Tyler Christopher, Actor and Eva Longoria’s Ex-Husband, Dead at 50

Daytime Emmy-winning actor Tyler Christopher, who was once married to Eva Longoria, has died suddenly. He was only 50 years old and is yet another name in a series of untimely passings in Hollywood in 2023.

His passing happened unexpectedly.

Tyler Christopher, who was popular for his long recurring role as Nikolas Cassadine in daytime soap opera General Hospital, passed away at age 50. The news was confirmed by former General Hospital co-star Maurice Benard on Instagram. “It is with great sadness that we share the news of the passing of Tyler Christopher. Tyler passed away this morning following a cardiac event in his San Diego apartment,” Benard announced, revealing his cause of death.

“Tyler was a truly talented individual that lit up the screen in every scene he performed and relished bringing joy to his loyal fans through his acting. Tyler was a sweet soul and wonderful friend to all of those who knew him. Tyler was an advocate for better mental health and substance use treatment who openly spoke about his struggles with bipolar depression and alcohol. We are beyond devastated by the loss of our dear friend and pray for his children and his father,” he added.

Christopher played Cassadine for nearly 1200 episodes over the course of 20 years, from 1996 to 2016, which won him one Daytime Emmy in 1998 and two other nominations.

From 2002 to 2004, Christopher was married to actress Eva Longoria. The pair met after she first appeared in a 2000 episode of General Hospital. Although any other details of their relationship were kept private, the couple walked out together on red carpets multiple times before separating.

In 2008, Longoria spoke highly of her former husband and explained how the end of their relationship might have been her fault. “He was a lovely man, but I was very young,” Longoria said. “I didn’t know who I was, and I was still struggling as an actor. I was a terrible wife.”

The late actor went on to re-marry in 2008, to auto racing pit reporter Brienne Pedigo, with whom he had both of his children, Greysun James and Bohemee. The two split in 2021.

Tributes quickly started flooding in.

Alyssa Milano was one of the first celebrities to turn to social media to pay homage to the late actor. Milano, well-known for portraying Phoebe Halliwell for 8 seasons on Charmed, took to Instagram to share a still from an episode of the show which Christopher also featured in. “It feels like the world is caving in. Tyler Christopher has passed away,” she captioned. “He was a wonderful actor and so good in the Charmed episode ’Pardon My Past’. I remember him as being a sweet, sweet, soul. May he rest in peace. My condolences to his friends and family.”

Others followed, like actor Sean Kanan, recognized for his work on The Karate Kid II and III, and Cobra Kai, who expressed his shock at the news. “Stunned to hear that Tyler Christopher passed away. I have no words. RIP my friend,” he said.

Unfortunately, Christopher is among other celebrities who passed away suddenly in 2023. Not too long before, Matthew Perry’s death shocked the world. However, in a 2022 interview, the actor spoke about how he’d like to be remembered once he passed away, and he made it clear he didn’t want the hit show Friends to be the first thing people talked about.