On General Hospital, Jack Brennan has no family to lean on as he navigates the drama and danger in Port Charles. In real life, Chris McKenna, who plays Brennan, has a happy family life. He is currently with family on a special trip to Rome.
General Hospital star has a happy family life
McKenna is in Italy with his mother, fulfilling a promise he made to her when the COVID pandemic shut down daily life and made travel difficult and dangerous in 2020.
On his social media accounts, the GH star shared several pictures of himself and his mom at several spots in Rome. The most important spot to them was the Roman Colosseum, as they took a picture from the upper levels of the 2,000-year old amphitheatre, with the entire structure in the background.
McKenna captioned the post on Instagram by describing this promise to his mother, “During Covid, in an effort to keep our spirits up, I gave my mom a picture of the Colosseum and promised I’d take her to Rome when this was all over. I finally made good.”
GH costars commented on the post. Jen Ray (Suzanne) said, “What a wonderful son! Looks like a fantastic trip!” Cameron Mathison (Drew Cain) commented with a pair of heart-eyes emojis.
Many followers commented on the posts, telling the former One Life to Live star what a great son he is.
The Instagram user c.t.gross shared some life experience, saying, “I know how much this means to your mom since my brother-in-law, who worked for an airline company for many, many years, also took his mom on wonderful vacations twice a year! Oh, how her eyes lit up with a sparkle, telling me and my husband all about her ‘adventures’! You’re a Good Son, Chris McKenna.”
The user pjmefm629 said, “Oh, she looks so thrilled. What a great son she raised ❤️❤️” The Instagram user and a mother, dmcopertino, showed a little jealousy with humor, adding “That is so special 😘 I’d better tell one of my four sons that they need to do that for me… lol.”
On X (formerly Twitter), a few fans shared photos from their own experiences in Rome.
The X user @politeracy said, “Aww. Good for you. My husband and I took my mom to Scotland, England, and Spain when she was 70. So glad I had the chance to do that for her. When she passed away, 7 years later, she was still carrying a 1£ coin (she affectionately referred to them as “chubbies”) in her wallet.” @dotterp shared a historical perspective, saying, “ Thanks for sharing these wonderful pictures. My daughter was in Rome on a business trip last year. While she was there, the new pope was selected. It was an exciting time to be in Rome!”
McKenna has regularly shared moments from his family life. He married Lovisa Jansson in 2022, and they had a son, Spencer, in 2024.
McKenna’s mother spent time at the GH studio last September in a special family reunion. She, Lovisa, and Spencer posed for pictures with Erika Slezak, who played McKenna’s mother, Viki Lord Riley Buchanan, on OLTL, and was at GH playing Ronnie Bard. the long-lost sister of the late Monica Bard Quartermaine (Leslie Charleson).
McKenna captioned that post, “Just indescribable having Erika here. To be meeting my family after so many decades apart is incredible. My two moms and the mother of my son, together. So grateful. #OLTL #GH.”
Catch all-new episodes of General Hospital weekdays on ABC and Hulu.
Edited by Michael Maloney