GH’s Ryan Paevey recently shared a surprisingly calm and thoughtful perspective on why Nathan never ended up with Maxie, admitting that the outcome now feels more meaningful with time. He explained that while fans were deeply invested in the pairing, Nathan’s story was ultimately about growth, sacrifice, and knowing when love means letting go. Ryan noted that not every great connection is meant to last forever, and forcing a “perfect ending” would have felt dishonest to the character.

Since Ryan Paevey returned to General Hospital last year, his storyline has been centered around his 7-year disappearance and rejoining the police force. And for a character who came on the show solely to give Maxie a love interest, Paevey reveals how he truly feels about being in Port Charles without her.

But Maxie was Nathan’s wife and Nathan’s world, so returning to Port Charles and finding out she wasn’t there was a hard adjustment for the PCPD detective. “Maxie’s gone, but James is in town, so I’m forging a relationship with my son, getting my job back, and all that basic stuff,” Paevey told Woman’s World about his character.

As for Maxie not being there, Paevey admitted, “For the most part, Nathan wasn’t really Nathan: Nathan was Naxie,” he explained, noting that Nathan was hardly seen outside of his relationship with Maxie during his first run on the show.

“To be untethered to that and get to navigate the full GH canvas, work with new people and characters, and do things I’ve not done before is interesting,” Paevey shared. In recent episodes, Nathan has interacted with James (Gary James Fuller), Brennan (Chris McKenna), Cody (Josh Kelly), but mostly, Lulu (Alexa Havins).

Of course, that all soon may change when Maxie wakes up from her coma and returns to Port Charles. Storms has already teased her comeback, so only time will tell if she’s about to reunite with Nathan or say yes to Spinelli’s (Bradford Anderson) upcoming proposal.