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INTERVIEW

Sydney Mikayla On Her GH Exit

Sydney Mikayla, who assumed the role of Trina Robinson in 2019, has opted to leave the show to focus on academics; she’s currently in her first year at UCLA. Her final airdate was slated for March 17.

Executive Producer Frank Valentini told Digest, “Sydney asked to leave in order to focus on college. We love her and are sad to see her go, but of course support her decision and wish her the best.” In an exclusive statement to Digest, Mikayla explained, “I have loved working on GENERAL HOSPITAL, but I feel like this is the right time to dive in and enjoy my college experience to the fullest. The cast has become family and bringing the character of Trina to life has been one of the best experiences of my career thus far. Thank you to Frank and the entire team for believing in me and giving me this wonderful opportunity. I will miss working with everyone every day, but I am excited to see what is to come for the show.”

Several of Mikayla’s co-stars took to social media to voice their support for her decision. Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis) posted, “I [love] & respect
@sydneymikayla. A great talent who prioritizes her  4 yrs at
@ucla. #Gh will still be there, but this 4 yr focus is paramount for greater reasons & exactly why @GeneralHospital & I both know she will flourish best.” “You’ll be missed Sydney!!!! Xoxox We are so proud of you!” tweeted Laura Wright (Carly).

Mikayla’s leading man, Nicholas Chavez (Spencer), says that filming his final scenes opposite her “was very emotional. It’s ‘Sprina’, you know? Sydney has been incredible, such a talented actress. She’s leaving because she is so busy at school; she’s a full-time student at UCLA and that workload is so intense, so ultimately, I’m just incredibly proud of her as a friend that she is going and doing the things in life that she felt were important to her. That’s not always an easy thing to do, so I’m very proud of her and very supportive, as we all were at GH. She’s just a rock star! It’s been an utter pleasure to share the screen with her and I wish her nothing but continued success and happiness with everything she does.”

“Sprina” will have a next act, as the role of Trina has been recast with Tabyana Ali, who will make her debut later this month. Notes Chavez, “Sydney brought something amazing to the role and is truly unique — but as a recast myself, I know that when you’re coming into this, you try so hard to make things work. I think the new Trina is going to knock everyone’s socks off. She’s an incredibly talented actress, a very friendly person, and I think the fans are going to be really excited to see the progression of the ‘Sprina’ storyline.” Echoed Valentini, “We’re excited to welcome Tabyana Ali and see what she’ll do with the role of Trina.”

After Digest broke the recast news online and Ali was bombarded with well-wishes from GH fans online, she tweeted, “I’m so grateful to have this opportunity! Thank y’all for the warm welcoming. I’m so happy to be in this position #gh #trina #GeneralHospital.”

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