Young And The Restless star Michelle Stafford is arguably the glue of the hit soap drama. Stafford has been playing Phyllis Summers for more than 27 years. However, fans are concerned her long-standing tenure could be coming to an end.
Stafford’s time on the show has propelled her to stardom as she has accumulated numerous awards and praise. For more than two decades, fans have watched Phyllis plot and kill to get her own way, and it really is her way or the highway.
As rumours continue to circulate, let’s discover whether Genoa City’s good girl gone bad is leaving Y&R.
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Is Phyllis Newman leaving Y&R?
No. Michelle Stafford, who plays Phyllis Newman on The Young And The Restless, hasn’t confirmed she will leave the soap.
Recent episodes of The Young And The Restless revealed Phyllis had been going through some struggles and re-evaluating her life. She had been trying to iron everything out with Nick Newman. It seems she has felt a bit lost.
We saw a scene between Newman and Amanda Sinclair in which Phyllis explained if something didn’t change she might lose the plot and go back to her old habits. She then received a message from her daughter, Summer Newman (Hunter King), who offered Phyllis a job in Italy. It appeared to be Newman’s saving grace, although the phone call raised concerns for some fans.
Viewers are worried because Italy is the same place Summer and Kyle Abbott (Michael Mealor) vanished to and if Phyllis is thinking about going to join them, that could mean she’s leaving the show.
Now that Nick and Phyliss are finished, there’s nothing left for her in Genoa City aside from her hotel. Could this be the end of her time on Y&R?
The Young and the Restless – #1 Daytime Drama for 25 Years!
Michelle Stafford’s potential exit explored
There is a possibility Michelle Stafford is ready to retire, especially as she has been on the show for so long and is almost 60 years old. The actress is also the mother of two, Natalia and Jameson, and some think Stafford may want to take a break from the show to spend time with her children.
Michelle Stafford played Phyllis Summers from 1994 to 2013 and then headed over to General Hospital where she played Nina Reeves from 2014 to 2019. Her unexpected return as Phyllis in Y&R came in June 2019 and fans were over the moon to see her back on their screens.
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Who is Michelle Stafford?
Michelle Stafford was born on 14 September 1965 and is an American actress best known for her role as Phyllis Summers in CBS soap opera The Young And The Restless. She has won two Daytime Emmy Awards and created her own web comedy series, The Stafford Project.
Stafford has revealed her time on television has sometimes resulted in a blurring of lines between her character and her own life. In a 2020 interview with TV Source Magazine, she said: “It’s crazy how people connect you to your character. I play a character. I don’t think Michelle Stafford is anything like Phyllis Summers.”
The harshness of her TV character means Stafford is often the victim of negativity online. To deal with it, Michelle took a two-week break from social media in August 2021.
