Kelly Monaco Marks Five Years Since Heath Freeman's Death: 'Missing a Piece of My Heart'

Kelly Monaco has marked the fifth anniversary of actor Heath Freeman's death with an Instagram tribute. The post, published five years after Freeman died on November 13, 2021, opens with the words: "Missing a piece of my heart."

"It's been five years, but this year hits different. #sober," the former General Hospital star wrote. She added: "Heath Freeman you are missed and loved by so many."

What did the tribute contain?

Monaco, best known for playing Sam McCall on General Hospital from 2003, shared a montage of intimate photographs of herself with Freeman. The video was set to the song "See You Again" and introduced by the caption "A Love Story."

The hashtag #sober carries a specific weight. On September 15, 2026 — the three-year anniversary of the death of her former General Hospital co-star Billy Miller (ex-Drew Cain) — Monaco revealed on Instagram that she was six months and seven days sober from alcohol.

Who was Heath Freeman?

Freeman, an actor and producer, was romantically linked to Monaco for several years during the 2010s, following her split from her longtime boyfriend and high school sweetheart, Michael Gonzalez.

The couple made their first red carpet appearance together in 2010 at the Sundance Film Festival, where Freeman's film Skateland premiered. Paparazzi last photographed them together in 2014, but the two remained close friends until Freeman's death.

Freeman died on November 13, 2021, at the age of 41. According to his autopsy, reported by TMZ in March 2022, the cause was an accidental drug overdose from mixed drug toxicity.

How close were Monaco and Freeman?

Their friendship left a public record of mutual care. In 2018, after Monaco underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in her hip, she thanked Freeman on Instagram for "holding my hand and drying my tears pre and post surgery … then stocking my home to keep me comfy while healing."

Two years later, in 2020, Freeman returned the gesture on Monaco's birthday. "Happy birthday to my best friend on the Planet Earth," he wrote on Instagram. "So thrilled we're on the planet at the same time."

Why has Monaco stayed out of the spotlight?

Monaco has kept a low public profile since 2024, when General Hospital made the controversial decision to kill off her character, Sam McCall. The role had been hers for more than two decades, dating back to her 2003 debut on the ABC soap.

Her tribute to Freeman is one of the few personal statements she has made public since leaving the show. The post, framed as "A Love Story," suggests the anniversary now intersects with her sobriety milestone — a marker she dated to the day, not the month.

In plain terms: five years after losing Freeman, Monaco is speaking publicly again, and she is pairing grief with a recovery count that she updates to the day.