This is my first time to die’ — General Hospital’s Eva LaRue dissects Natalia’s shocking exit story

The writing seemed to be on the wall for General Hospital's Natalia for weeks. She drove drunk, was offered a shady deal by ADA Justine Turner, and then entered into another deal with Sonny. However, we never expected her to go out the way she did — and neither did Eva LaRue.

Natalia's dramatic swan song

Natalia finally realized she would be all alone on General Hospital | Image: ABC

Just a few weeks ago, we thought GH decided to write Natalia off the canvas in a neat and convenient way that would leave the door open for her return. She made a deal to start a new life of luxury in Belize, courtesy of Sonny (Maurice Benard). They would both avoid jail time, and Natalia would be living the good life.

In fact, we thought Natalia was already gone when Sonny suddenly told Jason that her flight was scheduled for Friday. That meant she was still in Port Charles. At that point, we knew something was up and could picture her being a victim of a mob hit. Since car bombs seem to be the way things go in Sonny's life, we were ready, but that is not the way Natalia went out at all.

Instead, it was much more tragic. In Natalia's final scenes, we finally realized just how damaged the character really was. We learned she was an alcoholic (or at least someone who drank a lot) and was apparently on some type of medication that should never be mixed with booze.

We watched as Natalia had a mental breakdown right in her hotel room and drank herself into a stupor while popping pills in between swigs. It was at that point that we knew Natalia would accidentally overdose and wind up dead, something LaRue was grateful for.

Eva LaRue loved her General Hospital exit

General Hospital's Natalia accidentally caused her own death | Image: ABC

"I’ve never been killed before," LaRue told Soap Opera Digest. “This is my first time to die!"

While her All My Children character, Maria Santos, was presumed dead in a plane crash and later turned up alive, we saw Natalia's body and know she is indeed dead-dead.

Like fans, LaRue also expected a hum-drum exit for her character, but was grateful for the chance to play something much more dramatic.

"To be honest, the way I went out, while surprising, was actually like an actor’s greatest gift because they gave me these scenes to leave by that were so juicy and delicious," LaRue said. "If they had just had me go off into the sunset and get on a plane and join Blaze, it would have kind of all been for naught… It would have been a boring exit."

The actress also loved sinking her teeth into Natalia's breakdown in her Metro Court room.