Colleen Zenk Makes Dramatic Exit from “The Young and the Restless” Over a Year After Joining CBS Soap

"Aunt Jordan... near the end...." teased Zenk on Threads a day before making her exit

Sonja Flemming/CBS via Getty Colleen Zenk on 'The Young and the Restless'

Sonja Flemming/CBS via Getty

Colleen Zenk on 'The Young and the Restless'

WARNING: This article contains spoilers for The Young and the Restless

Colleen Zenk has bid farewell to The Young and the Restless.

The actress, 71, who first appeared as villainess Aunt Jordan in a November 2023 episode of The Young and the Restless, had her final appearance on the show's Friday, Jan. 24 installment.

Her character died after drinking a teacup full of crushed sleeping pills provided to her by Claire (Hayley Erin) while surrounded by members of the Newman family, including Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) and Victoria (Amelia Heinle), according to Soap Opera Digest.

Related: 12 Stars Who Appeared on 'The Young and the Restless'

Sonja Flemming/CBS Colleen Zenk on 'The Young and the Restless'

Sonja Flemming/CBS

Colleen Zenk on 'The Young and the Restless'

According to the outlet, Jordan would later say that she would rather be dead than once again be Victor (Eric Braeden)'s prisoner after finishing the poisonous drink and, with her dying breath, told Claire, “You will miss me."

ADVERTISEMENT

The As the World Turns star teased her dramatic exit just a day prior, writing on Threads, "Aunt Jordan... near the end...."

Fans responded with mixed reactions, with some understanding her character's exit and others wishing that her time on the show wouldn't come to an end.

"We’ll miss her. Despite her evil ways. Probably woke up on the coroner’s table and we’ll see her again in the future! lol," one fan wrote.

The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!

"No! I have loved seeing you in this roll. You are a wonderful actor. 💖," another wrote.

Josh Griffith, The Young and the Restless executive producer and head writer, thanked Zenk for her contributions to the soap series.

"We appreciate all of the incredible work that the amazing Colleen Zenk brought to The Young and the Restless and the role of Aunt Jordan," said Griffith in a statement to Deadline.

ADVERTISEMENT

The exit is seemingly a bittersweet one for Zenk, who opened up to PEOPLE in November 2023 about why she was enjoying her time filming.

Related: Soap Star Colleen Zenk Returns to Daytime TV with 'Scores to Settle' in The Young and the Restless (Exclusive)

John Lamparski/WireImage Colleen Zenk attends 59th Annual New York Emmy Awards at Marriott Marquis Times Square on March 19, 2016

John Lamparski/WireImage

Colleen Zenk attends 59th Annual New York Emmy Awards at Marriott Marquis Times Square on March 19, 2016

"I just can't get over how loving everyone has been to me. In fact, I kept crying the first couple of days," she revealed. "It was just so overwhelming. I really didn't expect it."

"I'm a New York actor coming into their show. It's not my show, it's their show and I just didn't know how they would respond," continued Zenk.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

The Young and the Restless airs 12:30 p.m. ET on CBS.

Read the original article on People