The actor revealed on social media he was exiting ‘The Young and the Restless’ and thanked the cast, crew and fans

Trevor St. John is saying goodbye to Genoa City — for now.

The actor — who portrays billionaire Tucker McCall on The Young and the Restless — announced on X (formerly known as Twitter) June 18 that he was exiting the popular CBS soap opera, which came as a surprise to many of his followers on the social media platform.

“Dear #YR @YandR_CBS @YRInsider #YoungandRestless fans: As you well know, Tuckers come and Tuckers go, and so the cycle continues… this Tucker is in his go phase…,” he wrote.

In another tweet, the actor, 52, also made it a point to thank The Young and the Restless’ cast, crew and fans.

“I thank each and every member of the wonderful cast, the crew, the directors, the producers and production staff, and CBS/Sony for the great experience from day one to the last,” he tweeted. “I feel so fortunate to have played such a terrific role.”

The star also shared his “heartfelt gratitude” for fans of the soap opera.

But while his character may be “gone” for now, St. John assured fans “he’s not going anywhere” as he has other projects planned and encouraged his followers to watch his 2024 drama, A Good Enough Day, which he also directed.

PEOPLE has reached out to CBS for comment.

St. John has played McCall in more than 200 episodes since joining the series in September 2022, stepping into the role previously played by William Russ and Stephen Nichols.

When he first joined The Young and the Restless, St. John shared with Soap Digest then he was “surprised” and “flattered” to land the role. “Actually, surprised is not a strong enough word. I was more shocked,” he added.

He also told the outlet then he was thrilled to work with costar Eileen Davidson, who plays Ashley Abbott on the series.

“She’s super talented and growing ever more fearless by the day … she’s interested in the unexpected,” he continued. “She’s a very generous actor and very generous person — just lovely to work with.”

St. John’s departure from The Young and the Restless comes several months after Brian Gaskill’s character Seth Morgan was killed off the show in March after having the joined the cast this January.

Gaskill, 54, addressed his departure from the series in an Instagram post on March 5.

“I had a great time on Young and the Restless with the producers, directors, publicity department, and other actors,” he wrote in the caption. “And it was incredible to see so much support from all of my friends on social media, who have been following along over the years… So grateful for all of you. Now let’s see what comes next…”