‘General Hospital’ star Kirsten Storms addresses reason for show break: ‘Majorly freaked me out’

Kirsten Storms has temporarily left Port Charles.

Now, the actress, 41, is revealing why she took a step back from “General Hospital.”

On Tuesday, Storms explained via Instagram that she is set to undergo surgery for an aneurysm later this month.

The “Zenon” star explained that her neurosurgeon discovered the aneurysm in January. Storms originally went to the doctor for a routine follow-up scan for the cyst she had removed from her brain back in 2021.

“The January scan happened because I had symptoms that the doctors thought could’ve been brain related,” she penned in her lengthy post. “Ok — when I say that I was shocked when the doctors told me they found an aneurysm on the right side of my brain… welp, I basically launched into a standup comedy routine.”

Storms detailed what followed, including an in depth scan to see what was going on.

“(It’s a routine procedure, but the path inside your body that they lead the camera through is *insane*… THE CAMERA GOES THROUGH YOUR ARMPIT, guys. Your. Armpit.) Anyway, because of the *slightly* complex situation with the aneurysm (nothing bad, just not typical), it wasn’t coiled that weekend.”

“I checked in with my super smart surgeon, completed my next few months at work, started my hiatus and left California,” added Storms.

The soap opera star first revealed she was stepping back from playing Maxie, a part she has held since 2005, to move from Los Angeles to Nashville with her daughter Harper in July.

“Aneurysms (obviously) can be caused by stress. Brain cysts? I believe that is possible too,” Storms continued. “And since the January scan showed a new, but very small, squatter (aka cyst) on my brain stem — it was clear I needed to change some things in my life asap. For my own personal reasons, no longer living in Los Angeles was very important to me. The biggest reason for the move was Harper, but a lot of it was for my physical and mental health. And my overall happiness.”

In her Instagram caption, the “General Hospital” vet expressed her desire to set the record straight and connect with those who were also going through trying times.

“I wanted to post this because even though my brain seems to be sorta lowkey rebelling against me, it does allow me to understand that we’ve all got times when things aren’t great,” Storms detailed. “If we can, we will do our best to do what is best for ourselves and loved ones. Since I knew what an aneurysm was, the scan in January majorly freaked me out.”

However, after she was discharged, rumors started to swirl.

“Someone created a blog post that said I was in the hospital that weekend because I tried to ‘unalive’ myself,” Storms recalled. “I couldn’t understand why a person would make up something that terrible, when they had no idea why I was really there. There are a few really bad apples out there.”

Storms also gave a shout out to her best friend and fellow “GH” alum, Emme Rylan, concluding her post: “There are people in my life who I am truly thankful to know. One of those individuals just made a sh*t load of sweaters with me. They are glorious.”

The Disney alum first clued followers into her career move in July with an upfront Instagram video.

“I’m very excited to be making Tennessee my home! I can’t wait to return to GH, once Harper and I are settled in our new town,” she wrote. “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.”

Storms spoke with the long running series’ executive producer Frank Valentini in March about her plans.

“I had a conversation with him about my reasons for wanting to move and my desire to not leave the show,” she confessed in the clip. “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.’ GH did not do that, which was kind of amazing because I also asked for some time off.”

But Maxie Jones won’t be gone for good.

It’s possible I will be back in December, maybe November,” Storms added. 

“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.”

Over the years, “GH” has had a slew of shake ups, including Sofia Mattsson, who left in July after seven years, and Kelly Monaco who blasted the soap last summer after she was fired following a 21-year run.

Kin Shriner, who played Scott Baldwin from 1977 to 2024, confirmed he was let go from the show last year, as well.

In August, Tristan Rogers, who played District Attorney Robert Scorpio on and off since 1980, passed away from cancer.