Cherie Jimenez Reacts to Kelly Monaco’s Exit From ‘General Hospital’: ‘People Come and Go’

Amid Kelly Monaco’s dramatic exit from General Hospital, several soap opera stars admitted they were not shocked by her departure from the show, including Cherie Jimenez.

“This is a soap opera. I trust that the writers know what they’re doing. People come and go,” Cherie, 37, told Us Weekly at the “Day of Days” fan event in Los Angeles on November 2. “That’s just the way it is, and it creates more drama. It creates more angst. … Characters do come back so I’m hopeful, and we’re just gonna leave it at that and whatever happens, happens. I guess we will see.”

Kelly, 48, starred on General Hospital as Sam McCall for 21 years before her character’s death on the show in 2024. Cherie alluded to Kelly’s show exit being similar to Brandon Barash’s exit from Days of Our Lives.

“I knew exactly what was happening as soon as I was called up to [the boss’] office,” Brandon, 45, told Soaps.com on October 25. “And she said, ‘Look, this is not my doing. I don’t like it. And this is no reflection on you or your abilities. You’re very talented. We know your work ethic is very high, but it’s just where we’re deciding to take the character.’”

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The General Hospital alum said that it came as a “surprise” that it was ultimately decided that he was being cut from Days of Our Lives.

“This is the second time this has happened to me on Days of Our Lives. And, you know, it would have to be very, very right,” he said. “The terms would have to be right. The story would have to be right. The contract would have to be right.”

As for Kelly’s departure from General Hospital, the reasoning has not been revealed. She did, however, address her exit in an Instagram post, sharing a photo from behind the scenes of the soap opera.

“Last scene with the Davis girls,” she captioned the Instagram post in October. “Still doesn’t make any sense to me.”

Other stars who reacted to Kelly’s departure from the show included soap opera veteran Wally Kurth.

“She was there for 20-something years,” he told Us Weekly. “I work at GH sometimes too, and I drove into the studio and there was a sign with LCD lights that said, ‘Kelly Monaco, bring her back’ and it was like outside our studio, just flashing lights for like a week and that was from fans.”

“It happens to us all. I’ve been fired a few times,” the General Hospital actor continued. “You can’t take it personally. We’re actors.”

Susan Hayes also reflected on the news, saying that she understood the fan reaction to losing a beloved character on the long-running series.

“You can’t spend so much time following someone that you don’t feel the connection coming through the television set,” she explained. “Opportunities to meet the fans live are always very rewarding to the actors. We’ve never had an interface with the fans that didn’t send us back to the studio a little jazzed up like, ‘I’m not alone in a room. I got a million people that care as much as I do.’ It’s a great affirmation.”