THE RETURNS, exits, and replacements of characters on The Young And The Restless make the show a revolving door.

Season 49 of the series followed previous editions of The Young And The Restless and was full of characters leaving or rejoining the denizens of Genoa City - including Summer Newman, played by Hunter King.

Why did Hunter King leave the Young and the Restless?

According to Soap Opera Spy, Hunter King's contract with The Young and The Restless was reported to be up sometime in Fall 2021.

The outlet claimed that the actress could possibly be making her exit from the program.

At the time, neither Hunter nor anyone from the Y&R team commented on the rumors.

In April 2021, Hunter interviewed with TV Source Magazine and was asked about her time and future on the show.

She told the publication: “Summer has matured a lot. She’s had quite a bit of life experience now.

“She’s been heartbroken and has broken hearts and has made a name for herself."

The actress further shared about Summer's journey, "Career-wise, she has definitely matured and is more grounded.”

"Fans definitely need to keep watching to see what happens, things just keep on getting more interesting as time goes on."

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"Just when you think ‘Okay, this is what we know is going on’ something else happens."

But in 2022, fans were no longer left wondering about her departure because Hunter signed on for another season.

During a May 17, 2022 episode of Y&R, Summer re-emerged on the series, played by Allison Lanier.

Though Hunter discussed potential storylines involving Summer with a number of outlets, she never divulged an exact reason for her departure.