Tyler Christopher's co-star from General Hospital has spoken out about the star's death as more devastating details about the tragedy have also emerged.
On Wednesday (November 1), it was announced that the actor had passed away aged 50 after suffering a cardiac emergency the day before.
Taking to Instagram, his co-star on the hit medical show stated that she was sharing the news with "great sadness."
"Tyler passed away this morning following a cardiac event in his San Diego apartment," Maurice Benard wrote in a tribute post. "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."
She went on to describe him as a "sweet soul" and a "wonderful friend" before going on to detail his work in the mental health field.
"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," the statement concluded.
Alyssa Milano, who worked with the actor on Charmed, referred to him as a "wonderful actor" and General Hospital executive producer Frank Valentini said that he was "heartbroken" upon hearing the news.
"He was kind, an incredible actor and a dear friend, who was beloved by our #GH family and fans of Nikolas Cassadine," Valentini wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Before his death, Christopher opened up about his alcoholism and bipolar disorder in a recent op-ed for Reader’s Digest.
"Before I took the leap to recovery, I struggled with my mental health," he wrote. "My addiction to alcohol contributed to losing my jobs on General Hospital and Days of Our Lives — no one else is to blame.
"Eventually, I saw the light, and I was in a fortunate enough position to be able to get the help I truly needed for my mental health and sobriety," he added.
He went on to state that the coronavirus pandemic only intensified his struggles, but thankfully, he was able to get the help he needed thanks to an inpatient program.
While opening up further on an episode of his 'State of Mind' podcast, the 50-year-old detailed the struggles he was enduring after he was subsequently fired from Days Of Our Lives, which he starred in from 2001 to 2019, and Ice Storm, which hit our screens earlier this year.
"It crushed me, because I took for granted the one thing I love the most," he said.
He continued: "It was devastating for a myriad of reasons. One, the thing that I love the most was taken away. Two, I threw it away. Nobody took it away from me. I dropped it, OK? Having to walk out the doors under those circumstances? That was like, 'Wow, this is for real, dude. This is for real.'
"And I haven’t been back since. That ship has sailed," he concluded.
Elsewhere in the episode, he also got real about how his battle with addiction ended up causing him to flatline three times - twice from poisoning and once from withdrawal.
"Nobody knows that. I am saying it here for the first time," he said. "Three times I have flatlined, and they brought me back."
Our thoughts and prayers are with Christopher's family and friends during this time.
