows right from wrong but will still bend the law when he can. Anna Devane has come to accept him that way, especially when they spent much of 2021 traveling places to catch an on-the-run Peter. During that time, they shared several kisses including a New Years' Eve kiss that seemed to go on for days (via YouTube).

Valentin wasn't there for Anna when Felicia Scorpio clocked Peter over the head with a tire iron. Anna didn't call for an ambulance and let him die; she told Valentin that she would have wanted to see his face there when this man tied to their long-ago past took his last breath. After that discussion, the pair shared another passionate kiss (via Soaps.com).