The city of Port Charles said goodbye to one of its beloved characters—but not to Kelly Monaco.

Although Kelly’s General Hospital character Sam McCall was killed off on the Nov. 1 episode—21 years after she premiered on the show—her costar, friend and love interest on the daytime soap Dominic Zamprogna has made sure to keep in touch with the actress.

“I still check in on her every week,” he told Soap Opera Digest in an interview published Nov. 6, later sharing the wisdom he’s given her. “I’ve found the greatest things in my life have come when it feels like a door is closing. And I was really trying to emphasize that to her.”

He is also optimistic she could possibly return in the future, adding, “It’s a soap. Who the heck knows what’s gonna happen?”

While ABC hasn’t spoken out to address the reason for Kelly’s exit, what is obvious is the deep friendship Dominic built with her over the years.

“Everyone in the crew becomes like family, your castmates become like family,” he continued. “The three-and-a-half years that we were together on the show were a big, important time of my life and in my character’s life. And I got to know Kelly in a way that I’d never known her before.”

Dominic—who himself left the show in 2017 before returning in 2020—then went on to praise his longtime costar, noting Kelly is “softer than her tough Philly exterior.”

“She’s a remarkable person,” he shared. “She’s tough as nails and admirable in so many ways, and it’s been cool to become a friend of hers. And that won’t end.”

“I’ve been with her in very emotional states myself,” Dominic added. “We became very able to tell each other very personal things and kind of talk each other through moments that I never would have anticipated that I would have with her because she gives off such a ‘tough girl’ vibe and she’s extremely cool and confident.”

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