This Is the Unexpected Reason Lulu Is Leaving 'General Hospital'

The longest-running soap opera, General Hospital, has been making moves as cast members seem to keep leaving. Of course, after more than 57 years on the air, there are bound to be cast changes, but after rumors that Lulu is leaving General Hospital, fans of the show are a bit distraught. Lulu, played by Emme Rylan, is one of the most beloved legacy characters, with quite a few loose ends to tie up.

After rumors broke that Lulu might be leaving based on some Instagram exchanges on Emme Rylan’s profile, plus hearsay that Julian Jerome, another character, would be leaving General Hospital, bloggers and fans started to untangle the web of gossip. How would Lulu be leaving and why? Is it her choice or was Emme Rylan fired? 

After a recent episode of General Hospital, a major explosion, dubbed the “Floating Rib Explosion” knocked out two major characters: Dev and Lulu’s current love interest, Dustin Phillips. However, even with her impending exit from the show, Lulu made it out of the explosion alive, giving breath to her toxic love story with the recently returned Dante.

However, she doesn’t get that much breath, as Lulu says, “I love you,” before falling unconscious in Dante’s arms. Fans are speculating that this means Lulu will drop into a coma,  but it’s also possible that she comes back to consciousness and runs off with Dante, as they are both potentially leaving the show. While there’s no way of truly knowing how Lulu leaves, we have some inklings as to why.

The rumors first started swirling when Emme Ryan posted on Instagram, “Some days are hard and you just need your whole family to give you a hug.” While many of us may be feeling that way right now, the kicker was when other cast members of General Hospital left supportive comments on the post wishing her luck and happiness.

The speculations began and without ABC releasing an official statement, it was up to Emme to address them before they got out of hand. In a separate Instagram post, she shared that she and her family would be packing up their bags after having trouble finding a new house. It hasn’t been an easy year for Emme; her sister passed away earlier this summer, and now her landlord sold their house, so they were forced to search for a new one. With the difficulties of the pandemic, a socially distant road trip was definitely a positive move for Emme and her family.

As rumors continued to swirl, Emme had to clear them up, so she shared on her Instagram story, “I am getting a lot of questions that I cannot answer …  People are kind of being confused that maybe I chose to take a vacation or take time off, so the only thing I can say is, ‘No, I did not choose this.’ I can’t say anything else. There you go. That’s all I am allowed to say.” 

With several characters also leaving and being killed off the show, Soapdirt reported that this may be due to budget cuts because of a lack of ad revenue during the pandemic. And even with all of us stuck at home, ratings have only plummeted for the longest-running serial program produced in Hollywood. But fans are crossing their fingers for a recast and a temporary return at the very least.