General Hospital’s Steve Burton separating from pregnant wife Sheree Gustin and says baby isn’t his

General Hospital star Steve Burton announced he’s separating from his expectant wife Sheree Gustin following a 23-year marriage, and said the unborn child she’s pregnant with isn’t his.

The 51-year-old actor, who portrayed the role of Jason Morgan on the soap opera on-and-off from 1991-2021, made the shocking announcement in a post on his Instagram Stories page Wednesday.

‘I wanted to clear something up,’ Burton said. ‘Sheree and I are separated. She recently announced that she’s expecting her fourth child. The child is not mine. We are still co-parenting our three beautiful kids. We would appreciate privacy at this time. Much luv, Steve.’

The latest: General Hospital star Steve Burton, 51, announced he’s separating from his expectant wife Sheree Gustin, 45, following a 23-year marriage, and said he the child she’s pregnant with isn’t his. The former couple was seen in 2019 in Pasadena, California 

Gustin posted a shot of her baby bump on Instagram Stories this week, writing, ‘Life sure is full of surprises!’

Burton and Gustin were married in 1999. A magazine photo posted to the @marriedbiography Instagram page two years ago is captioned: Happy Anniversary Sheree Gustin and Steve Burton!!!

Burton and Gustin, 45, wed in 1999 and are parents to daughters Makena, 18, and Brooklyn, seven; and son Jack, 16. It is not clear how long the couple has been separated. Gustin has not spoken out publicly about the separation. 

Burton earlier this week took to Instagram as he enjoyed time with his youngest daughter Brooklyn.

He captioned the shot: ‘Coffee time with the most beautiful girl. Have a great weekend.’

On May 4, Gustin had posted a shot of her baby bump on Instagram Stories, captioning the pic (that was reposted on a General Hospital fan blog), ‘Life sure is full of surprises!’

As news spread on social media, many fans assumed the unborn child was baby number four for the couple. But Burton posted to his Instagram story later that same day with the surprise announcement that the baby was not his.

The veteran soap star took to Instagram Stories with a message about his marriage 

Burton earlier this week took to Instagram as he enjoyed time with his youngest daughter Brooklyn

Gustin, who is a fitness and nutrition professional, had not directly addressed the split on her Instagram page as of Wednesday evening. Her most recent post was on Monday, promoting her business. 

The most recent picture of Burton on Gustin’s Instagram page was a Christmas Eve shot of the family. Prior to that, the estranged couple was seen with their youngest child in a Thanksgiving post November 25.

The most recent images of Gustin on Burton’s Instagram was an April of 2021 family vacation shot; and a shot the month prior in which the couple was posed together hugging.

‘Celebrating this amazing woman today and every day! Happy Birthday @1shereeburton,’ he captioned the shot.

The most recent shot of the actor on Gustin’s Instagram page was a holiday-themed shot of the family posted on Christmas Eve

The most recent image of Gustin on Burton’s Instagram was an April of 2021 family vacation shot

Burton made headlines last fall after he parted ways with General Hospital over his refusal to take the COVID-19 vaccination shots.

‘I wanted you to hear it from me personally,’ Burton said in on Instagram. ‘Unfortunately, General Hospital has let me go because of the vaccine mandate. I did apply for my medical and religious exemptions, and both of those were denied. Which, you know, hurts. But this is also about personal freedom to me.’

The two-time Daytime Emmy-winner added: ‘I don’t think anybody should lose their livelihood over this.’

Burton said that he’d ‘always be grateful for [his] time at General Hospital,’ adding, ‘I love it there, I grew up there … so I’ll always be grateful.’

In a shot the month prior, the estranged couple was posed together hugging

Gustin, who is a fitness and nutrition professional, had not directly addressed the split on her Instagram page as of Wednesday evening; her most recent post was on Monday, promoting her business 

Prior to that, the estranged couple was seen with their youngest child in a Thanksgiving post November 25

Following his departure from the stalwart ABC soap opera, Burton has been hired to work on the Days of Our Lives spinoff series Beyond Salem, which will air on Peacock. 

The show’s head writer Ron Carlivati took to Twitter Friday in response to a Soap Opera Digest report of the addition, writing, ‘We’re BEYOND excited about this news!’

Speaking with the outlet’s podcast Dishing With Digest last week, Burton pointed to Days of Our Lives as his ‘introduction to daytime,’ as he appeared on the series in 1988 playing the character Harris Michaels.

Gustin posted a pic of herself with Burton walking on the beach in August 2021: ‘Throwback to last weeks morning ocean swim. Well, maybe it was just a quick dip. Can I tell you how much I love salt water tho? Do something out of your comfort zone today. Have a great day!’

In August, the fitness professional posted a photo of herself doing a handstand on the beach with the caption: ‘You might not be where you want to be, but you’re not where you used to be’

Gustin, who is a fitness and nutrition professional, had not directly addressed the split

Burton said he ‘was supposed to do … like 10 episodes of Days and it turned into a lot more,’ and that ‘being on Days was just a new experience for’ him.

He continued: ‘It was really exciting. It was over at Sunset Gower, which I had auditioned [at] hundreds of times. That was a time when, I don’t want to say the heyday of soaps [but] I feel the late 80s and early 90s-to-mid-90s was a good time for soap operas.

‘My first real introduction to soap operas was Days of Our Lives. It was cool. Everybody was nice. It was fun. It wasn’t easy. And I still couldn’t act!’

The veteran soap star also has appeared on The Young and the Restless from 2013 to 2017, as well as the 2007 spinoff General Hospital: Night Shift.

Beyond Salem head writer Ron Carlivati confirmed Burton’s hiring on the Peacock show 

The former couple was seen in 2012 in Nashville at the CMA Awards 

Burton and Gustin were snapped at an event in LA in 1999, the year they wed