{"id":825138,"date":"2026-07-25T11:39:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-25T11:39:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/825138\/"},"modified":"2026-07-25T11:39:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T11:39:12","slug":"how-kirsten-storms-was-written-off-general-hospital-after-21-years-following-mental-health-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/825138\/","title":{"rendered":"How Kirsten Storms was written off ‘General Hospital’ after 21 years following ‘mental health crisis’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kirsten Storms\u2019 \u201cGeneral Hospital\u201d character has been officially written off the soap opera after a 21-year run following her recent \u201cmental health crisis.\u201d <\/p>\n

Fans of the long-running drama were given a shock to learn the Storms\u2019 character, Maxie Jones, will be relocating to Australia just months after she came out of a coma on Thursday\u2019s episode. <\/p>\n

A rep for the soap did not immediately respond to Page Six\u2019s request for comment. <\/p>\n

Kirsten Storms\u2019 character was written off of \u201cGeneral Hospital\u201d once again on Thursday, just months after the actress (seen above posing for a selfie) made her return in February. Kirsten Storms\/Instagram<\/p>\n

It was announced on the episode that Storms\u2019 character, Maxie Jones (seen above on an episode of \u201cGeneral Hospital,\u201d) will be moving to Australia. Disney via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Storms, 42, has played Maxie Jones on the soap opera since 2005. She previously took a six-month hiatus from the show from July 2025 to February 2026. During which time, she told her followers she planned to undergo brain surgery.<\/p>\n

She was only featured in a small batch of episodes in the months leading up to her most recent exit. <\/p>\n

Despite just coming back to the show, Storms announced just last month that she would be taking another break from the series due to her legal issues with her ex-husband, Brandon Barash.<\/p>\n

Storms (seen above in an episode of \u201cGeneral Hospital\u201d) has starred on the long-running drama for 21 years. Disney via Getty Images<\/p>\n

She briefly took a hiatus from July 2025 to February 2026 \u2014 during which time, Storms (pictured above in an episode of \u201cGeneral Hospital\u201d) told her followers that she would be undergoing brain surgery. Disney<\/p>\n

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\u201cGiven what\u2019s been going on, I can\u2019t say I will feel comfortable heading back to Los Angeles and returning to work. This has been an eye opening experience about the downside of my profession.\u201d she wrote at the time, via Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The move comes amid the actress\u2019 ongoing family woes. In April, Barash was granted an emergency restraining order<\/a> against Storms after he told a judge she is struggling with a \u201cmental health crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among several other claims, Barash \u2014 who met the \u201cGeneral Hospital\u201d star on the set of the soap before they married in 2013 \u2014 claimed he worried for their 12-year-old daughter Harper\u2019s health and safety as Storms had gone through a series of financial struggles since their 2016 divorce.<\/p>\n

However, she announced she would be stepping away from the series again in June following her recent legal troubles with her ex-husband, Brandon Barash. (pictured above is Lynn Herring, Storms, Amanda Setton, Jane Elliot, and Eva Larue in an episode of \u201cGeneral Hospital.\u201d) Disney via Getty Images<\/p>\n

In April, Barash was granted an emergency restraining order against Storms after he claimed she was experiencing mental health struggles that made him worry for the safety of their 12-year-old daughter, Harper. Kirsten Storms\/Instagram<\/p>\n

At one point, he alleged that Storms was sued for eviction by her landlord after the exes both relocated to Tennessee separately and that the celebrity mom didn\u2019t have a permanent residence from September 2024 to June 2025.<\/p>\n

As \u201cinstability with housing has been a recurring theme\u201d for Storms, she frequently stayed in hotels, but would change rooms on a repeated basis over fears that people were \u201cfollowing her and the child to her room,\u201d Barash claimed.<\/p>\n

In addition to the housing trouble, her car was also at risk of being repossessed around this same time, which Barash allegedly loaned her $5,000 to address. <\/p>\n

Along with his claims that Storms was \u201cexperiencing delusions and hallucinations,\u201d he added that she was also unstable financially. (Seen here is Barash hugging Storms on a red carpet in 2016.) Getty Images<\/p>\n

Storms (pictured above on a red carpet in 2013) was ultimately hospitalized and put on a psychiatric hold before being later released. WireImage<\/p>\n

In May 2025, according to Barash, Storms was allegedly \u201cexperiencing delusions and hallucinations\u201d and told Barash she \u201cdidn\u2019t think she should have the child for her parenting time.\u201d<\/p>\n

She was ultimately hospitalized on a psychiatric hold and later released. At which point, she allegedly turned to abusing Adderall and potentially other substances, one of Storms\u2019 friends claimed Barash.<\/p>\n

At the time, Barash asked the court to force Storms to undergo a mental health evaluation. <\/p>\n

Storms (pictured here posing for a selfie) updated her followers on her legal situation with Barash in a July 19 Instagram statement. Kirsten Storms\/Instagram<\/p>\n

The actress (seen above holding her and Barash\u2019s baby girl Harper in 2014) acknowledged the \u201congoing situation,\u201d saying that it will be \u201cgetting sorted out (soon hopefully)\u201d as she asked her followers to stop \u201cthe speculation.\u201d WireImage<\/p>\n

The \u201cZenon: Girl of the 21st Century\u201d actress responded to Barash\u2019s legal allegations against her with an update on their legal situation in a July 19 statement shared via Instagram.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will briefly acknowledge that there is an ongoing situation with Brandon that will be getting sorted out (soon hopefully),\u201d she wrote. \u201cI would appreciate (and encourage) for people on here not to worry about me, or think there is something larger going on, other than 2 ex-spouses dealing with a \u2018disagreement,\u2019 that WILL be resolved.\u201d<\/p>\n

Storms continued, \u201cPlease remember that we are people who are divorced and have a child. I appreciate the supportive comments, but now that my daughter is of the age where she will Google her name while riding the bus to school, I\u2019m asking that the speculation on this issue please stop.\u201d<\/p>\n

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