Steve Burton, one of the most popular stars of General Hospital, broke the news on February 9 that he is leaving the show — albeit not permanently. On February 10, the actor revealed that he has decided to take a hiatus from the role of Jason Morgan.
“Hey everyone, I wanted to share that I’ll be taking a short break from General Hospital,” he shared on Instagram. “I’m newly married and looking forward to spending some quality time with my family.
I’m grateful for all the support and will be back this summer. Much love.”
Ins and Outs
Soap Opera Digest has learned that the Daytime Emmy-winning actor, who tied the knot with chef and content creator Michelle Lundstrom on May 17, 2025, has already taped his final episode (for now).
His last day at the studio was Friday, February 6, and the show is poised to begin a two-week production hiatus next week. Because GH tapes several weeks in advance — with an especially long lead time from tape to air when it has a hiatus planned — viewers will have plenty more Jason storyline to savor before Burton’s break from GH is reflected on screen.
In a statement provided to Digest, GH Executive Producer Frank Valentini said, “We love Steve and I am glad the show worked it out so he can get some personal time with his family. We have some great Jason story leading up to spring and look forward to his return in the summer.”
This is not the first time Burton has taken time away from the show. The star made his first appearance in Port Charles all the way back in 1991, and in 1999, he decided not to ink another contract.
He aired through January 2000, then returned for a short stint that August and visited again for several months in 2001. Then, in May 2002, he came back full-time.
Ten years later, in 2012, he elected to leave again. “It was definitely one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make in my entire life,” he told Digest in 2017. “I grew up on the show, since I was 21 years old.
The crew is like my family and obviously a lot of the cast were, too, and it was really difficult to leave [but] I needed a little bit of a change, as it turned out. As much as, emotionally, it was tough for me, looking back now, I feel it was the right decision for me and my family.”
In 2013, Burton began playing Dylan McAvoy on Young and Restless. He ended his run in 2017, picking up another Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor for his work as Nikki Newman’s (Melody Thomas Scott) surprise son.
That same year, he returned to GH to reprise Jason, who had been recast in 2014 with the late Billy Miller. (In the storyline, Miller’s character turned out not to be Jason, after all, but rather his previously unknown twin, Drew Cain, who had been programmed with Jason’s memories.) Burton wound up leaving again in 2021 after the show implemented a Covid vaccine policy.
After he parted ways with GH, Burton made the move to Days of Our Lives, where he had kicked off his soap career with the short-term role of Harris Michaels in 1988.
He first reprised Harris on Peacock’s DAYS spinoff miniseries Beyond Salem in July 2022, then appeared on the main show from March 2023 until June 2024 (but he finished filming at the end of 2023).
Then, on January 4, 2024, Burton’s imminent comeback to GH was announced during a prime-time special that aired on ABC, which was titled General Hospital: 60 Years of Stars & Storytelling.
At the end of the hour-long GH retrospective, Burton made a surprise appearance in which he appeared alongside two of his longtime co-stars, Kelly Monaco (ex-Sam) and Laura Wright (Carly), and intoned, “Happy anniversary, General Hospital. Stay tuned — big things are coming to Port Charles.” His first episode aired on March 4.
Burton’s temporary absence from the canvas comes at a critical storyline juncture for his character, who has recently renewed his relationship with former lover Britt Westbourne (Kelly Thiebaud). Britt is facing grave danger from Sidwell (Carlo Rota), who also poses a threat to Jason’s longtime associate Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) and to Mayor Laura Collins (Genie Francis), which Jason has been working to neutralize.
On yesterday’s episode, Jason learned that his friend (and one-time kissing partner) Anna Devane (Finola Hughes) has supposedly suffered a mental breakdown and has been institutionalized in France, but Jason suspects that the WSB has something to do with her dire circumstances.
