Alison Sweeney Is Leaving 'Days of Our Lives' After 21 Years

Find out why she decided it was time for a change.

ByABC News
January 21, 2014, 3:01 PM
"Days of Our Lives" actress and "The Biggest Loser" host Alison Sweeney makes an appearance on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show",  Jan. 21 2014.
"Days of Our Lives" actress and "The Biggest Loser" host Alison Sweeney makes an appearance on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show", Jan. 21 2014.
Michael Rozman/ Warner Bros.

Jan. 21, 2014 — -- After 21 years, Alison Sweeney is ready to leave "Days of Our Lives."

The soap opera star, 37, broke the news to Ellen Degeneres in an interview that aired today. She was just 16 when she first appeared on the show.

"I decided that it's going to be my last year with the show," she said. "It's awesome. I love [her character] Sami. ... I love my job, I love daytime [TV], I love the fans, I love everything about it but ... I have worked so much and my daughter just turned 5 and my son is 9, and I just want to be with them."

She assured her fans she would be on this year, her 22nd, and didn't have a specific time for her finale. Sweeney also doesn't know what's going to happen to her character.

"It would be awesome to have some sort of happy ending," she said. "But I also think Sami probably deserves some sort of very twisted, like 'Breaking Bad' ending. I don't know! She caused a lot of people a lot of problems."

For the last seven years, Sweeney has been doing double duty as show star and host of the hit reality TV show "Biggest Loser."

"I'm really just excited to be with my kids and be with my husband," she said.