Cameron Mathison, Who Split From Wife Vanessa, ‘Always Had a Wandering Eye for the Ladies’

Life is imitating art for soap star Cameron Mathison — just hours after he announced he and wife Vanessa Arevalo were ending their 22-year marriage, he was spotted stepping out with a much younger beauty!

A source exclusively tells Closer the hot-to-trot hunk has already been acting single for a year!

Cameron, 54, who played Ryan Lavery on All My Children before joining the cast of General Hospital, got up close and personal during an L.A. lunch date with beauty line CEO Aubree Knight.

But a friend says Cameron’s dalliance doesn’t faze Vanessa, as the former couple had been living separate lives for a while. Over the years, the actor has talked about rocky times during their marriage, saying they were sparked by 57-year-old model Vanessa’s jealous streak.

Now that their son, Lucas, 21, and daughter, Leila, 18, are both attending college in Europe, they decided to finally pull the plug on their marriage.

“If it wasn’t for the kids, they might have broken up many years ago,” the insider says. “Cameron always had a wandering eye for the ladies, and the two have been going their separate ways for a year.

“He wanted to see other people, and Vanessa said she didn’t give a damn.”

Still, there doesn’t seem to be any bad blood between them.

“Vanessa always knew that Cameron’s Casanova streak would be the end for them someday,” spills the pal. “But she doesn’t wish him any ill will. They still have their kids to love, and she’s thankful for that.”