Chad on the down low

Oy.

From the 2/5 issue of TV Guide:

Who knew there were any more envelopes for Passions to push? On Feb. 2, it'll be revealed that the show's very married heartthrob Chad (Charles Divins) has a male lover on the side. Viewers have known for months that he's been trysting with someone in a seedy motel. But not even Divins figured it was a dude. "I knew the revelation would be shocking, but I thought it would turn out to be Pilar," he says, referring to the soap's saintly Mexican matriarch. The plot mirrors one of Oprah's hot topics--how supposedly straight African-American men go on the "down low" and have secret gay sex.

What will this do to Chad, who has been a Passions hero since 1999? Won't the character's deceit and willingness to jeopardize the health of his wife, Whitney, pretty much ruin his popularity with the fans? "We'll have to see how it plays out," notes an oddly optomistic Divins. "Chad loves his wife, so in his heart this isn't a deception. He is not in love with this other guy. He's addicted to sex." The identity of Chad's bed buddy is revealed on Feb. 27. No date yet for the ultimate TiVo moment: the day Whitney finds out!

My friends and I have been guessing this for weeks, and our money was on Jared (James Stevenson). But since Jared's since caught Chad with this person, it can't be him. Whomever it is, let's just say I'm sure James Reilly can be counted on to handle this story with the utmost delicacy. Ha!