Hayden Barnes (Rebecca Budig)

Hayden Barnes is a fictional character on the ABC Daytime soap opera, General Hospital.

She has been portrayed Rebecca Budig since the character's debut on March 20, 2015.

Casting
Daytime Emmy nominated actress and  alumni Rebecca Budig debuted on General Hospital in the role of Hayden Barnes on March 20, 2015 as the woman pretending to be the wife of Jake Doe (Billy Miller).

Budig's casting was announced on Twitter by executive producer Frank Valentini and head writer Ron Carlivati on February 10, 2015. "I've always loved GH and I love Frank, so it’s really exciting to get to go over there and play" Budig said to Soap Opera Digest. Carlivati described the character as "a real spitfire" and Valentini said it was "Killer role."

In an interview with Michael Logan for TV Insider, the character was officially revealed to be Hayden Barnes. Budig described the character as "ballsy and very direct" similar to her former All My Children character,. "However", Budig continued, "this one is much more out there than Greenlee." Budig admitted that she herself was surprised by some of Hayden's actions. The actress anticipated fan backlash, considering the trouble she is sure to stir up for the popular heroine Elizabeth Webber (Rebecca Herbst) in her romance with Jake. Logan described Hayden as a "maneater."

Storylines
On March 20, 2015, Hayden arrives at Elizabeth Webber's doorstep, asking for her husband Jake. Hayden reveals to Elizabeth and Jake that the news of Jake's attempted bombing of the The Haunted Star reached Beechers Corners, where Hayden lives. Hayden read that Jake was in a terrific car accident and suffered severe brain injury and "knew it was her husband". Hayden told Jake and Elizabeth that she thought Jake had left her after a terrible fight while camping, leading to the police not taking her seriously when she reported him missing. After leaving Elizabeth's house, it is revealed that Hayden is working for Ric Lansing to break up Elizabeth and Jake, since Ric wanted Elizabeth all for himself. Following her divorce, Hayden was left broke and needed money.

After showing proof of their marriage, Jake moved into Hayden's Metro Court hotel room, although they planned to stay in Port Charles because of Jake's job. During this time, Hayden meets and starts sleeping with Nikolas Cassadine, who knows that she isn't Jake's wife because he knows that Jake is really Jason. Hayden figures out that Nikolas knows who Jake is and uses it to her advantage.

During the Nurses' Ball, Ric and Hayden are exposed and she is kicked out of the Metro Court. Hayden goes to Nikolas and starts blackmailing him (and Elizabeth) with the info that Jake is Jason. Nikolas tells her to go tell Jason the truth to get her off his back. Hayden goes to the Extreme Motors where Jake/Jason works and finds him and Sam there but before she can say anything she is shot in the head presumably by Shawn Butler, who was sent by Sonny Corinthos to kill Jake. While Sam attends to her, Hayden tells Sam that she isn't the only one who knows who Jake is. It is later revealed that Nikolas sent a hit man as well and it was him who shot Hayden. When she gets to the hospital she tries to tell Jake who he is but has a seizure but she can. Patrick operates but she is left in a coma.

Crimes Committed

 * Fraud; pretended to be Jake Doe's wife under the orders of Ric Lansing, who was paying her to do it [Mar 20-May 1, 2015; revealed Mar 24, 2015]
 * Blackmailing Nikolas Cassadine and Elizabeth Webber about Jake being Jason [May 2015-present]

Health and Vitals

 * Manhandled by Nikolas Cassadine [Apr 30, 2015]
 * Shot in the head by a hit man under the orders of Nikolas Cassadine [May 18, 2015]
 * Suffered a seizure [revealed May 19, 2015]
 * Went into surgery to remove the bullet from her head and the surgery was successful but she was left comatose [May 19, 2015; revealed May 20, 2015]