The Real Reason Kim Matula Left The Bold And The Beautiful

Kim Matula played the fan favorite character Hope Logan, daughter of Katherine Kelly Lang's iconic Brooke Logan, on "The Bold and the Beautiful" for five years before a shock exit left everyone flummoxed. Since leaving the hit show, Matula has remained mostly booked and busy. She featured alongside Florence Pugh in wrestling drama "Fighting with my Family," stretched her comedic chops in short-lived sitcom "LA to Vegas," alongside Dylan McDermott, and even lived her "Bachelor" fantasy as Tiffany in "UnREAL" (via IMDb). 

Matula briefly reprised her role in "The Bold and the Beautiful" in 2016, but otherwise the actor seems to have left the beloved soap opera in the rearview mirror. Notably, though, she enjoyed a quick reunion with onscreen mother Lang, in 2022, when the two ladies ran into each other at the gym, alongside fellow alum Linsey Godfrey, who played Caroline Spencer. Sharing a sweet selfie to Instagram, the soap legend wrote, "Miss you both! We must get together soon." Clearly, there were no hard feelings among this talented cast. 

So, why did Matula say goodbye to "The Bold and the Beautiful" in the first place?

In 2014, series regular Kim Matula took to social media to confirm her seemingly abrupt exit from "The Bold and the Beautiful." Alongside several behind the scenes shots from the hit soap, she wrote on Instagram, "What can I say about today? I can officially confirm that I filmed my last scenes at 'The Bold and The Beautiful.' For now." Matula continued, "It was a day full of love and laughter and reminiscing about the past 5 years." 

According to the actor, she simply opted not to renew her contract, with a view to spreading "my wings as an actor," so she could "see what this big beautiful world has to offer." Matula made it clear, however, that it wasn't goodbye forever, nor was she leaving the show on a bad note. "I can never put into words just how amazing and inspiring this show has been. What a huge part of my life," she shared, thanking fans for their support. 

As Showbiz Cheat Sheet notes, it's common for soaps to recast characters after the actors playing them have left. In the case of Hope Logan, Annika Noelle was drafted in to play her in 2018, which makes sense since Matula has reportedly made it clear in interviews she has no intention of returning full-time to "The Bold and the Beautiful." Still, never say never, since this is soap world. We might even see two Hopes battling it out for supremacy someday.