On General Hospital, Kate Mansi plays the sister of a woman dealing with infertility as a result of endometriosis, a disease in which the uterine tissue grows out of the uterus, causing debilitating pain and, sometimes, trouble conceiving.
On-screen, Kristina became both an egg donor for Molly and a gestational surrogate who is now pregnant with a child using her egg and T.J.'s sperm, and she has every intention of giving the child to Molly and T.J. once it is born.
Off-screen, Mansi herself suffers from endometriosis. In fact, learning that she would be involved with a story chronicling this disease is one of the things that prompted her to take the role last year.
"I have endometriosis myself," Mansi told Soap Opera Digest at the time. "I have spoken on several panels about it, and as I get older, I think it's so important for me to choose stories that [center on] things that I really care about and am passionate about speaking out on and using my voice for."
https://www.soapoperadigest.com/content/icymi-kate-mansi-interview-1726404/
As March began, Mansi chose to mark Endometriosis Awareness Month by posting a video on Instagram, illustrating the injections and emotions one endures when they choose to freeze their eggs. Next to the video, she tells her story.
"March is Endometriosis Awareness Month, so I'm sharing a look into my egg-freezing journey a couple years ago," the actress began. "Contrary to what I had heard and made up in my mind, it was far from the experience it's been painted as."
Mansi explains her initial hesitancy about freezing her eggs when she first received her endometriosis diagnosis.
"When I was diagnosed with endo back in 2015, I was told to freeze my eggs but was too afraid it would hit my mind/body/spirit too hard with the hormones. If I'm honest, I was sure I'd get fat, lose control my skin and have depression/anxiety through the roof. So I put it off. For YEARS. Until a few yrs ago when I knew my marriage was over -- and this was clearly top priority.
"I froze my eggs at the least ideal time -- in Covid, while going through a divorce. And yet, was filled with an immense amount of joy. Comfort and empowerment, but most of all -- the gift of deeply seeing what I was capable of, physically and emotionally bc I made a commitment to myself to reframe my narrative around it."
Ultimately, Mansi chose to turn this physically and emotionally harrowing experience into something uplifting and positive.
"I made a funny playlist (which I'll happily share), filmed myself doing every shot so I felt safe and could show doctors what I did if anything went wrong, had FT with friends lined up for after if I felt like company. People like @mrbuggy @marisa.g.ramirez @shelleyhennig who I knew would help me maintain the humor in it all. The experience was not without challenges, but the strength I gained from them only furthered my connection to myself.
"Freezing your eggs, (or anything seemingly daunting for that matter) doesn't have to be anything more than what you choose to make it."
As Mansi plays out Kristina and Molly's experience with endometriosis and child-bearing decisions -- and all the emotions that come with it -- we see Kristina's own empowerment, but we also know this story will not come without a soapy ending.
General Hospital announced in May 2023 that Mansi would be taking over the role of Kristina. She made her daytime debut in 2010 on Days of our Lives. Kate Mansi was named Outstanding Supporting Actress at the Daytime Emmys in 2017.
Can you relate to Kristina's and Kate Mansi's journey? 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.
