Amelia Heinle Leaving ‘The Young And The Restless’? Rumors Not True, Show Spokesperson Says

Is Amelia Heinle leaving The Young & the Restless and the role of Victoria Newman? That’s the buzz making the rounds and fans have been worried and frustrated. However, it seems that Y&R viewers may be able to breathe a sigh of relief. A spokesperson says that Heinle and the character of Victoria aren’t leaving Genoa City permanently.

Michael Fairman Soaps says that per a Y&R spokesperson, Amelia Heinle is not leaving The Young & the Restless. Though Heinle is away from the show for the moment, sparking intense speculation that she had quit the role, it seems that those worries may have been premature.

The show spokesperson told Fairman.

“Amelia isn’t going anywhere, she never was… and the character of Victoria has a lot of story coming up!”

Though the role has been played by more than one actress throughout the run of Y&R, Heinle has played Victoria Newman since 2005. The character is certainly front-and-center these days, so it would be a big jolt to the show if Heinle were to suddenly leave. There have been some key departures and from Y&R and the soap world in general this past year, with some popping up on other soaps, so fans weren’t sure what to think on this one.

In the midst of the rumors that Heinle quit Young & Restless, it was also discovered that she took down her Twitter page. That seemingly fueled the fire that she had quit her long-running role as Victoria and fans haven’t been sure what to think. Unfortunately, it seems that the timing of a family death has played into the rumors that went wild.

Reports indicate that Amelia’s sister-in-law Jane Heinle passed away on December 31 after a difficult battle against cancer. As the posters on the She Knows Soaps board note, Amelia and her brother Loren’s wife Jane were always very close and the actress often referred to Jane as her sister.

While Amelia’s Twitter page has been deactivated, at least for now, her Instagram page is still up it appears. Heinle hasn’t mentioned the loss of Jane, but she has posted a couple of pictures in the past week that would seemingly indicate she is spending time with family right now. Y&R fans can understand why she might be taking a bit of time away from the show for a bit and they are lending their support.

Though rumors ran rampant earlier in the week that Amelia Heinle had quit Young & Restless or was even fired, now it seems that she’s simply taking a short leave for a few weeks or so. Y&R fans are thinking of Heinle and her family during this tough time and hope that she will be returning on-screen soon.

[Image via Celeb Mafia]