Why is Lucky Spencer fame Jonathan Jackson leaving General Hospital? Explained

Jonathan Jackson recently explained why he's exiting Port Charles again, leaving General Hospital viewers stunned. The storyline presented a twist just when his character, Lucky Spencer, was getting close to his former wife and longtime love interest, Elizabeth. However, after Elizabeth turned down Lucky's proposal, he decided to leave town.

Jackson's exit made fans wonder about the real reason for this step. While speaking to TV Insider on June 9, 2025, the General Hospital actor mentioned that commuting problems were the actual reason behind his departure. Meanwhile, Lucky, who has been in and out of Port Charles for years, may return sometime later.

The other story arcs on the long-running ABC daily soap focused on the Michael-Willow custody hearing and Gio's parentage havoc. While all people connected to Gio were busy trying to accept the newly revealed facts, the young adult trusted his friend, Emma. Elsewhere, Sasha and Michael's newborn baby changed the dynamics of the court case.

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The reason behind General Hospital star Jonathan Jackson's departure

As Jonathan Jackson shared in his latest interview, he currently resides in Tennessee with his family of three children and wife, Lisa Vultaggio. So, he had to commute to Los Angeles for the filming of General Hospital. While he tried to work this distance out as an experiment, it started affecting his family dynamics negatively. He tried his best to get a balance, taking one day and one month at a time.

He told TV Insider:

“There were moments where I thought, ‘I think I can find this balance with the family and time back and forth,’ and then you just have to pray about it and try to do what you feel is right."

Jackson added that both he and the soap's production made sincere attempts at making the character stay in the storyline longer. However, with the distance disrupting his personal life, he had to quit, a decision that was made recently.

Based on his decision, Lucky's exit arc was quickly written, and Jackson thanked executive producer Frank Valentini for all the help.

In his interview, he mentioned Genie Francis, Maurice Benard and Rebecca Herbst as co-actors that he loved to reunite with after the long gap. He also liked working with Kate Mansi for the first time.

Out of General Hospital, Jackson, who is a musician and author, will be releasing a solo album later in the year. He also has a book of poetry lined up that has taken him 15 years of work, besides the second part of his 2014 book, The Mystery of Art. He has a lot of tours coming up as well. Moreover, he will be open to other projects that may come along.

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General Hospital: Why did Lucky plan a departure again?

Recently, Lucky Spencer was settling down to a homebody life as he reunited with his former wife, Elizabeth, his son, Aiden, his mother, Laura, and his sister, Lulu. He collaborated as a team with Liz when they collected evidence against Cyrus Renault for the police.

Later, he got into business with Kristina Corinthos, developing a rapport with her. As such, he was the only person privy to her criminal act of cutting brake wires, causing Ric and Elizabeth's accident. He tried to save her till Alexis told him about Ava's blackmail and asked him to stay away from the mess.

Meanwhile, Lucky cared for Elizabeth Webber, who sustained a fractured leg from the accident. His loving care brought the former couple close. Emboldened by Liz's response and his own feelings, Lucky presented her with a ring and proposed. However, Liz rejected his proposal gently, asking him to consider the implications of family responsibilities.

He grudgingly admitted that he would prefer to travel the world than stay in Port Charles. When Liz refused to accompany him on his tours since she had her family and career in town, Lucky decided to leave right away.

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Lucky will bid farewell to all his loved ones, including his mother, his son and his friends, before leaving in the upcoming episodes. Meanwhile, General Hospital will continue to present complicated story arcs as Elizabeth moves on with her life.