The father of Carly's first child was her late ex-husband, A.J. Quartermaine (originated by Eric Kroh, then Sean Kanan). After Carly had a fight with her love interest Tony Jones (Brad Maule), she went in search of comfort from Jason Morgan (originated by Quinn Carlson, then Steve Burton) but found his brother A.J., instead. A.J. and Carly had a little too much to drink and slept together; she got pregnant with their son Michael (originated by Dylan Cash, now Chad Duell) from that interaction.
When Carly found out she was pregnant with Michael, she had already reunited with Tony and their relationship seemed to be on the mend. Carly lied about the paternity of her son and said that the baby was Tony's, not A.J.'s. However, the honeymoon phase didn't last long and Carly and Tony fought again, and she revealed that he was not the father of her unborn baby. A.J. discovered the truth, shocked to find that he was going to be a dad since he didn't even remember hooking up with Carly due to the alcohol. Carly and A.J. married, but it didn't last long, and their relationship with Michael was strained as he grew up.
