Valerie Spencer first appeared in the spring of 2015 when Luke Spencer began to exhibit strange behavior that his loved ones suspected had been rooted in his past. Bobbie didn't recall much of her early years with her parents, and she suggested that the eldest of the Spencer siblings might be able to shed some light on Luke's troubling behavior. However, Bobbie had lost touch with her sister and had no idea where to find her. Eventually, Lulu and Tracy found an address for Patricia in Pennsylvania, but they were surprised when a young woman named Valerie answered the door.

Valerie was Patricia's daughter, and she revealed that her mother was in a nursing home because Patricia had suffered from multiple sclerosis. Valerie was shocked to discover that she had family because all her life, it had just been her and her mother -- Valerie's father had walked out on Patricia before Valerie's birth.

Meanwhile, Luke had also made contact with Valerie, and he held her hostage at gunpoint until Valerie had told him where Patricia was. Lulu and Dante returned to the apartment to talk to Valerie and found her injured. Valerie explained what had happened, so everyone raced to the nursing home to save Patricia. Luckily, they were able to rescue Patricia from Luke's diabolical plans. Patricia decided that it was time for the truth, and she returned to Port Charles with her sister Bobbie to visit their old family home, and to talk about the horrific night that Luke had killed their parents, Lena and Tim Spencer.

Valerie caught up with her mother at the home where Patricia and her siblings had grown up, but their reunion was cut short because Patricia's weak heart gave out, and Patricia died surrounded by her daughter and siblings. Valerie was devastated and blamed Luke, so she went to the hospital were Luke had been admitted because he'd suffered a psychotic break when his past and present had collided. Valerie was determined to kill Luke, but Dante and Lulu stopped her.

By the end of April, Dante had convinced Valerie to stay in Port Charles. As time passed, Valerie developed feelings for Dante. Lulu picked up on her cousin's crush, which caused friction between Dante and Lulu. Tensions mounted between Lulu and Valerie when Valerie expressed an interest in police work and took an administrative job at the police station. Valerie had a degree in criminology and wanted to become a police officer, and Dante supported Valerie in pursuing her dreams. Dante and Valerie grew closer as Dante and Lulu's marriage slowly began to crumble.

On July 6, 2015, Dante and Valerie succumbed to temptation and slept together. Dante mistakenly believed that Lulu had run away for a romantic vacation with Dillon Quartermaine. The affair didn't last long because Dante had decided to focus on fixing his broken marriage for the sake of Lulu and Dante's son, Rocco. Heartbroken, Valerie picked up the pieces and enlisted with the police academy. Lulu was furious when she learned about the affair, and she turned to her ex-lover Johnny Zacchara to help get Valerie kicked out of the police academy.

In January 2016, Johnny framed Valerie to make it appear that she'd been accepting bribes and had helped him escape from jail. Things reached a head when Valerie realized that the man that she had befriended was an escaped convict. Johnny was forced to take action to keep Valerie from turning him in, and he dragged her at gunpoint to a cabin in the woods, where he had left her tied up. Afterwards, Johnny called to let Lulu know where Valerie was. Lulu raced to rescue her cousin, but Valerie had accidentally knocked over a candle during her effort to break free of the ropes binding her to the chair.

Lulu arrived in time to save Valerie from certain death, but Valerie blamed Lulu for what had happened because Lulu had enlisted Johnny's help. Lulu deeply regretted what she'd done, and with time, Valerie forgave Lulu. Valerie moved on from Dante when she met Jordan Ashford's ex-brother-in-law Curtis Ashford. After Valerie graduated from the police academy, Lulu attended Valerie's surprise graduation party.

In August, Valerie offered to help Detective Nathan West hunt down a serial killer stalking the halls of General Hospital. During the investigation, Valerie had a close encounter with the killer when she found a unique cufflink that the killer had dropped in Finn's lab. The killer knocked Valerie out and retrieved the incriminating piece of evidence, but Valerie had been able to describe it, which gave the police their first clue to the killer's identity.

Meanwhile, things heated up between Valerie and Curtis when they consummated their relationship. Valerie's only concern about Curtis was his friendship with Hayden Barnes because Valerie felt that Hayden had taken advantage of Curtis' loyalty.

One night, at Metro Court, Valerie joined Curtis at the bar. When Curtis went to get a coffee, Valerie picked up his phone and was shocked when she saw a picture of an evidence folder on Morgan Corinthos that had been on her desk. Valerie confronted Curtis about the pictures when he returned. He tried to explain, but Valerie was furious that he'd tried to play her for a fool. Valerie realized that Jordan had been right about Curtis, and she walked away.

After Valerie's breakup with Curtis, she focused on her career. She also became close friends with Kristina Davis-Corinthos, and she even kissed Kristina in the Floating Rib to make Kristina's ex-girlfriend jealous. However, Valerie clarified that she was not sexually interested in Kristina. In her spare time, Valerie performed every year at the Nurses Ball.

On October 2, 2018, Valerie passed her detectives exam. Jordan promoted her, and Valerie was teamed up with new hire, Detective Harrison Chase. Valerie also reconnected with Kristina when Kristina returned to town after a difficult breakup.

On December 18, things took an awkward turn between Valerie and Kristina when Valerie stopped by Charlie's Pub to hang out with Kristina before meeting Bobbie for dinner. Valerie had noticed that Kristina had been reading a self-help book called, Every Day Is A New Dawn. Kristina gushed about how the book had helped her get her life on track. Valerie was happy for Kristina.

The conversation shifted to relationships when Kristina asked about Valerie's handsome new partner, but Valerie made it clear that she would not repeat the mistake that she had made with Dante. Valerie confided that growing up, it had just been her and her mother. Valerie conceded that she didn't have much experience with romance. Kristina jokingly suggested that they go out, and perhaps kiss again to make someone jealous.

Valerie was hit by a wave of dizziness because she hadn't eaten, so Kristina offered to try a meditation technique that she had learned from a Dawn of Day member. Valerie was hesitant, but she soon relaxed as Kristina's touch worked its magic. Valerie conceded that she felt better, but as she and Kristina stood close things shifted and Kristina kissed her.

The passionate kiss lingered for several seconds until Valerie pushed Kristina away then insisted that she was not gay. Valerie regretted that she had let it happen, but she didn't blame Kristina. After Valerie fled, Kristina was filled with regret. A few days later, the friends talked things out, but they were each more guarded moving forward. The friendship was further strained by Kristina's emersion into DOD. Valerie tried to keep an open mind about the organization for Kristina's sake, but Valerie hadn't been able to connect with the leader or the people that she had met at DOD.

On March 13, Valerie and Kristina watched a video of DOD's charismatic leader, Shiloh, speaking at a DOD rally. Valerie confessed that she was not impressed. Kristina defended Shiloh's teachings, but Valerie recognized a conman when she saw one. Valerie felt bad for Kristina because she worried that Shiloh might be trying to get his hands on Kristina's fortune.

The following day, Valerie returned to Charlie's Pub to apologize to Kristina. Valerie conceded that friends didn't have to see eye-to-eye on everything, but Kristina disagreed. Kristina informed Valerie that they could no longer be friends if Valerie was unable to accept Kristina's choices. Kristina added that Valerie hadn't been honest with herself. Hurt, Valerie stormed out.