Kelly Monaco has been the topic of conversation these past couple of weeks.
The actress is exiting General Hospital. She has been on the show for 21 years and the writers are reportedly going to kill her off this coming fall. Kelly is said to have been "blindsided" by the decision.
Fans have been fighting that decision every day by making hashtags, organizing petitions and creating a GoFundMe to purchase a Billboard to emphasize the demand to keep the fan-favorite on the show. Kelly plays former con-artist Sam McCall. While Kelly's future is uncertain in the midst of this decision and fan backlash, everyone will just have to see what happens. Lets take a look into the soap star that has been on people's minds lately.
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Kelly's first introduction in the industry was with Playboy. In 1996, she considered a career in modeling and sent a photo to the publication which lead to her being Playmate of the Month for April 1997. She went on to feature in various Playboy Special Edition magazines. She pivoted to acting with her first TV role in the Baywatch as Susan from 1997 to 1998. She also was Carmen Electra's body double at times because as Carmen couldn't swim. She also had minor appearances in late 90s films BASEketball, Idle Hands, and Mumford.
Then she entered the world of soaps. Before playing the popular Sam in 2003, Kelly portrayed Livvie Locke on the half-hour GH spinoff series called Port Charles. The show had six seasons between 1997 to 2003 and it also dabbled with the supernatural in storylines. For example, Livvie was the obsession of immortal blood sucker Caleb Morley (Michael Easton) because she looked like his dead lover Olivia.
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Kelly is very private about her personal life, so not much is confirmed or known in regards to her romantic life. Fans have speculated a lot about her previous partners. The only romantic partner that she has publicly talked about is an ex-boyfriend of 18 years, Michael Gonzalez. Michael and her met when Kelly was a junior in high school and dated soon after. The high school sweethearts dated from 1991 until 2009.
In 2010, she appeared on the Wendy Williams Show where she shared how "devastating" the end of their relationship was and likened it to "giving a child up for adoption." She also mentioned how this is something she thinks about and how one can "fall out of love and still be in love with" that person. She further talked about the relationship again in 2011 to ABC News Radio’s David Blaustein, saying: “I am not ready at all to open my heart up. The poor guy who steps in his shoes today is so [bleep]ed … There is a healing process that I know needs to happen. Unless I meet a rebound, that’s what it will be.”
She was also romantically linked to her late long time friend and actor Heath Freeman. Heath had roles in TV shows such as NCIS, Bones, and ER. The Pennsylvania native didn't speak about their relationship but the two were seen at several red carpet events together. Heath shared a heartwarming birthday tribute to Kelly on his Instagram in 2020 writing: "Happy birthday to my best friend on Planet Earth. So thrilled we're on the planet at the same time."
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The late 41-year-old died in 2021 due to a drug overdose. Kelly did not publicly comment on his passing but a former GH cast member Ingo Rademacher (ex-Jasper Jacks) posted about the tragedy, referring to Kelly: "Kelly, my heart goes out to you. I know Heath was very special to you. Know that [my wife] Ehiku and I are always here for you. RIP Heath Freeman. Prayers and love."
Lastly, she was also rumored to be dating the late Billy Miller. He was well known for playing Billy Abbott on Young and the Restless. He played Jason Morgan on GH from 2014 to 2019 after the original Jason actor Steve Burton left to go to Young and the Restless. Jason and Sam are one of GH supercouples. The chemistry seemed to come off the screen to real life for Kelly and Billy when they are seen interacting publicly. Billy died by suicide in September 2023 at age 43.
In a General Hospital subreddit thread, questions about an alleged feud between Steve and Kelly were brought up. The user who started the thread recalled they had read a previous thread saying the two didn't get along so they asked why that might be and if Billy was involved with that.
They also added: "Also, I remember reading somewhere in the mid-2000’s, I think the GH forum on ABC.com that Steve’s wife didn’t want/like him working with Kelly. I’m not sure if that’s true or not, but I’m just curious if there’s actually drama between them or is it just rumors."
Some responses came through. Someone brought up the short lived reality TV show about the lives of soap stars from E! called Dirty Soap. Kelly starred on it and the person mentioned an episode where Kelly said Steve and his then-wife hosted an intervention for her eating disorder.
A few responses mentioned the late Young and the Restless star played a role in their alleged feud. One fan wrote: "At the time Steve was coming back I heard that Kelly was campaigning for Billy to be the real Jason because they were an item. I was hoping the tensions were exaggerated (because I like all of them) but it’s telling that Steve doesn’t mention Kelly and everyone else under the sun has been on their podcast but his main co-star hasn’t."
When Billy was announced to be leaving as Jason in 2019, the usually private actress broke her silence. She took to Instagram on August 12, 2019 and wrote: "I feel like I have to address this situation. #BillyMiller‘s untimely departure from #gh. Honestly, I can not come up with the words to describe how I feel about this decision… a decision that may not be what our audience thinks to be true. I’m heartbroken… more to come."
Steve did recently express some thoughts about Kelly leaving with fellow co-star Bradford Anderson (Damian Spinelli) on their Daily Drama podcast on August 27. They both claimed they had no clue about Kelly's firing and learned about it the same way fans did. But Steve did say "whatever happens sucks" despite not knowing.
If in the United States, you can dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention hotline at 1-800-273-8255 or go to http://SuicidePreventionLifeline.org
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA ) runs a free 24-hour hot line for treatment referrals and support: 1-800-662-HELP (4357). Calls are confidential and offered in English and Spanish.
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