Alison Sweeney is bidding adieu to "Days of Our Lives." Since 1993, the actress has played Sami Brady on NBC's popular soap opera. During a Tuesday, Jan. 21, appearance on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," the L.A. native revealed why she's leaving the show that made her one of TV's most popular daytime stars.
"I've been on 'Days of Our Lives' for 21 years. I'm celebrating my 21st year and I decided that it's going to be my last year with the show," Sweeney announced. "I've been on 'Days of Our Lives' since I was 16-years-old, and I have never had more than a two-week vacation in that whole time. It's awesome. I love Sami, I love Salem, I love my job, I love daytime, I love the fans--I love everything about it."
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Sweeney has been pulling double duty as star of "Days of Our Lives" and host of "The Biggest Loser" for seven years. She's looking forward to spending more time with her husband, David Sanov, and their two children, Benjamin and Megan. "My daughter just turned 5 and my son is 9, and I just want to be with them and enjoy my last year. I'm going to be on 'Days' all this year," she said. "We don't have a specific time yet, but I'm going to be on all this year and we'll see what happens."
The actress has no idea what's in store for her bad girl character--but she hopes that Sami goes out with a bang. "It would be awesome to have some kind of happy ending, but then, I also think Sami probably deserves some sort of very twisted like 'Breaking Bad' ending," she suggested. "I don't know."
"She's caused a lot of people a lot of problems," Sweeney, 37, continued. The actress added that the writers "have amazing imaginations and Sami has certainly caused her fair share of drama over the last 21 years. It will be 22 and I don't even know what happens next. I'm so, like, flustered."
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While Sami's fate is TBD, Sweeney's future is clear. "I'm really just excited to be with my kids and be with my husband and I don't know, have fun!" she laughed. "And I write--my second book's coming out--and I love directing."
