Alison Sweeney to leave ‘Days of Our Lives’ after two decades

America has watched Alison Sweeney grow up before their eyes as Sami Brady on the long-running soap opera “Days of Our Lives.� She joined the show when she was 16 and has remained on it for 21 years. But now she’s about to call it quits.

The actress appeared on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show� on Monday and announced that she’s leaving the series sometime soon after the end of this year.

“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,� Sweeney told DeGeneres.

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“I love Sami, I love Salem, I love my job, I love daytime, I love the fans, I love everything about it,� she said.

So why is she leaving? She told DeGeneres she wants to spend more time with her children, ages 5 and 9.

It should be noted that Sweeney isn’t going to be completely out of work. She has also served as host of the NBC reality hit “The Biggest Loser� for the last seven years. She’s also a writer, with her first novel, “The Star Attraction,� coming out last year and a follow-up in the works.

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As for the fate of vindictive Sami Brady, Sweeney has no idea. “It would be awesome to have some sort of happy ending, but then I also think maybe Sami deserves some sort of twisted, ‘Breaking Bad’ ending.�

Don’t expect blue meth to appear on “Days� in the next year. But hey, stranger things have happened.

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