Olivia Spencer and Natalia Rivera Aitoro, often referred to by the portmanteau Otalia, are a fictional couple from the American CBS daytime drama Guiding Light. Olivia is portrayed by Crystal Chappell, and Natalia is portrayed by Jessica Leccia.
The storyline begins when Olivia and Natalia's relationship starts to evolve following Olivia's heart transplant in April 2008. The couple's relationship subsequently changes from being enemies, to close friends who rely on each other, to women becoming more than friends.
Writing for the pairing was slow to establish the relationship as romantic. Despite this, the couple generated significant interest, not only amongst Guiding Light viewers but also amongst soap opera critics,LGBT-oriented websites such as AfterEllen.com and The Advocate, and mainstream media such as Entertainment Weekly. The pairing became one of the most praised same-sex couples in American daytime drama. Nelson Branco of TV Guide Canada named them 2009's "Sexiest Couple Alive," called the pairing a "fledgling super-couple," and wrote, "In an age of contrived and soulless couples, Olivia and Natalia’s burgeoning romance felt natural, innocent, and most importantly, real."
On April 1, 2009 (despite that date's usual connotations), CBS announced that the 72-year-old production of Guiding Light would cease broadcast on the network after September 18, 2009, effectively ending any long-term plans for the pairing.
In a BuzzWorthy Radio interview conducted on February 27, 2009, Crystal Chappell stated that in January 2008 Guiding Light Executive Producer Ellen Wheeler informed her and Leccia of the decision to proceed with the Olivia and Natalia story. In an AfterEllen.com interview released on March 1, 2009, Chappell stated that, "My EP (Wheeler) sat me down and told me that they were going to tell a story about two women who grow to depend on and love each other." Additionally, in an interview in Soap Opera Digest, Chappell notes the collaborative effort of the writing team, but also credits Wheeler and Co-Head Writer Jill Lorie Hurst with giving the love story extra personal attention. In the interview, Chappell states: "the rest of the writers are involved as well, but it's the two ladies [Wheeler and Hurst] who give the great female perspective and they actually read the lines back and forth to each other."