Dante Falconeri and Lulu Spencer

Dante (Zamprogna) and Lulu (Berman) in 2010.

Dante Angelo Falconeri and Lesley Lu "Lulu" Spencer are fictional characters from the ABC daytime drama, General Hospital and have been a popular pairing since their on-screen romance began; certain sources have deemed them a "supercouple-in-the-making". Dante, the son of Port Charles kingpin, Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) is portrayed by Dominic Zamprogna and Lulu, the only daughter of iconic supercouple, Luke and Laura (Anthony Geary and Genie Francis) is portrayed by Julie Marie Berman. The couple is often referred to by the portmanteau, Lante, though some fans prefer DuLu.

Writing and Music

When Zamprogna first came on-screen as Dominic/Dante in 2009, he brought his own fan following. However, once paired with Berman, the couple's popularity skyrocketed.

Then headwriter Robert Guza, Jr. had fans glued to their televisions with the start of this pairing. The history between the two families (Corinthos and Spencer families) alone would make for a great story. According to a statement made by Guza for Soaps on Demand, "Dante & Lulu always felt that it was them against everyone else and now it literally comes to that. With the exception of Olivia and Luke, to some extent, the couple would face the wrath of family and friends over Dante turning Michael in to the cops. One of the positive things that happens in this whole (Michael story) arc is this strongly reinforces Lulu and Dante's connection in a big way."

“	Lulu and Dante are a couple we are committed to...you can expect their romance to flourish during this sweeps period and throughout the year. These two are now connected more than ever before.	”
—Robert Guza, Jr.

The couple's official theme song is "You Came Around" written by musician Bob Hartry and Jayson Belt, and performed by Annie Bethancourt. The song is first featured on General Hospital on January 26, 2010 when Dante gets his orders to arrest Sonny, and he sends Lulu away for her own protection.

Storylines

2009–2011

Lulu Spencer meets Dominic Pirelli in July 2009 at the local bar, Jake’s. Though Lulu appears to be annoyed by his cockiness and cheesy pickup lines, she feels bad after her brothers Lucky and Ethan beat him up for mouthing off and she takes him to General Hospital and leaves him in the hands of the no-nonsense head nurse Epiphany Johnson. They meet up again when Lulu is filling in for a waitress at Kelly’s Diner; as Dominic is venting to Lulu about walking in on his mother and her boyfriend in walks his boss, mobster Sonny Corinthos warning him not to hurt Lulu. Dominic later finds Lulu at General Hospital after she accidentally glues her hand to her hair. He begins teasing her and Lulu gets him to go away by pretending she is dating, Dr. Matt Hunter.

They meet again at her father Luke’s Casino The Haunted Star and Ethan decides to get rid of him once and for all. Ethan attempts to scam Dominic but Lulu stops him before he can do it. Dominic shows his gratitude and they share their first kiss on August 26, 2009. Dominic later asks Lulu to the General Hospital carnival but declines because she already has a date.

Lulu later finds Dominic spending time on the Elm Street Pier and is shocked when he confesses that Sonny’s wife Claudia is trying to seduce him. He later opens up about his childhood hero, Lieutenant Vince Poletti who was like a father to him; Poletti was killed by a mobster. She realizes that Dominic talks about the mob like he despises it which leaves her suspicious of his job choice as Sonny’s guard. That night Lulu is drugged during a photo shoot for her job at Crimson magazine and witnesses Dominic’s conversation with undercover cop, Ronnie Domestico. When Lulu refuses to go the hospital, Dominic takes her back to his apartment where they end up kissing but she passes out before anything else happens.

At Claudia’s birthday party, Sony reveals that Claudia was responsible for a botched hit on Sonny that resulted in his son, Michael's shooting. Claudia freaks out, pulls a gun and takes Lulu’s pregnant cousin Carly Jacks hostage. Lulu and Dominic team up with Claudia’s brother, Johnny to find the two women. They search the abandoned Zacchara mansion hoping to find her but Lulu then falls through the decaying floorboards into the freezing water below. While Johnny goes to get help, Dominic gets in the water with Lulu to keep her warm, because she is stuck. Dominic is forced to confess that he is really Dante Falconeri, the son of Johnny’s girlfriend, Olivia and an undercover cop. He also asks her out on a date just before she passes out. Johnny arrives soon after with paramedics. Lulu promises to keep Dante’s secret only if he changes his mind about sending Sonny to prison.

Lulu continues to deny her feelings for Dante/Dominic when her best friend Maxie Jones confronts her about their relationship. On December 29, 2009, the couple goes on their first date to the opera and Lulu is brought to tears by the tragic love story. They almost make love until they are interrupted by the limo driver. Lulu is soon kidnapped by the artist/psychopath, Franco. Franco uses Lulu and Sam McCall as bate for Sonny's enforcer Jason Morgan. As Dante is rescuing Lulu, the building they are in explodes and they just barely make it out alive.

Johnny confronts Lulu and Dante claiming he knows Dante is undercover and reminds Lulu of all the people she will hurt by keeping his secret. Dante decides to break up with Lulu so she can maintain her relationship with her family but instead tells her he is going back home to Brooklyn after Sonny’s is arrested. She refuses to believe it and the two eventually reconcile. Lulu later learns that her brother Nikolas Cassadine is sleeping with Lucky’s fiancée, Elizabeth Webber. This causes Lulu to question her relationship with Dante and he assures her that their relationship is real and that he loves her.

On January 29, 2010 while Lulu is standing up as the godmother for Carly’s daughter, Josslyn Jacks, Dante finally confronts Sonny. Sonny promptly shoots him at point blank range but is shocked to learn from Olivia that Dante is his son. After a few hours without hearing from him, Lulu goes to Sonny’s house but instead finds Dante’s badge and cell phone near a pool of blood. Fearing the worst, she confronts Jason about Dante’s whereabouts. Lulu then finds Sonny at the hospital and takes all of her anger out on him. Sonny assures her that he didn’t know Dante was his son but Lulu doesn’t listen to anything he has to say. As Dante is going into surgery, Lulu professes her love.

It is later discovered that Sonny’s daughter, Kristina Davis is being abused by her boyfriend, Kiefer, but she instead IDs Ethan as her attacker. Luke is furious after Ethan is attacked in lockup by one of Sonny's men and blames Dante; he then tells Lulu that she may have to choose between Dante and her family. In April 2010, Dante is forced to bring his brother, Michael back to Port Charles to testify against Sonny who is on trial for Claudia’s murder. When Dante finally does bring Michael home, Lulu helps him hide, but Michael later escapes. When Michael admits under oath that it was him who killed Claudia he is sentenced to 5 years in prison. Though everyone else is against them, Dante and Lulu stand together. The couple makes love for the first time on May 5, 2010.

Dante's old friend, Brook Lynn Ashton from Bensonhurst returns to town in May 2010. Lulu and Brook Lynn's history is quickly revealed and Lulu is kind of suspicious of her sudden arrival. Carly has secretly hired Brook Lynn to get Dante into bed to get her revenge against the couple. In August 2010, Brook Lynn drugs Dante and has Lulu find them together. Lulu catches on to Brook Lynn’s schemes and forgives Dante.

In October 2010, Brenda Barrett returns to Port Charles and it is learned that Dante served as her bodyguard in 2007, but he tells Lulu that he never actually knew Brenda personally. It is soon learned that Dante helped Brenda cover up the murder of her ex-boyfriend, Aleksander Janacek and in January 2011, the couple breaks up because of Dante’s lies. Things get even worse on Sonny and Brenda’s wedding day when Carly accuses Dante and Brenda of hiding their child. Dante admits that he pretended to be the child’s father to protect him from Aleksander’s family, and then signed away his parental rights.

The couple eventually reconciles and Lulu is devastated when her nephew, Jake is run down by her drunken father, Luke. After Lucky unsuccessfully attempts to get Luke to return home, Lulu takes it upon herself to bring him back. Lulu ends up working as a waitress at a whore house in Florida where Luke was staying. Dante shows up pretending to be a client and tries to get her to go back to Port Charles. The owner, Javier learns Dante is a cop and attempts to rape Lulu but Dante stops him. They learn from Javier that Luke had been meeting with Helena Cassadine. To get into Helena’s circle, Dante pretends he wants a job as a bodyguard, but Helena catches on to their scheme. At the request of her brother Nikolas, Dante and Lulu return to Port Charles.

Dante and Lulu's December 2011 wedding.

When Dante learns that Lucky may be hooked on drugs again, he keeps the secret from Lulu at the request of Lucky’s ex, Elizabeth Webber. For her birthday in August 2011, Dante asks Lulu to move in with him and gives her a key to his apartment, but she is hesitant. Lulu overhears Dante and Lucky’s conversation about the drugs and furiously dumps Dante again for lying to her. In September 2011, Dante finds Lulu looking at herself in a wedding dress. Dante then decides to ask Lulu to marry him over dinner but she doesn’t immediately give him an answer. On September 23, Lulu decides to accept Dante’s proposal over a surprise dinner, while Dante fills in for Lucky who is still having drug issues. Dante is shot at his father’s warehouse and Lulu is so terrified that she begins drinking. Dante loses part of his lung and Lulu is so afraid of losing him that she refuses to accept the proposal. However, before she can admit her fears, Lulu attempts to cope with Dante's job by drinking a lot.

After Dante refuses to take a desk job, the couple goes their separate ways. On December 15, after talking with her best friend Maxie, Lulu puts her fears aside and finally accepts Dante’s proposal. The couple is married on December 23, 2011 by Dante's cousin, Tommy in an intimate ceremony in Brooklyn. Lulu soon gets a job as the clerk in the evidence room for the PCPD.

2012—

Both Dante and Lulu begin to rebuild, or build relationships with their fathers in early 2012.

Popularity

In February 2011, the duo received the most votes as the couple who deserved a Happy Valentine's Day on Michael Fairman Soaps. Entertainment Tonight did a special behind the scenes exclusive on the couple's long overdue first love scene in May 2010. The couple's "break up" in January 2011, ranked at #2 in the "Top 3 Storylines to Watch" and the couple itself was voted as the #1 duo to watch for the week of January 17 by TV Guide's Nelson Branco. The couple tied for the #1 spot in the "Top 3 Duos to Watch" for the week of May 17, 2010 with Days of our Lives, EJ and Sami, and their rivalry with Carly ranked at #1 in the "Top 3 Rivals" category. In honor of the couple's first love scene in May 2010 and their upcoming summer storyline, Berman's brother who owns a bakery in Santa Monica, California, The Vanilla Bake Shop was inspired by the couple to create the "Lante" cupcake.