General Hospital’s Kate Mansi Dishes on Her Character, Kristina’s Exit, and Why She Kept Her Departure a Secret from Maurice Benard

General Hospital fans saw the last of Kate Mansi as Kristina Corinthos Davis on Friday, June 12th. The character left Port Charles to pursue a career in the medical field.

Mansi and Benard’s Real-Life Reactions Authentically Translated On-Screen
Kristina is off to medical school in California. While Mansi told many of her castmates that she planned to leave the show, she kept her departure a secret from her on-screen dad, Maurice Benard, who plays Sonny Corinthos.

Mansi opted not to renew her contract, which was up in April. She told Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis Davis), Kristen Vaganos (Molly Lansing Davis), and Rory Gibson (Michael Corinthos) first. The last few scenes she shared with her castmates were very bittersweet.

Mansi admitted that she had a very difficult time breaking the news to Benard,

“I couldn’t bear telling Maurice in advance because we have such a close relationship.”

The actress told TV Insider,

“He was crying, and he asked me in rehearsal, ‘Is this it, kid? Are you really leaving?’” she recalled. “And I said, ‘Yes.’ He gave me a big hug, and we both cried.”

Maurice and Kate became very close since she started on GH. She was also a guest on his podcast, State of Mind, and opened up to Bernard in a way she didn’t with anyone else publicly.

Mansi added,

“During taping, it was a very meaningful, authentic reaction we both had saying goodbye to each other, which is what I really wanted, because the father-daughter relationship for Kristina and Sonny, and for Maurice and me, has been so special and unique. But it was really hard,”

Mansi Shared Her Final Scenes as Kristina with Her On-Screen Siblings
Kristina had her last scenes with her on-screen parents, Grahn and Benard, first. Then, she shared a final breakfast at the Metro Court with her on-screen siblings, Vaganos and Gibson.

Kristina’s scenes with Michael and Molly were adorable. Kristina demanded that her brother and sister start getting comfortable sharing everything with each other, since most of her time would be spent studying.

After she filmed her final scenes, Mansi felt deeply emotional as she went to the GH studio for the last time.

Mansi shared,

“After I finished my final scene, all the producers came out. I gave a little speech and said how recently I had lost a very good friend, Patrick Muldoon, who played Austin Reed on Days of Our Lives.

She continued,

“That experience made me very aware of the friendships we create in these jobs on shows like this every single day and how much I cherish them.”

Mansi worked on DOOL, playing Abigail Deveraux DiMera, and became very close to her castmates so that she could appreciate the whole daytime experience.

She also thanked her fans for being so supportive of her whether she was playing Kristina or Abigail.

While Mansi is excited and looking forward to the next chapter of her own story, when asked about a possible return to GH someday, she assured her fans,

“It’s Port Charles. Anything is possible.”