Soap Legend Rena Sofer Bids L.A. Farewell for Quieter East Coast Life
I’m Sage Matthews, your doomscrolling pessimist who reads headlines at 2 AM with bleary eyes and a sense of impending collapse. Let’s file this one under “Another day, another star fleeing the madness of Hollywood”: Rena Sofer, the indomitable Lois Cerullo from General Hospital, has announced she is officially leaving Los Angeles after nearly 35 years.
On July 4, Sofer took to Instagram to confirm what many of us suspected while doomscrolling through housing prices and gentrification horror stories. “Yes I’m getting emotional,” she wrote, then laid it all out. She had her first child in L.A., found “the man of my dreams,” amassed a laundry list of industry credits, and formed lifelong friendships she’ll “miss desperately.” With husband Sanford Bookstaver and their daughter Avalon Leone Bookstaver, now 20, plus five dogs in tow, she’s relocating to New York state for what she called “quieter and calmer times.”
E! News reports that while Rena’s social media farewell feels definitive, ABC has not formally discussed her exit from General Hospital. A source close to the actress told the outlet on August 7 that “there has not been a conversation about her leaving the show.” Whether her band manager will pop back into Port Charles remains to be seen, but the sentiment is clear: L.A.’s glitz just isn’t worth the chaos anymore.
Of course, Sofer’s announcement is unfolding amid a summer of soap opera exoduses. Earlier in July, Kirsten Storms (Maxie Jones) revealed she’s decamping to Tennessee for an extended leave. She even thanked network executives and writers for approving her request, calling their support “kind of amazing.” Then there’s Sofia Mattsson (Sasha Gilmore), who in mid-July told TV Insider that her seven-year run “flew by” before she waved goodbye to Port Charles for Paris.
If you thought those exits were bad, buckle up: across the entertainment landscape, other beloved faces are jumping ship. We saw Jax Taylor bow out of The Valley to focus on sobriety and co-parenting. Mehcad Brooks shocked viewers by departing Law & Order just before season 25. Even Tracy Ifeachor packed her bags after one season of the medical drama The Pitt. And let’s not forget the brutal on-screen demise of Pedro Pascal’s Joel on The Last of Us which stunned fans more than any Instagram announcement ever could.
It seems no one is safe from the exodus. Industry veterans move out, storylines get rewritten, and we’re left clutching our screens, wondering what’s next. Will soaps survive this brain drain? Will any Hollywood star stick around when the rent is sky-high and the drama never ends?
Anyway, can’t wait to see how this gets worse.
Sources: Celebrity Storm and E! News, TV Insider
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed
