General Hospital Alum Jonathan Jackson Honors Hayden Panettiere, His Late Nashville Leading Lady

Michael Maloney Thu, August 20, 2026 at 3:27 AM UTC

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Nashville stars Hayden Panettiere and Jonathan Jackson ©JPI

General Hospital fans who followed Jonathan Jackson to the nighttime serial, Nashville, saw his character, Avery Barkley, be paired with Juliette Barnes, played by the late Hayden Panettiere. Now, the Daytime Emmy winner is remembering his former co-star, following her passing on August 16.

Remembering Hayden Panettiere

"I have no words to express the loss of our beloved Hayden," Jackson posted. "She had such a bright light within her. She was a sensitive soul. Incredibly funny and witty. Amazingly gifted, with a great sense of empathy and compassion.

"We both grew up in the industry, although she started even younger than me, but we shared that," the actor continues. "A silent knowing of how intense the struggles can be. She was an absolute joy to work with. Focused, spontaneous, and brilliant. The most important thing between friends and coworkers is trust, and we had this.

"Elisa [my wife, Lisa Vultaggio, ex-Hannah, GH] and I both love and cherish her deeply, like our own sister," Jackson continued. "She holds that place in our hearts. My prayer for her every day we worked together was that she would know how loved she is and that she would find the peace that she was looking for.

"It’s not possible to express the shock and grief that so many of us feel right now," the actor offered. "Our humble prayers are with her family. May God’s angels carry you to your place of rest and true peace. We love you, Hayden. You will always be in our hearts. Always."

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Remembering "Javery"

Charles Esten (Deacon Claybourne), Hayden Panettiere (Juliet Barnes), Connie Britton (Rayna James), Clare Bowen (Scarlett O’Connor), Sam Palladino (Gunnar Scott), and Jonathan Jackson (Avery Barkley) | Image: JPI

There was something serendipitous about Jackson and Panettiere being paired together in prime time as they played the offspring of two daytime supercouples on soaps. Lucky is the son of Laura Webber Collins (Genie Francis) and Luke Spencer (the late Anthony Geary), and Panettiere played Guiding Light's Lizzie Spaulding, the daughter of Phillip Spaulding (Grant Aleksander) and Beth Raines Spaulding (Beth Chamberlin).

Smush names -- a handle that combines two character names into one -- aren't limited to daytime romantic duos. Nashville fans dubbed Juliet and Avery into the singular name "Javery."

Juliet and Avery had just as many troubles as characters on daytime soap operas do. The couple's relationship spanned over the show's six seasons. The singers went through an unplanned pregnancy, postpartum depression (which Panettiere suffered from in real-life), and breakups.

"Seriously, I loved both your chemistry on the show," posted Instagram user @gentlemandevonreed. "Some of my all-time favorite moments in TV history had Avery Barkley and Juliette Barnes."

In the series finale in 2018, Juliet and Avery reunited, and they were expecting a second child.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”