Given that Michael was about to learn that Willow has been cheating on him and his own indiscretion with Sasha has resulted in an unplanned pregnancy, fans were shocked when portrayer Chad Duell revealed his decision to leave General Hospital. Following the actor’s announcement in late November, the soap soon revealed that the character would be written off the canvas with “no plans to recast the role at this time.”

During a visit to the Daily Drama Podcast hosted by his GH co-stars and pals Steve Burton (Jason) and Bradford Anderson (Spinelli), Duell opened up about what led him to make the difficult decision to leave the soap he’d called home for 15 years.

“A lot of stuff’s been going on in my life,” he confided. “There’s a few things behind it but one thing I did say is… my dad passed away and I’m still coming to terms with that. And my intention was to spend some time back in Arizona but that’s becoming a little harder to do because [my partner] Luana has school and [our son] Dawson, he goes to this daycare out here.”

While Duell naturally wants to focus on his family and his one-year-old son, he also wants to spend some time on himself as well. “Coming in January… I have a few things planned I want to do for myself,” he explained. “It’s different because I have a kid now. But also for him and me as well, and everybody, doing what’s best for me, spiritually, mentally, everything, too, will only reflect my energy in a better way towards everybody around me, and I want to make sure that I take care of myself as well. Which I haven’t always done.”

Soaps can be pretty steady work for actors, a career that normally doesn’t have much stability or job security. But Duell found himself realizing that he would have to make himself uncomfortable to take a step forward in life. “I feel like I had a very strong… comfort in this for such a long time that my identity was wrapped up in that,” he confessed. “The show and the character I’ve done for so long. So it’s going to be a process, but kind of unraveling that and really seeing who I am and where I am now in my life. I don’t know what the future holds, but there is a lot of work I have to do to achieve the potential that I know I have. Not just career-wise, but a lot of aspects.”

Still, fans can take heart that this may not be the last we see of Duell’s Michael on the soap. “Obviously, with Frank [Valentini, GH’s executive producer] and everything, left the door open there,” he revealed, “so we’ll see what happens in the future.”

But right now, the Daytime Emmy Award winner is focusing on his new life away from Port Charles, declaring: “I’m excited to take that breath and reset and see where I’m at in my life and grow the ways that I need to grow.”

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