Stepping away from Saturday Night Live was one of the hardest decisions of Kate McKinnon’s life.
The actress started her stint on the comedy sketch show in 2012, making a name for herself by impersonating Hilary Clinton, Justin Bieber, Angela Merkel, and Ellen DeGeneres. She announced that she would be leaving at the end of the 47th season which concluded in May.
Having been with SNL for 10 years, she became the show’s longest tenured female cast member, surpassing her cast mates Cecily Strong and Aidy Bryant. Bryant also chose to leave at the end of last season.
“I thought about it for a very long time, and it was very, very hard,” McKinnon said of her decision to leave during an interview on Live with Kelly and Ryan. “All I ever wanted to do in my whole life was be on Saturday Night Live. So, I did, I loved it, I had the best decade, and then I was just like, my body was tired, and I felt like it was time.”
The Emmy Award winner confessed that she may not be able to watch the show’s forthcoming season which begins in September as “it’s too emo because I miss everyone so much; it’s my family.”
“I think I’m just going to take The Bachelorette and watch it,” she quipped.
