Kirsten Storms Breaks Silence About Latest Leave Of Absence From ‘General Hospital’


Kirsten Storms has been missing from General Hospital since February sweeps. Her character, Maxie Jones, married Nathan West (Ryan Paevey) after months of ups and downs. The two went off on what was presumably their honeymoon, and when Nathan arrived back in Port Charles, Maxie was not with him. The General Hospital writers edited the storyline to have her in Portland where her daughter and her ex-boyfriend Spinelli (Bradford Anderson) reside. While it wasn’t the most believable, it was the best they could do when Storms asked for a leave of absence to battle some personal issues.

General Hospital fans had been commenting about Kirsten Storms’ appearance on the show for weeks leading up to her announcement of the leave of absence. Speculations were running rampant about what was plaguing the actress who looked full of life only months before the drastic changes. During the scenes she was taping, Storms displayed skin issues, and it appeared her glam squad was trying to overcompensate with her hairstyle changes and heavy makeup. After several weeks of rumors and unkind remarks, Kirsten announced she would be taking a break from General Hospital with no indication about when she would return to work. It was later confirmed her role would not be recast as it had been in the past when she took her two previous leave of absences.

According to Soap Opera Digest, Kirsten Storms is finally revealing why she took her leave of absence from General Hospital. It appears the actress has been battling severe depression. She is a particularly private person, only announcing the big events in her life like her marriage to Brandon Barash — and subsequent divorce — and the birth of their daughter Harper. Medical issues aren’t new for Storms, who also battled endometriosis, which was partially documented on her stint on the short-lived reality show Dirty Soap. Fans were concerned that her medical issues had returned when she began to look a little under the weather when airing. Kirsten Storms only addressed her severe depression because a troll on Twitter accused her of being a drug user. In fact, the person actually tagged her in the comment. That was earlier this month, and now Storms is opening up about the battle because of those comments.

Earlier this month, Kirsten Storms tweeted that she would be back on General Hospital “soon-ish.” Fans were hoping for a Nurses Ball return, especially with the rumors that “Naxie” (Nathan and Maxie) could be headed for a breakup without Maxie present. As of now, Storms has not commented about when she is going to begin filming again, but fans are hopeful she will be back in Port Charles before the summer is over. Maxie Jones has been a staple on the show for over a decade and without her at the Nurses Ball or beside Lulu (Emme Rylan) as she goes through the custody battle over Charlotte (Scarlett Fernandez), things just aren’t the same on General Hospital.

There should be more information about Kirsten Storms and her return to General Hospital in the next few weeks. Spinelli is headed back to Port Charles this week, and while it is unlikely he will be bringing news of Maxie’s return, there are going to be plenty of questions for him. Fans are wishing the best for Storms as she battles severe depression and works through the issues in her personal life. Hopefully, she will be back to herself and be hanging out on social media more soon. With her admission about her issues, there is hope that the rude comments and insinuations about an eating disorder and drug abuse will stop and the General Hospital star can regain normalcy in her life.

[Featured Image via Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images]

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