Fans of Hunter King's Summer Newman were devastated when she announced she wasn't returning alongside her TV husband, Michael Mealor (via Soaps). In an interview with Soap Opera Digest's podcast, King opened up about her decision to completely leave the show: "I love playing Summer. When these things happen [during contract negotiations], there's a variety of reasons why they happen... It's such an odd process [working out a business arrangement] but also feeling like it's your family. It's definitely weird."
Despite the job security, playing the same character for nearly a decade can become monotonous and creatively constricting for an actor like King. Later in the interview, she added, "I'm in a stage of growth in my life in many ways, and at this point in time, I feel like I've done a lot of growing on the show, and now I feel like it's time for me to grow in other ways." Immersing herself in new ventures and unfamiliar genres sounds like the perfect way for King to expand her horizons.
For Summer fans, they can take solace in the fact that King hopes to somehow carry the character with her in spirit. She said, "I do hope to always have Summer in my life in some capacity. What that will continue to look like, I'm not quite sure yet, but I know that I hold her very near and dear to my heart."
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