General Hospital alum Johnny Wactor died at age 37 in May 2024, and his ex-fiancée, Tessa Farrell, was among those who mourned the loss.
“He was so fun, such a bright soul,” Farrell said through tears in a May 27 TikTok video one day after Johnny’s mom, Scarlett Wactor, told TMZ that the actor had been shot in Los Angeles the previous day. He was later pronounced dead at the hospital.
Farrell continued, “He had his human flaws too but he always sought to improve himself.”
Farrell also condemned gun violence and spoke directly to the perpetrators. (Scarlett told TMZ that Johnny was shot after he and his coworker spotted three men attempting to steal his catalytic converter.)
“It’s not OK, this can’t keep happening,” said Farrell, before addressing Johnny’s assailant. “If you’re watching, I’m sorry but you shot the wrong guy. You know you can get a real job. I know the job market’s hard but we’re all in it together. You don’t have to steal, especially [not] take a life over it.”
Farrell reflected on her relationship with Johnny in the video. Keep scrolling for a timeline of their romance.
When They Met
“We met in 2013 when I first moved out to Hollywood to pursue acting and he did too,” Farrell recalled in the clip. “We were friends at first and then kind of fell in love.”
A ‘Fiery’ Love Story
Farrell noted that her and Johnny’s dynamic was intense.
“It was really fiery. Like, too fiery,” she said. “We brought out the best in each other and then also the darkest parts of each other. Our lives were both forever changed.”
The actress also showed off the engagement ring that she wore during her and Johnny’s engagement.
“This is the ring we used when we were engaged,” she said, holding her hand up to the camera to display a silvery band. “It’s my grandparents’ ring, they were married 50 years. I never take it off and when we were engaged, we used it.”
Letting Each Other Go
Although Farrell emphasized that she will “always love” Johnny, she detailed some of the reasons why they called off their engagement.
“It was rushed, we were too young and kids and healing,” she said, noting that the pair were “better as friends.”
Farrell also praised Johnny for getting sober after they called it quits.
“I was so happy that he found sobriety after that relationship,” she said. “I was able to guide him to AA, and he was there for the rest of his life and sober and proud.”
Johnny celebrated six years of sobriety in June 2023.
“No alcohol or drugs for 6 years today,” he wrote via his Instagram Story at the time. “Life is better. Life is easier.”
Around the same time, Farrell said she was taking a break from dating. “I’ve had almost every cliché experience. A much older guy try to impress me with a fancy car. A foreign guy tries to get married to get a green card. An alcoholic struggling actor who caused more drama off-screen than on,” she told FHM Canada in April 2023. “There’s a few more but I don’t like complaining so let’s just say I learned to stay away from the dating scene in LA, especially during the making of Cinema Rebel.”
Staying in Touch
“We stayed in touch after we broke up sometimes, and I got to see him kind of prepare for some of his scenes for General Hospital,” Farrell said in her May 2024 video. Johnny began portraying Brando Corbin on General Hospital in 2020. He left the show in 2022.
Taking Time Apart
Despite staying friends for a while after their breakup, Farrell admitted that she hadn’t seen Johnny “in a few years” prior to his death.
“We had to let each other go romantically. … Even as friends he’s very distracting,” she said with a smile. “I haven’t been talking to him because I’ve been focusing on making my movie and he always distracted me. But I know he’s been doing well because I looked on his Facebook [page].”
Mourning His Death
In her emotional tribute video, Farrell said Johnny “will [forever] be a huge part of my journey as a human being” and credited him with inspiring her to make a film she’s been working on.
“He cared so much about doing the right thing and earning things. He taught me that and that inspired me to go make my film in the way that I did that’s not out to the public [yet],” she said. “I wouldn’t have made it without him.”
Farrell also spoke about “human life” being “disregarded” too easily in cases of gun violence such as the one that ended Johnny’s life.
“We gotta support each other and come together. Maybe that’s what Johnny’s gift is for us. Maybe he’s gifting that to all of us,” she said.