‘General Hospital’ Finally Reveals How It’s Writing Off a Beloved Legacy Character

Fans of General Hospital have been curious about how the show would handle the absence of Maxie Jones, with Kirsten Storms sharing she would not be working. Given the character’s rich history and ties to the show, she was clearly missing from the canvas, but today the show finally shared what it plans to do with the beloved legacy character.

During the July 23, 2026 episode, General Hospital fans learned that Tracy (Jane Elliot) revealed that Maxie had divested all of her stock in Deception, the legacy company that she worked at with the Quartermaine family.

Elsewhere in Port Charles, Cody Bell (Josh Kelly) revealed to his girlfriend Molly Lansing-Davis (Kristen Vaganos) that Maxie’s ex-Spinelli (Bradford Anderson) had accepted a new job and that Maxie and the kids will be moving with him.

Storms joined General Hospital in 2005 as Maxie Jones, assuming the role following Robyn Richards’ exit in 2004. Storms had just come off a successful run on Days of Our Lives where she played legacy character Belle Black, the daughter of John Black (Drake Hogestyn) and Marlena Evans (Deidre Hall), so she was prepared to take on the role of Frisco Jones (Jack Wagner) and Felicia Jones (Kristina Wagner)’s daughter.

In 2011, Storms left the role due to an extended medical leave, with actress Jen Lilley filling in during her absence. Storms would return to the series in September of 2012.

On July 7, 2025, Storms took to Instagram to reveal that she had relocated her family to Tennessee and had already filmed her final episodes of the year. The door was open, and she looked forward to returning in the future, but needed this time to reset.

Storms then revealed in January of 2026 that she had returned to filming. During her time away, on-screen Maxie’s dead husband Nathan West (Ryan Paevey) returned from the dead. Only, it was later revealed that Nathan wasn’t actually alive; rather, it was Nathan’s identical twin brother, Cassius Faison, who had assumed his identity.

Following a brief return to the screen, Storms revealed on social media that she was experiencing numerous incidents involving an alleged stalker. During this time, she would no longer be filming with the soap opera. “Given what’s been going on, I can’t say that I feel comfortable heading back to Los Angeles and returning to work. This has been an eye-opening experience about the downside of my profession.”

Elsewhere, it was revealed that Storms’ ex-husband Brandon Barash had raised legal concerns over Storms’ mental health and was seeking an emergency restraining order to protect their child, Harper Rose.

While the door appears to be left open for the character to return one day, fans will have to stay tuned to see if and when that happens, and who will be portraying the role if Maxie does return to Port Charles.

General Hospital airs weekdays on ABC and streams weeknights on Hulu.