Nearly one year after returning to the iconic soap opera Days of Our Lives, Steve Burton is exiting once again.
The 53-year-old actor returned to Days of Our Lives in January 2023, reprising his role as Harris Michaels, after he returned months earlier for the Peacock spin-off Days of Our Lives: Beyond Salem.
However, Burton revealed yesterday that he is leaving the soap opera, sharing on his Instagram story that he recently filmed his final scenes (via Daily Drama).
The news comes just days after his messy divorce with Sheree Gustin was finalized, two years after their split when she had a baby with another man.
It also comes more than two years after Burton was fired from General Hospital for refusing to comply in the soap’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
Nearly one year after returning to the iconic soap opera Days of Our Lives, Steve Burton is exiting once again
However, Burton revealed yesterday that he is leaving the soap opera, sharing on his Instagram story that he recently filmed his final scenes (via Daily Drama )
Burton revealed in the brief video, ‘Wow. Well I just shot my final scenes here at Days of Our Lives, and I just want to say thank you to everybody, to the cast, to the crew, to Days, everybody. It’s been amazing.’
‘I can’t believe it’s been a year already, so thank you so much to the fans. It’s just… I’m always so full of gratitude, so thank you. Stay tuned,’ he concluded.
Burton originated the role of Harris Michaels for Days of Our Lives back in 1988, though he only appeared in a short run of episodes.
Two years later he signed on to play Jason Morgan, which he played from 1990 to 2012, before leaving to play Dylan McAvoy on The Young and the Restless from 2013 to 2017.
He returned to General Hospital in 2017 as Morgan, until he was fired in 2021 for refusing to comply with the show’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
He joined the Peacock spin-off Days of Our Lives: Beyond Salem in the summer of 2022 before signing a one-year contract for the flagship soap for 2023.
Burton said in an Instagram video that he applied for ‘medical and religious exemptions’ from the vaccine mandate, but was denied.
‘(This) is about personal freedom for me; I don’t think anyone should lose their livelihood over this,’ Burton said in a statement.
Just months earlier he made headlines for his real-life drama with his then-wife of 23 years, Sheree Gustin, who was pregnant with a child that was not his.
Burton revealed in the brief video, ‘Wow. Well I just shot my final scenes here at Days of Our Lives, and I just want to say thank you to everybody, to the cast, to the crew, to Days, everybody. It’s been amazing’
‘I can’t believe it’s been a year already, so thank you so much to the fans. It’s just… I’m always so full of gratitude, so thank you. Stay tuned,’ he concluded
He joined the Peacock spin-off Days of Our Lives: Beyond Salem in the summer of 2022 before signing a one-year contract for the flagship soap for 2023
‘I wanted to clear something up. Sheree and I are separated. She recently announced that she’s expecting her fourth child. The child is not mine,’ he said.
‘We are still co-parenting our three beautiful kids. We would appreciate privacy at this time. Much luv, Steve,’ he concluded.
Burton and Gustin, 45, wed in 1999 and are parents to daughters Makena, 18, and Brooklyn, seven; and son Jack, 16.
It was not clear how long the couple had been separated for before Burton announced it publicly.
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