Why Kirsten Storms Is Taking a Break From General Hospital

The 41-year-old actress, who has portrayed Maxie Jones on the iconic ABC soap since 2005, first announced the news in a video shared on Instagram Monday that she's taking an extended break and relocating from Los Angeles to Nashville, Tennessee with her 11-year-old daughter Harper, whom she shares with ex-husband and fellow soap star Brandon Barash.

"I'm very excited to be making Tennessee my home!" Storms wrote in the caption. "I can't wait to return to GH, once Harper and I are settled in our new town. I plan on documenting as much of this new journey on my social media as I can. It's always been a dream of mine to move to a place like this, it's hard to believe it's really happening."

In her candid video, Storms revealed she's already wrapped filming on the soap and had previously clued producers in on her cross-country move.

"My hiatus from work has been something that's been in the works since March," she explained. "I had a conversation with [executive producer] Frank Valentini about my reasons for wanting to move and my desire to not leave the show."

"When you approach a job like this, they can always be like, 'Forget it, I will let you out of your contract if you're going to leave the state,'" she added. "GH did not do that, which was kind of amazing because I also asked for some time off."

Storms confirmed, "I've already had my final taping day for the year," and teased that "It's possible I will be back in December, maybe November."

As for what's in store for Maxie while she's gone, Storms promised fans they are in for a wild ride.

"I promise you the story line they have going on until my return to Port Charles is kind of incredible. You guys are gonna freak out actually," she shared.

General Hospital has temporarily recast the role with actress Nicole Paggi, who appeared in the July 3 episode and will continue in the role throughout July and August, according to Soap Opera Digest. Paggi also stepped in back in December 2023 when Storms was unavailable due to scheduling conflicts.

Speaking to the outlet, Storms admitted she had mixed feelings about the recast at first.

"I would be lying if I didn't say that I was taken aback a bit by it," she told Soap Opera Digest. "I would prefer that someone play Maxie and be playing Maxie well to keep the character relevant and in the soap world still because it doesn’t take much for a character to die off and for somebody else to come in and be in a front-burner story line. I was very excited just to know that she was still going to be in Port Charles and doing lots of things."

While fans should be seeing Storms back on screen August 18, her official on-set comeback will likely be later this year.

General Hospital airs weekdays on ABC.