Longtime General Hospital star Kelly Monaco is opening up about her exit from the ABC soap.
After 21 years on the sudser and two Daytime Emmy nominations for her work within the Port Charles universe, Monaco wrote on Instagram, “Last scene with the Davis girls. 😘🥲🙏🏻 still doesn’t make any sense to me.”
The caption accompanied a photo of her alongside fellow cast members Nancy Lee Grahn (who plays her on-screen mother Alexis Davis), Kristen Vaganos (Molly Lansing-Davis) and Kate Mansi (Kristina Corinthos-Davis).
News of Monaco’s departure broke in late August, with Sam McCall’s time coming to an end sometime this fall. The actress joined General Hospital in 2003 and starred in more than 2,200 episodes, with fellow soap star Lindsay Hartley briefly filling in while Monaco was on temporary leave in 2020, 2022 and 2024. Prior to her role on General Hospital, Monaco previously portrayed Livvie Locke on the its spinoff Port Charles from 1999 to 2003.
As the Los Angeles Times reported, news of the sudden exit did not sit well with fans, who took to social media to air their grievances, even starting a Change.org petition on the matter. Soap Opera Digest, which first wrote about the departure, reported that the exit was dictated by upcoming storylines.
Monaco’s mother, Carmine Monaco, wrote a message of gratitude to fans on X last month: “I want to take this moment to reach out to Kelly’s incredible fans and express my deepest gratitude for the unwavering love, loyalty, and support you’ve shown her throughout her time on General Hospital. On this final day, just four days shy of the anniversary of her first episode on October 1, 2003, Kelly will close the door of her dressing room for the last time. This moment is a difficult one, but knowing that she has had such an incredible, devoted fan base has given her strength.”
Change is certainly afoot at GH. In May, it was confirmed that Monsters star Nicholas Alexander Chavez would not be returning to his role on the soap. Michael Easton also bid an abrupt adieu to Port Charles in the summer. In August, it was revealed that Chris Van Etten was returning to run the writers room with Elizabeth Korte, following the departure of co-head writer Patrick Mulcahey in May.
