Soap Opera Star Susan Lucci Was Married to the Same Man for More Than 50 Years

During her time on All My Children, Susan Lucci's Erica Kane was married 11 times to eight different men. In January 2025, Susan chatted with Bravo's kingmaker, Andy Cohen, for an event celebrating the soap opera's 55th anniversary. According to People, during the Q&A portion, an audience member asked Susan who her favorite fictional spouse was. "So many men, so little time," she jokingly responded.

In the real world, Susan couldn't be less like her alter ego. She married her husband in 1969. The two were still together until he died in 2022. Since then, Susan has been living with the loss of someone she deeply loved for more than five decades. The actor has opened up about life without her husband.

In her memoir titled La Lucci, the soap opera star wrote about the excruciating grief she felt following the death of her husband, Helmut Huber. She felt like "half a person" and had trouble finding joy in anything. Susan couldn't even listen to music. "The minute I fell in love like I did with my husband, I knew how vulnerable I was," she told People. After he died, Susan said she was "completely lost."

It a while, but eventually Susan said she started seeing what she believed were signs from Helmut. She didn't realize that's what she was experiencing until a friend sent her a book that provided examples of what a loved one might do to let someone know they were still there. Her husband was born on Oct. 10, and as such loved the number 10. Suddenly, Susan started seeing dimes everywhere. They would show up in pairs in unexpected places.

One evening, while at an outdoor dinner party organized by Susan's college roommate, she found a large purple feather on her chair. There were no other feathers on anyone else's chairs. "Helmut was very funny," said Susan. "He had such a great sense of humor. He made me laugh all the time. And I thought that must be a sign from him." She has since seen feathers in the most unusual places. "I chose to believe these are signs. I just believe them and they're there."

Susan became Erica Kane immediately upon graduating from college. She signed a three-year deal and started in 1970, and didn't leave until the show ended in 2011. "I had been playing Erica my whole adult life, and I didn't know — how will it be to walk around now?" she asked in her book. She wondered if she would ever work again.

Thankfully, Susan did work again. She spent three years on the hit ABC series Devious Maids and hosted a true crime show called Deadly Affairs. That ran for two years. In 2026, Susan has a part in the Jonah Hill film Outcome. She stars alongside Keanu Reeves, Cameron Diaz, and Matt Bomer. When asked by. USA Today if there is a place for soap operas anymore, Susan said yes. She believes people will always want to see stories of real human connections.