One plot twist that General Hospital fans were not expecting was the departure of actress Kelly Monaco (Port Charles, Mumford) from the series, a long-time cast member of the show. According to Deadline, while Monaco’s upcoming leave was announced back in August 2024, Monaco recently shared snapshot from one of her last days on set through Instagram.
In Monaco’s Instagram post, she sits on a set couch beside co-stars Nancy Lee Grahn (Santa Barbara, Port Charles), who plays her mother in the show Alexis Davis, Kate Mansi (Days of Our Lives, Casa Grande), who plays Kristina Corinthos-Davis and Kristen Vaganos (Dating After College, I Am Lisa) who plays Molly Lansing-Davis. As all the ladies smile and look up toward the camera, Monaco’s caption reads, “Last scene with the Davis girls. [Wink kiss emoji, smile with tear emoji and hands praying emoji] still doesn’t make any sense to me.”
Many of the comments Monaco received on her post echo fan goodbyes and confusion about her soon departure. According to Deadline, fans even took the initiative to start a Change.org petition to reinstate Monaco back on the series.
Loyalty and disappointment from fans come from Monaco’s long-time run on General Hospital. Monaco was brought onto the show in 2003 and appeared in over 2,200 episodes, reports Deadline. Before her career on General Hospital, Monaco joined the show’s universe in 1999 as the character Livvie Locke in the spinoff Port Charles via Deadline.
In the last few years of Monaco’s General Hospital run, there were moments of temporary leave in which actress Lindsey Hartley (Passions, Killer Twin) covered Monaco’s onscreen role via mxdwn.
According to Deadline, Monaco’s exit from the show is due to changing storylines, as writers Chris Van Etten (One Life to Live, 68 Whiskey) and Elizabeth Korte (General Hospital: Night Shift, General Hospital: 60 Years of Stars and Storytelling) will be returning to the General Hospital writers room. Previous co-head writer Patrick Mulcahey (The Bold and the Beautiful, Santa Barbara) left the show as of May 2024.