The soap world was shocked on Saturday night when news broke that All My Children alum Esta TerBlanche had died suddenly at the age of 51.
The South African actress' body was found in her home by Los Angeles County authorities, but no cause of death is known as of this writing.
TerBlanche played Hungarian princess Gillian Andrassy on AMC from 1997 to 2001. During that time, she was paired with Cameron Mathison's Ryan Lavery, creating one of the most popular Pine Valley couples of that era.
In 2021, TerBlanche described to Soap Central the immediate connection she felt with Mathison that helped make Ryan and Gillian work so well together.
"I just think our souls connected on a level that was magical," she said. "It's hard to describe. It was a soul connection. It was something deeper than just a surface connection."
Mathison and TerBlanche had lost touch for years, as she worked in her native South Africa for a time, but they reunited a few years back. When Mathison heard about TerBlanche's passing, he honored her in his Instagram stories.
Mathison shared three photos of himself and TerBlanche. One features the pair in character as Ryan and Gillian, another is an ABC publicity photo, and the third is a more recent selfie of the two performers together.
On the first shot, Mathison simply wrote, "RIP my sweet princess." Mathison's words on the third snap detailed a recent time during their friendship. "Esta helped me last year when Red was sick and paralyzed and I was struggling," he wrote. "One of the sweetest people ever."
"Esta helped me last year when Red was sick and paralyzed and I was struggling," he said. "One of the sweetest people ever."
In a July 2024 interview with Soap Opera Digest, TerBlanche explained her pet-sitting duties.
"I saw Cameron recently," TerBlanche said. "I was babysitting his beautiful dog Red, who had cancer, and he was doing everything for him. He was supposed to stay a day, but I kept saying he could stay longer, and after five nights, he started to walk, and it was such an amazing experience. A few months later, Red did pass away, but he got so much better in that time, and we had a very special time."
What are your favorite memories of Ryan and Gillian on AMC? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
