Kelly Monaco's General Hospital Costar Dominic Zamprogna Says He Checks in on Her 'Every Week' Following Her Exit

• Dominic Zamprogna said he is checking in on his General Hospital costar Kelly Monaco "every week" following her shocking departure
• The actor shared that his friendship with Monaco "won't end" despite no longer working together
• Zamprogna reflected on his final scenes with Monaco, who he called "amazing"

Dominic Zamprogna is still keeping up with Kelly Monaco following her departure from General Hospital after more than two decades.

The 45-year-old actor — who plays Dante on the ABC soap opera — opened up to Soap Opera Digest about building a friendship with Monaco, 48, after their characters’ storyline turned romantic in 2021.

“You become fast friends with people that you work with like that,” he told the outlet. “You’re in the trenches of 14, 15-hour days and shooting nights and everyone in the crew becomes like family, your castmates become like family — you argue and love each other like family do, and the three-and-a-half years that we were together on the show were a big, important time of my life and in my character’s life.” 

Zamprogna explained that he got to know Monaco “in a way that I’d never known her before,” adding, “She’s a remarkable person. She’s tough as nails and admirable in so many ways, and it’s been cool to become a friend of hers. And that won’t end. It’s just that there is still an ending because you’re not working with someone anymore.”

The actor — who joined General Hospital in 2009 before departing in 2017 and returning three years later — went on to share that he saw a different side to Monaco while working together.

He noted that she “is softer than her tough Philly exterior, and I never knew that side of her before working with her. I’ve been with her in very emotional states myself and we became very able to tell each other very personal things and kind of talk [to] each other through moments that I never would have anticipated that I would have with her because she gives off such a ‘tough girl’ vibe and she’s extremely cool and confident.” 

He added: “But nobody is always cool and confident and tough, and that is what really endeared me to her. I just loved getting to know her, understanding who she really was, because she’s deep and complex.”

Zamprogna shared that he has stayed in touch with Monaco following her shocking exit from the soap opera after 21 years, saying, “I still check in on her every week.”

The actress’ departure came after Sam (Monaco) exited surgery successfully and got engaged to Dante but shortly after, she started crashing, and despite efforts to revive her, Sam died on the Oct. 30 episode of the soap opera.

Zamprogna praised Monaco’s final moments on the show, recalling, “My monologues were her last scenes, so we finished those scenes and I basically said good-bye to Kelly then and there. She was amazing. Amazing, amazing, amazing.”

As for Monaco’s shocking exit, Zamprogna shared that he hopes she embraces the new chapter in her career. 

“We’re kind of living a bit of a fake reality on the show. There are not a lot of shows that are on the air as long as GH. There are not a lot of actors who can say they’ve been on a show for one year, let alone 21 years.” 

“I think sometimes you don’t want to know what life will be like without it because you’re so used to something,” he continued. “But I’ve found the greatest things in my life have come when it feels like a door is closing. And I was really trying to emphasize that to her.”

However, he didn’t close the door to Monaco returning to the daytime series, saying, “It’s a soap. Who the heck knows what’s gonna happen?”

Monaco originated the role of Sam in 2003. Since then, she's appeared in over 2,000 episodes of the hit ABC soap opera. She even earned a Daytime Emmy nomination in 2006 for best supporting actress for her portrayal of the character.

In October, the actress broke her silence about her sudden exit, writing in a since-deleted response to a comment on Soap Hub’s Instagram: “What do you got concrete in your head she wasn’t fired she didn’t take the pay cut so she had to leave.”

Revealing why she thought she was let go, Monaco wrote in response, “‘No primary role’.. do your homework. When Billy Miller was fired, Sam’s storyline stopped. Stripping Sam of every characteristic she had.”

“Something I worked for decades to build… Slowly dismantling her, into a character that I did not recognize, let alone the audience,” she wrote. “Call it what you will… retaliation at it [sic] finest. I will give a proper statement. The truth will set you free.”

ABC previously declined PEOPLE's request for comment on the matter.

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 celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Monaco reflected on her time on the soap when she filmed her final scene on Oct. 6.

"Last scene with the Davis girls," she captioned a picture of herself on Instagram sitting with her costars. " 😘🥲🙏🏻 still doesn’t make any sense to me." 

General Hospital airs weekdays on ABC (check local listings).