Cameron Mathison Doesn’t Think He’s ‘Ready’ to Be an ‘Empty Nester’ (Exclusive)

Cameron Mathison isn’t ready for his children to leave the nest just yet!

The All My Children alum, 54, shared his thoughts about becoming an “empty nester” as his teenage children grow up and move on, just weeks after posting a photo with his daughter Leila heading to her senior prom.

“It’s tough,” Mathison told PEOPLE at the annual Taste for a Cure fundraising event on Friday, May 10, adding that his son also has “already been to college.”

“I’m about to be an empty nester. My kids are older, my daughter’s leaving,” he says.

“It’s the best thing in the world,” he adds. “But at the same time, I don’t think I’m ready. I mean, you think you are. You’re like, ‘Oh, it’s going to be awesome,’ but I’m going to miss them.”

The actor says he is enjoying the time he has with them for now, despite all the little things that “annoy” him about his kids in the house — like having to clean up after them and putting their food away.

“I literally say to myself, ‘I’m going to miss this. I’m going to miss having to do this.’ So I try to remind myself,” he explains.

As for what the General Hospital star plans to do once he has some extra time to himself with his kids out of the house, he says the sky’s the limit.

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“I think that I have a lot of passions. I have a lot of hobbies… What I don’t want to do is just sort of have that time wasted,” he tells PEOPLE. “But I feel I have some plans.” 

“I’m big into health and fitness and longevity, and I’m studying to become a functional health coach myself,” he continues. “I’ve got things brewing, never mind being on TV and hosting and acting and stuff, other stuff too.”

Mathison and his wife, Vanessa Arevalo — who shared the screen on General Hospital — have two children together, son Lucas, whom they welcomed in April 2003, and Leila, who was born in July 2006.

On April 28, Mathison wrote an emotional note to his daughter ahead of her prom, expressing her importance in his life and just how much she means to him.

“Leila, I want you to know that you are always on my mind and in my heart,” the actor shared in the Instagram post, which featured a photo of Leila in a black prom dress, hugging her dad. “I’m so grateful for every moment I get to spend with you, and remember no matter where life takes you always know that you are loved beyond measure.”

“You are such an incredible daughter and I’m so proud of the person you have become,” he added. “Love dad❤️.”