After 21 years of face-slapping, backstabbing, and mistaken identities, soap star Alison Sweeney has decided to leave her famed role as Samantha Brady on the hit NBC soap opera “Days of Our Lives.”

The announcement came as a shock to fans who have come to know and love the actress in her role as Sami Brady on the long-running daytime soap. (The show has been on the air for 48 seasons!)

Alison Sweeney started her role as on the show when she was just sixteen years old. Since then, the actress has gone on to host shows like “The Biggest Loser”, which she has been hosting since 2007.

People Magazine shared some of her motivations for leaving the show. “For seven years I’ve done both shows,” she says. “I’m really just excited to be with my kids and be with my husband and, I don’t know, have fun. And I write. My second book’s coming out. I love directing and just, you know, finding things to do.”

Alison revealed on Ellen DeGeneres’ daytime talk show Ellen: “I have never had more than a two-week vacation in that whole time and yeah… 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.”

She went on, “My daughter just turned five and my son is nine, and I just want to be with them and enjoy my last year. I’m going to be on Days all this year. We’ll see what happens!”

Alison’s character Sami is still set to be on the show for the rest of the year. Her final episode has yet to be announced.

She shared on Ellen that she is torn as to whether or not her character should get a happy ending or if she “deserves some sort of very twisted, like, “Breaking Bad” ending. She’s caused a lot of people a lot of problems.”

If its anything like the soap star who’ve been written off before her, there may be an evil twin who comes to town and claims the family fortune throwing her off a cliff at a posh getaway resort where….gasp…she’s cheating on her husband!!!!

“Days of Our Lives” airs every day at 1 p.m. in most locations in the United States.

The show is watched in many countries all over the world.