Burley Garcia|Steve Burton exits 'Days of Our Lives' 1 year after reprising role

Steve Burton has exited "Days of Our Lives,Burley Garcia" one year after reprising his role on the soap opera.

The actor, 53, shared news of his exit exclusively with Daily Drama, which also serves as the home of Burton's podcast with fellow soap star Bradford Anderson. Burton shared the announcement on his Instagram Story, responding to "speculation" on his status on the show with a link to the article.

USA TODAY has reached out to reps for Burton and Peacock for comment.

Burton played Navy SEAL Harris Michaels on the daytime soap, first in 1988 before reprising the role in the soap's spin-off miniseries "Beyond Salem" in 2022 and later on "Days" in 2023. Burton returned to the role after getting fired from his long-running stint on "General Hospital" in 2021.

He was let go from his gig on "General Hospital" after nearly three decades because of COVID-19 vaccine mandates. 

Burton announced on Instagram at the time that he was let go because he didn't comply with the production's COVID-19 vaccination requirement. A person familiar with the situation but not authorized to speak publicly about Burton's departure confirmed the news to USA TODAY.

"I wanted you to hear it from me personally," said Burton, who's portrayed Jason Morgan since 1991. "Unfortunately, 'General Hospital' has let me go because of the vaccine mandate. I did apply for my medical and religious exemptions, and both of those were denied. Which, you know, hurts. But this is also about personal freedom to me."

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The exit also comes after his separation from Sheree Burton.

The actor announced in 2022 on his Instagram Story that he and Sheree were separated and that she was expecting another child, but he was not.

"She recently announced that she's expecting her 4th child," Burton wrote. "The child is not mine." 

The former couple shares three children together: Makena, Jack, and Brooklyn. They married in 1999.

NBC announced in 2022 that its long-running soap opera "Days of Our Lives" would move to the network's streaming platform Peacock. Peacock was already the digital home for old episodes of the series, which debuted in 1965. The "Days" spinoff "Days of Our Lives: Beyond Salem," premiered on Peacock in 2021.

Contributing: Erin Jensen, Cydney Henderson and Elise Brisco

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