In the soap opera world, marriages aren’t usually “til death do us part.” No one knows that better than All My Children’s Erica Kane. Played by the legendary Susan Lucci, Pine Valley’s most famous citizen has been married 10 times, though not all of them are technically legal.
Whether it’s for love or business, Erica takes her marriages seriously. Some she was so devoted to, she married them twice. No matter how long they lasted, they’re all fascinating relationships that chronicle the character’s growth, so here are all of Erica Kane’s marriages ranked from worst to best.
PHIL BRENT
Erica’s second marriage was never built to last, as it came about after she found herself pregnant. Erica never really wanted Phil Brent, she just wanted to keep him away from Tara Martin. Defeating women she finds weak is running theme for her.
Since this was the early days of the show, when Erica became pregnant, the pair married to give the child a family. Following her miscarriage, Phil wanted a divorce, but Erica wouldn’t let him go until she found someone better in his father Nick. Phil isn’t one of her great loves.
JEFF MARTIN
The first time she got married, Erica loved having the trophy status of a doctor as a husband. They were doomed from the start, as Jeff obviously wanted a stay at home housewife, something Erica Kane will never be.
When money became a problem, Erica began modeling, and her career immediately took off. Getting pregnant wasn’t part of her plan, which led to the ground-breaking story where she had an abortion. Once Jeff found out what happened, their marriage never recovered, though they were drawn to one another years later.
TRAVIS MONTGOMERY
Erica and Travis’ relationship was never easy, especially their second marriage. They got divorced the first time after she started to fall for his brother (more on that later.) However, when their daughter Bianca developed a serious illness, they remarried to make her recovery easier.
Of course, the anger and bitterness of their first marriage wasn’t gone, and it was a miserable union. Things got even worse when she and Jack finally acted on their feelings, resulting in divorce and a brutal custody battle for Bianca.
TOM CUDAHY
Former football player Tom may have started out as someone to make Nick jealous, but Erica absolutely had genuine feelings for him.Unfortunately, Tom wanted a family and Erica’s career would always come before settling down. When he found out about her birth control pills, it was over.
Despite how things ended between the two, Erica and Tom remained friends. A fact which led to a decades long rivalry between Erica and Tom’s wife Brooke. In addition to Tom, the two often found themselves fighting over many of the same men, with their relationship lasting longer than the ones they had with said men.
ADAM CHANDLER
Her first go round with Adam was all about advancing her career, as he was producing the movie based on her biography and traded marriage for the lead role. Though she was really in love with Mike Roy, she said yes. Of course. Adam didn’t keep up his end of the bargain, so she had to figure out how to get away from him.
As is his way, Adam needed to test his wife’s loyalty by faking his death. This time it backfired, since Erica was thrilled that she and Mike were free to be together. They eventually parted ways, but constantly found themselves involved in each other’s lives.
MIKE ROY
Though she was married to Adam at the time, Mike was the true love Erica wanted to be with. They met when he was the writer on her biography, finding a way to be together, despite Adam’s scheming. They were first married when Adam faked his death, but it was invalid when Adam revealed himself.
Once she and Adam were separated, Erica and Mike were set to marry for real, but he was shot. A heart broken Erica said her vows to Mike as he passed away. Though neither marriage was legal, they mean just as much to Erica.
Wanting to get Erica back in his life, Adam claimed their first marriage never actually ended, and they were still married. Obviously, there was no love at this point, but she had to play along to get a divorce.
The joy in Adam and Erica’s relationship is the honesty. As the characters got older, there was no pretense about who they were. Even when they were lying to each other, everyone was expecting the lies. Sometimes they were allies, sometimes they were enemies, but they were always connected.
Since status has always been important to her, it makes sense that Erica would get involved with a politician. Once again pregnancy almost derailed one of her relationships, but she and Travis got married and had a happy family for a while.
Though she really loved Travis, she was almost immediately drawn to his brother Jack. A triangle between two brothers isn’t going to work out well for anyone, with it ending just as bad as you would expect. However, the pair found peace, with his angel coming back to help her when she needed it.
DIMITRI MARICK
Dimitri Marick is one of Erica’s true great loves, so it’s no surprise she married him twice. Unfortunately, not even their romance was enough to withstand the perils of substance abuse. Shortly after their second wedding, she suffered a fall at a photoshoot, resulting in a pain killer addiction.
Creepy doctor Jonathan Kinder used her dependence to take advantage of Erica, ruining her marriage to Dimitri. He tried to support her through her problems, but Kinder tricked Dimitri into thinking Erica cheated. Sadly, they never made it down the aisle a third time, as too much drama happened while they were apart.
Right from the start Hungarian count Dimitri Marick proved himself to be one of the rare men who was Erica’s equal in a relationship. He was planning a takeover of Enchantment, but like all the others, found himself immediately in love. They overcame their loveless marriages to be together, having a fairytale wedding.
As happy as they were, Erica’s long lost daughter Kendall came to town around the same time, with nothing but revenge on her mind. Kendall hated Erica for putting her up for adoption, and tried to seduce Dimitri to destroy her mother. Dimitri didn’t fall for her schemes, but Kendall’s lies caused Erica to stab Dimitri.
JACKSON MONTGOMERY
Erica has had many loves, but only one has been the love of her life. Jack and Erica were drawn together from day one, with that connection never going away. Over the years, the two have found themselves getting together and breaking up several times. Even when they’re not romantically involved, they’re always in each other’s lives.
When they finally got married, fans rejoiced, while also knowing it wouldn’t last, because this is a soap opera. They really had a happy blended family for a while, but the return of Jeff Martin led her to cheat on Jack. Though stories kept them separated for the show’s last few years, he’s clearly Erica’s endgame.
