It was the kind of Hollywood marriage people actually believed in. For over two decades, Cameron Mathison and Vanessa Arevalo were the "it" couple of the daytime TV world—stable, glowing, and seemingly untouchable by the typical tabloid drama. Then came July 2024. Just four days after they marked their 22nd wedding anniversary, the General Hospital star and the former model dropped a bombshell on Instagram: they were calling it quits.
If you’ve been following the soap opera circuit, you know this wasn't just another celebrity breakup. It felt personal to fans who had watched them grow from young models in New York to a powerhouse family with two kids and a massive house in California. Honestly, it’s one of those situations where the "why" is just as complicated as the "how."
Who is Cameron Mathison's Wife, Vanessa Arevalo?
Vanessa Arevalo isn't just a "plus-one." Long before she was known as Cameron Mathison wife, she was a successful model in her own right. Born in the mid-1960s (she’s currently 58), Vanessa spent eighteen years crushing it in the fashion industry. She didn't just walk runways; she had her own clothing line for babies called KEA+JOBY, which basically took over the high-end boutique scene for a while.
They met in 1998. Both were modeling in New York City, which sounds like a total rom-com setup. They dated for a year before getting serious, and then Cameron pulled off the ultimate proposal. He took her to the top of a mountain in Vail, Colorado. It was winter. It was freezing. It was perfect. They tied the knot on July 27, 2002.
The Real Story Behind the Split
The announcement in 2024 was heavy. "After 22 years of marriage, we have made the difficult decision to part ways," their joint statement read. They talked about love and respect, which everyone says, but with these two, people actually believed it.
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But here’s the thing: it wasn’t out of nowhere. Cameron has since admitted that the separation was a "surprise" to him in some ways, even though things hadn't been smooth for a long time. In a vulnerable moment on Jennie Garth's podcast, he revealed that they were dealing with "specific conditions" that made the marriage incredibly tough.
We often see the red carpet photos and think it’s all smiles. It wasn’t. Cameron once shared that back when he was on Dancing with the Stars in 2007, things were already rocky. He was terrified of being paired with a "sexy" dancer because he knew his marriage was on thin ice. Vanessa was a "trooper" through it, but the cracks were there nearly twenty years before the final break.
A Family Disrupted by Fire and Fate
Life didn't stop being chaotic after the divorce announcement. In January 2025, a massive wildfire in Los Angeles tore through Cameron's home. It was a tragedy that, weirdly enough, forced a strange kind of healing.
With his house gone, Cameron actually moved back in with Vanessa. He stayed in their kids' old room.
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Think about that for a second. You’re in the middle of a divorce after 22 years, and suddenly you’re sharing a roof again because of a natural disaster. Cameron described it as a moment that "erased a lot of the negativity." They cried. They talked. They weren't getting back together, but they found a "real place of love" again. It's proof that sometimes, the end of a marriage doesn't have to mean the end of a soul connection.
The Kids and the "Empty Nest" Factor
Timing is everything. The split happened right as their kids were leaving the house.
- Lucas Arthur Mathison, their son, is now 22 and studying in London.
- Leila Emmanuelle Mathison, their daughter, is 19 and living in Paris.
Cameron has been very vocal about his "empty nester" anxiety. For years, the kids were the glue. When that glue moves to Europe for college, the silence in a big house can be deafening. It’s a common trigger for long-term couples to realize they don't know how to be "just us" anymore.
Vanessa’s Life Now: More Than Just a Headline
While Cameron stays in the spotlight on General Hospital and through his health coaching, Vanessa has stayed a bit more private. She did make a fun cameo on General Hospital back in 2022 as an executive coach named Mia. It was a "dream come true" for her because she’s actually a massive fan of the show.
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She’s also been a huge support system for Cameron through his health battles. When he was diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma (kidney cancer) in 2019, Vanessa was the one by his side through the surgery and the grueling recovery. Even now, post-split, she’s often the first person to leave a supportive comment on his Instagram posts.
Lessons from a 22-Year Marriage
What can we actually learn from the Mathisons? First, longevity isn't the only metric for success. Twenty-two years is a lifetime in Hollywood. They raised two kids who seem grounded and adventurous. They survived cancer. They survived career shifts.
The reality is that people change. Cameron has dove deep into biohacking and holistic health (partly due to his cancer scare), while Vanessa has focused on her own path. Sometimes two paths just stop being parallel.
Key Takeaways for Moving Forward:
- Communication is a Moving Target: What worked for the Mathisons in 1998 didn't work in 2024. Regularly "checking under the hood" of a relationship is vital, even when things seem fine.
- The "Empty Nest" is Real: If your entire identity is wrapped up in being a parent, the transition to being an individual again can be a breaking point for a marriage.
- Grace in Ending: You can still love someone and realize you can't live with them. The way they’ve handled the 2025 fire and their public interactions shows that a "conscious uncoupling" (as annoying as that phrase can be) is actually possible.
If you're following their story, the best thing to do is keep an eye on their social media for updates on their co-parenting journey. They've proven that while the title of "husband and wife" might be gone, the family unit remains. Keep your focus on how they support their kids abroad; that's where the real heart of the story lives now.