General Hospital Spoilers: Frank Valentini Dishes On Rebecca Budig’s Departure

With legendary daytime veteran Steve Burton returning to the ABC super soap, it’s an exciting time to be a General Hospital fan. But just as it is in our real lives, viewers know that reel life changes aren’t always what we wish for. We take the ups with the downs, and such is the case with the exit of respected actress Rebecca Budig (Hayden Barnes).

When Budig debuted on the Daytime Emmy-winning drama series two and a half years ago, many fans knew her from her role as the rich and spoiled Greenlee from the now defunct ABC soap All My Children. Her character played opposite Josh Duhamel’s Leo; how lucky can a girl get?

GH Star Rebecca Budig News And Updates 

So it was with great fanfare that viewers welcomed her character Rachel Berlin to Port Charles. Rachel was also a spoiled rich girl, but unfortunately this character never took off to the stratospheric heights that Greenlee hit.

Budig has now completed her stint as the re-named Hayden Barnes, and GH’s executive producer Frank Valentini recently reflected on her time on the show.

In an interview with Michael Fairman, Valentini spoke fondly of the actress and acknowledged that saying goodbye wasn’t an easy thing for him to do. “Rebecca and I are close friends,” the executive said. “She is a phenomenal actress. She had great chemistry with Michael Easton (Finn).”

Although Rachel/Hayden initially came on like gangbusters, Valentini noted, “This story had come to a natural end.” In between the beginning and the end, Budig did a phenomenal job of taking the character from an avowed bad girl to a good girl, and currently back to mean girl territory.

Related: General Hospital Kirsten Storms Says Brandon Barash Encouraged Her To Seek Help For Depression

We wish Budig well in her future endeavors, and hope to see her back on our screens soon. When asked if viewers have seen the last of Hayden, Valentini hedged his bets in classic soap fashion. “Hayden could return … you never know what the future holds,” teased the legendary soap opera executive.

Check back with Soap Opera Spy for more General Hospital spoilers right here.

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