Jens Austin Astrup Opens Up On The Loss Of His Dad

Jens Austin Astrup (Kai Taylor) from General Hospital joined Maurice Benard (Sonny Corinthos) on his State of Mind podcast this Sunday. He discussed the loss of his dad when he was 15 years old, and also delved into his rather tragic childhood. Read on for more about how he coped with life’s struggles.

The Introduction 

Maurice Benard always manages to get his guests at ease and then, after they explore a bit of their background, they end up chatting about how they meet life’s challenges. Maurice is well known for his State of Mind podcast where he brings awareness about mental health.

First, Maurice introduced Jens Austin Astrup as a “really, really good-looking dude, and talented actor.” Plus, he reminded viewers that on the ABC show, he’s Trina Robinson (Tabyana Ali’s) “love interest.” Soon they started talking about the real-life Kai’s younger years, and they were not easy for the actor.

The Loss Of Jens’ Dad

Jens thinks his dad suffered from depression, and when he was 15 years old, he took his own life by suicide. He said, “He was depressed for sure. I think it was a culmination of a lot of things. I think he had a lot of regret. I think he felt a lot of guilt.”

It sounded as if his father’s daily struggles to look after his family became just “too hard,” and that became evident because “growing up, we struggled pretty severely.” Before the death, his mom, who came “from Ghana,” had broken things off with his white, Chicago-born dad, so it wasn’t a very happy home.

The Guilt Factor & Homelessness 

One sad part of the story from Jens Austin Astrup was the fact that his dad scraped up some hard-earned cash to buy him some shoes. However, they became useless to him when they broke apart in the spokes of his bike. Angry, he lashed out at Jens, and soon after that, he took his own life.

Fortunately, his dad had connected with an old friend before his death, and later, that friend reassured Jens that he regretted being angry with his son. That made him feel a bit better. Other sad things happened, as GH fans heard that Jens’ mom ended up homeless, and he and his sister went off to live with relatives.

Turning His Life Around

These days, Jens and his sister have reconnected after years of not being on the same page. She struggled with addiction issues and spent time behind bars. Meanwhile, Jens took a different direction after his mom managed to get him into commercial acting.

Somehow, he managed to make a success of his life. Maurice was blown away, asking, “How the heck are you so just positive like a levelheaded good guy?” He added, “Were you born like that?” Well, no, the real-life Kai Taylor explained:

[There are] a lot of pieces of my life that I’m super grateful for, right? Like my mom getting me into Crossroads…[It’s] not luck necessarily, but at times it is luck, right? Like things that just worked out to guide me in a path where I could be who I am. But it was hard.

What do you think about Jens losing his dad so young, his mom ending up homeless, and being sent off to live with relatives? Do you agree that it must have been very difficult to remain positive? Let us know in the comments below, and remember to come back here often for all your General Hospital cast news and updates.