After an impressive 21 years on “General Hospital,” Kirsten Storms’ character has bid farewell to the beloved soap opera. Her departure comes in the wake of a recent “mental health crisis,” marking a significant change for both the show’s narrative and its loyal fans.
In a surprising plot twist, fans were stunned to learn that Maxie Jones, portrayed by Storms, will be moving to Australia. This unexpected storyline development follows her character’s dramatic recovery from a coma just months prior, as revealed in Thursday’s episode.
Despite the buzz surrounding this major exit, a representative for the long-running series has yet to address inquiries from Page Six.
Kirsten Storms, 42, has been a staple on the show as Maxie Jones since 2005. Her recent departure isn’t entirely unprecedented; she took a six-month break from July 2025 to February 2026 to focus on undergoing brain surgery, a decision she openly shared with her fans.
In the months before her current departure, Storms’ appearances on the show were already becoming sporadic, reflecting her gradual transition away from the series.
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.
“Given what’s been going on, I can’t 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.” she wrote at the time, via Instagram.
The move comes amid the actress’ ongoing family woes. In April, Barash was granted an emergency restraining order against Storms after he told a judge she is struggling with a “mental health crisis.”
Among several other claims, Barash — who met the “General Hospital” star on the set of the soap before they married in 2013 — claimed he worried for their 12-year-old daughter Harper’s health and safety as Storms had gone through a series of financial struggles since their 2016 divorce.
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’t have a permanent residence from September 2024 to June 2025.
As “instability with housing has been a recurring theme” for Storms, she frequently stayed in hotels, but would change rooms on a repeated basis over fears that people were “following her and the child to her room,” Barash claimed.
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.
In May 2025, according to Barash, Storms was allegedly “experiencing delusions and hallucinations” and told Barash she “didn’t think she should have the child for her parenting time.”
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’ friends claimed Barash.
At the time, Barash asked the court to force Storms to undergo a mental health evaluation.
The “Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century” actress responded to Barash’s legal allegations against her with an update on their legal situation in a July 19 statement shared via Instagram.
“I will briefly acknowledge that there is an ongoing situation with Brandon that will be getting sorted out (soon hopefully),” she wrote. “I 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 ‘disagreement,’ that WILL be resolved.”
Storms continued, “Please 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’m asking that the speculation on this issue please stop.”