Dynasty's Nathalie Kelley Opens Up About Controversial Departure: 'I Wasn't Up to the Challenge' of Playing Cristal

Now that the dust has settled on Nathalie Kelley's exit from Dynasty, the actress has opened up about her controversial departure from the primetime sudser.

If you watch Dynasty online, you know Kelley's iteration of Cristal was seemingly killed off on Dynasty Season 1 Episode 22.

The actress later said that "I've got my life back," leading many to wonder whether they were being tricked and that Cristal would pop back up.

However, those hopes were dashed when it was announced that Ana-Brenda Contreras was stepping into the role as "the real Cristal."

Contreras later exited after the second season, with Daniella Alonso drafted in to replace her. That means there have been three Cristals over the course of three seasons.

In a new interview with TVInsider while promoting The Baker and the Beauty, Kelly shed light on her exit fro Dynasty, noting that it was more of a creative challenge than she anticipated.

“I signed on before I ever read the script. There was a basic outline. I think I wasn’t up to the challenge of a nighttime soap,” Kelley said.

“I wasn’t prepared for that genre. It wasn’t something I had experience in… I can say that as an artist, I didn’t dig as deep as I could have. I felt limited and I felt stuck.”

Kelley told the outlet that she was not all that impresed with some of the storylines for her character, saying that “the writing was boxing me in a little bit.”

Kelley was ousted after one season when he show decided that “the best thing they felt they could do is start afresh.”

“That’s obviously a hard phone call to get as an actor… It took me by surprise,” Kelley said of the network’s decision to replace her ahead of Season 2.

“It sent me into a lot of soul-searching and a realization that I could have dug deeper… I’m actually grateful to the execs at The CW who saw at the time what I couldn’t — that it was not the right fit.”

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The Baker and the Beauty airs Mondays at 10/9c on ABC.