Viewers are curious to know why Michael Corinthos, portrayed by Chad Duell, left General Hospital. Since his debut in 2010, he’s played the son of the late A.J. Quartermaine and his ex-wife Carly Spencer.

Oops. If the social-media post that fans screen-grabbed is to be believed, General Hospital accidentally dropped its teaser for the Tuesday, Jan. 7, episode early. And ordinarily, that might not be a big deal.

With Chad Duell set to leave his role as General Hospital's Michael Corinthos in January and the show choosing not to recast for now, Michael has to be written off the canvas somehow.

What was the reason behind Chad Duell’s exit from General Hospital? Read on to find out why the Michael Corinthos portrayer chose to do so.

General Hospital’ star Chad Duell explained why he wanted to step away from the soap opera and what could be next for his career

Chad Duell, who has played Michael Corinthos on "General Hospital" for 14 years, announced his upcoming departure from the ABC soap opera.

Chad Duell is reflecting on his General Hospital exit after 14 years and explaining why he decided to walk away from the ABC sudser. In a new interview, the actor opened up about why he chose to leave the long-running soap.