Kirsten Storms Tells Fans ‘Not to Worry About Me’ as She Gives Update on Custody Battle with Ex-Husband Brandon Barash

Gabrielle RocksonMon, July 20, 2026 at 2:21 PM UTC

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Kirsten StormsCredit: Kirsten Storms/Instagram -

Kirsten Storms issued an update on her personal life on Sunday, July 19, amid her custody battle with ex-husband Brandon Barash and her absence from General Hospital

The actress is currently on a leave of absence from General Hospital following a brain aneurysm diagnosis

Storms and Barash, who were married from 2013 to 2016, are parents to daughter Harper Rose, 12

Kirsten Storms is telling her fans not to worry about her amid her ongoing custody battle with ex-husband Brandon Barash and her absence from General Hospital.

On Sunday, July 19, the actress, 42, who plays the role of Maxine Jones on the show, addressed the custody battle and her move to Tennessee in a new Instagram post.

“I will briefly acknowledge that there is an ongoing situation with Brandon that will be getting sorted out (soon hopefully),” she wrote alongside a selfie of her new brunette bob. “I would appreciate (and encourage) for people on here not to worry about me, or think there is something larger going on, other than 2 ex-spouses dealing with a ‘disagreement,’ that WILL be resolved.”

Storms and Barash, 46, tied the knot in 2013 before announcing their divorce in 2016. They share daughter Harper Rose, 12, together, and both moved to Tennessee separately.

Brandon Barash and Kirsten Storms at the 40th Anniversary of ‘Soap Opera Digest’ at The Argyle in Los Angeles on Feb. 24, 2016Credit: David Livingston/Getty

In her post, the star went on to say that her followers should “please remember that we are people who are divorced and have a child. I appreciate the supportive comments, but now that my daughter is of the age where she will Google her name while riding the bus to school, I’m asking that the speculation on this issue please stop.”

According to court documents obtained by PEOPLE in April, Barash was granted an emergency restraining order against Storms, which he filed in December 2025. He claimed his ex-wife contacted him in May 2025 and was “experiencing delusions and hallucinations,” per his petition.

Barash claimed Storms said she “didn’t think she should have the child for her parenting time,” per the documents reviewed by PEOPLE. He also alleged his current wife, Isabella, helped Storms get hospitalized, where she was placed on a psychiatric hold, according to the petition, but Storms did not acknowledge the event afterward.

PEOPLE previously reported that Storms is allowed supervised visitation with their daughter.

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Last month, Storms addressed speculation “involving something my ex-husband is currently trying to claim.”

“I haven’t been online much because of how the circumstances have been twisted into something that it shouldn’t be. This has been a very serious thing for me to go through,” she wrote. “Thank you for the encouraging DM’s and good vibes being sent my way. I have no doubt this will be handled in the correct way and I will feel comfortable remaining in Tennessee.”

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In her July 19 update, Storms said she felt sure about the recent decisions she’s made for herself.

“Despite everything that’s been going on in my life right now (…and I will be honest, it’s more than upsetting) - I still feel that the move to Tennessee was the best choice for me,” she wrote. “I might not be at the *best part* of this choice yet, but LA never felt like my real home.”

Storms announced her move to Tennessee last July. In the same month she said that she would be taking a “leave of absence” from General Hospital, later revealing the decision was due to a brain aneurysm diagnosis.

The former Disney child star, who made her debut in General Hospital in 2005, said back in June that she wasn’t sure when she would “feel comfortable heading back to Los Angeles and returning to work.”

Storms has not been featured in the contract section during the show’s end credits since March, according to Soap Opera Network. She appeared in the series in February after her character had been in a coma while Storms had stepped away,

In her recent post, Storms said, “I’m grateful and really f---ing proud of the accomplishments I’ve achieved during my acting career, however my career started before I was out of elementary school. I spent years working nonstop and feeling envious of anyone who lived in ‘the real world.’ ”

Kirsten Storms in ‘General Hospital’Credit: Christine Bartolucci/Disney via Getty

The mother of one then said that while she feels “lucky” to have maintained employment in the entertainment industry, acting “became the ONLY thing I knew how to do. Or thought I was capable of.”

“Then I had Harper, and how I viewed every single thing in life shifted,” she said. “I swear I’m not going to continue to bring up my medical situation (I’ll make jokes and it will be awkward), but until I began to understand how precious time is and how what we prioritize becomes ALL we have, there was never a thought that my life would ever change. Definitely not in the way I’ve always wanted it to.”

Storms concluded her post with a comment about her new hairstyle.

“Yes I have black hair and bangs,” she wrote. “I’m kinda dig.”

on People

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”