Rex Balsom Rex Balsom is a fictional character from the American daytime drama One Life to Live, portrayed by John-Paul Lavoisier from May 9, 2002, to January 12, 2012. Casting and characterization With the character initially named "Jamie" prior to production, then-Executive Producer Gary Tomlin "toyed with the idea" of putting Rex in a gay storyline and Lavoisier stated in Soap Opera Digest in 2003: "I was asked by the higher powers at the show how I would feel about doing something like that. I said, 'Absolutely, any plot you want to give me, I'll take on strong.' And they said, 'Okay, we just wanted to check.'" However, this idea never realized, with the character repeatedly paired with women. Calling Rex a "heterosexual horndog," Lavoisier noted he "added a glint in [Rex's] eye he'd lifted from Ryan Phillippe's ... Cruel Intentions character of Sebastian. 'They said, "Sure, go with that. Start with that." And that was pretty much it.'" In 2007, the series revisited Rex's backstory, introduction of the character's high school girlfriend, Gigi Morasco, and her son, Shane — with Gigi having something she has waited years to tell him — that Shane is Rex's son; this is confirmed on March 17, 2008. Tomlin's return to the series as Head Writer during the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike also featured Rex beginning an investigation into his own family history, prompted by his pending wedding to Adriana Cramer and the "suspicious" behavior of his mother Roxy. Rex was born in 1979, as a result of an affair between Clint Buchanan and Echo DiSavoy. Storylines 2002–05 Believing Roxy Balsom is her biological mother, newspaper heiress Jessica Buchanan travels to Michigan in 2002 to meet Roxy's son Rex. Money-hungry schemer Rex soon comes to Llanview to take advantage of the fact that Jessica is a member of the wealthy Lord and Buchanan families. Raised by his father's sister Corinne Balsom, Rex has an uneasy relationship with the wild, unreliable Roxy. It is ultimately revealed that Jessica had not been switched at birth with Rex's sister Natalie, but that the women are actually fraternal twins and both the daughters of Victoria Lord Davidson. Rex has remained close to Natalie, the "sister" he grew up with, and maintains a friendship with Jessica. Rex becomes involved with Jennifer Rappaport, a former manipulator who is trying to follow a more respectable path after the murder of her father. Torn between bad boy Rex and the wholesome clergyman Joey Buchanan, Jen first elopes with Rex in the summer of 2003 and then quickly divorces the union to marry Joey in a more traditional ceremony in August. Jen miscarries Joey's baby thanks to a bumpy motorcycle ride on Rex's bike; Rex extorts the deed to Jen's father's house from her by threatening to reveal their affair to Joey. The truth comes out and Jen and Joey divorce, but Jen begins a relationship with Riley Colson. Rex later has a short relationship with Jen's mother, Lindsay Rappaport. Opportunist Rex becomes a bit more respectable by taking over management of R. J. Gannon's nightclub Ultra Violet. Over the years, Rex parlays his street smarts and shady connections into a sideline career as an amateur private investigator. In occasionally aiding the police, Rex develops a friendship with Police Commissioner Bo Buchanan, who is constantly frustrated by Rex's mischief and methods but cares about him like a son. 2006–08 In 2006, Rex becomes romantically involved with Adriana Cramer, whose mother Dorian Lord disapproves of the match and goes to great lengths to keep them apart. When one of Dorian's plans backfires