Despite being the star of a hit soap opera, General Hospital star Nathan Dean (formerly Parsons) has struggled with his mental health.
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The actor did not know his younger brother, Jared, was going through a similar experience. Jared died in 2018.
What Happened to Nathan Dean's Brother?
The 37-year-old Dean talked about Jared's death on a recent episode of the State of Mind podcast.
Hosted by his General Hospital co-star Maurice Benard, Dean shared what happened in the interview, which was released just before World Semicolon Day—an annual suicide prevention observance on April 16.
"He was 28," said Dean. "He waited two weeks after my mom's birthday just so he could have a happy birthday with her, and then he drove to Fort Hood and shot himself in the face. There was no lead-up to it."
Neither Dean nor his family noticed any signs, and he explained that Jared was "fantastic" at hiding his struggle. But the General Hospital actor was going through his own mental health challenges.
"I never imagined that my little brother was going through the same thing," he said. "We had no idea he was dealing with that." I think that's the biggest problem with mental health. Until the individual can actually access the problem... It's just unknown."
"It's conversations like this that need to be had all the time... not only for us, but for whoever is out there going, 'Now I can talk,'" added Benard.
Dean Also Opened Up About His "General Hospital" Co-Star, Anthony Geary
Dean is set to return to General Hospital after a long absence. As Ethan Lovett, the son of Luke Spencer (Anthony Geary) and Holly Sutton (Emma Samms), he reflected on the recent loss of his friend and on-screen father.
Dean shared that he spent a lot of time with his co-star off-screen in previous years, but he hadn't seen him recently due to conflicting work schedules. Dean's wife broke the news to him.
"I didn't really know what to do with that information," Dean said. "It was the same way like when my brother passed... I'll grieve, but did they live the life they wanted to live?... From my understanding, Tony was asleep. He passed away peacefully, but I didn't know what to do with that. Are we ever supposed to know what to do with death? It's an inevitable thing... but how do you then approach it?"
But Dean is looking forward to his return to General Hospital and the arrival of his third child.
You can watch the full episode of State of Mind below.
