Marissa Reyes Illness Rumors – What’s True, What’s Not, and Why She Really Left Days of Our Lives

The tone of Marissa Reyes’ farewell video, which she shared on Instagram before her last Days of Our Lives episode on March 26, 2026, was kind, somewhat sentimental, and genuinely hopeful. Behind-the-scenes videos from her final day of work. Expressing gratitude for a legacy show that provided her with a year of authentic work experience. An unequivocal declaration that she decided to leave on her own. “It was my choice — and mine alone,” she wrote. That ought to have been the end of the discussion for the majority of people who followed her career. It seemed to be just the beginning for the internet.

Searches started focusing on a completely different question within days of her departure being made public: what might be wrong with her health, rather than what she was going to do next. Due in large part to a combination of viral TikTok content and unsubstantiated rumors circulating on Facebook that she had discussed an autoimmune disease in an interview with Glamour magazine, the word “illness” became attached to her name on social media. No reliable source has connected or validated any such interview. To the best of our knowledge, the Glamour claim started in a comment thread and quickly gained traction without much scrutiny, much like unverified health rumors about young women in entertainment often do.

Here, it’s important to be clear about what is and isn’t established. What has been verified: For about a year, Reyes, 22, portrayed Arianna Grace Horton, the daughter of Will Horton and Gabi Hernandez, on the Peacock soap opera. As is typical for a show that shoots well in advance, she physically left the production months before her last episode aired. Reyes has consistently and explicitly stated that her decision was self-directed, despite the fact that several other younger cast members were leaving at the same time. Notably, some of those departures were not voluntary—other actors were reportedly let go. Any disease, health emergency, or relationship between her physical state and her decision to quit the show is unconfirmed.

The autoimmune disease claim merits special attention because it keeps coming up, not because it is credible. Autoimmune diseases, such as lupus, multiple sclerosis, and Hashimoto’s disease, are extremely dangerous and more prevalent in younger women. They can make it difficult for a person to keep up with the demanding schedule required for soap opera production. In theory, a young actress working on a popular show might be dealing with a chronic illness that affects her career choices. However, “possible in the abstract” is not the same as “there is evidence this happened to this specific person.” It doesn’t exist. Reiterating the claim as fact would be doing Reyes a disservice that she hasn’t earned because it seems to have been made up or seriously misattributed.

The pattern itself has something interesting to note. When a young actress publicly and clearly states that she made the decision to leave a well-known show, and the public’s first reaction is to look for a covert medical explanation, it says something about how we view women making independent career choices. The presumption that there must be a problem, something she isn’t telling us, or something dramatic or physical going on behind the happy Instagram post illustrates a propensity to mistrust straightforward female agency, especially when it comes wrapped in positivity. Reyes expressed her excitement. It was hopeful but bittersweet, she said. She expressed excitement about what would happen next. It seems reasonable to take that at face value.

It certainly appeared that her former castmates did. In a comment, Ashley Puzemis, who plays Holly on screen—a character whose relationship with Ari is, to put it mildly, complicated—called Reyes her “soul sister for life” and said that their friendship was the best thing the show had given her. Liam’s actor, Hank Northrop, referred to her as a superstar. “My beauty. My soulmate,” wrote Cherie Jimenez, who portrays her on-screen mother Gabi. I will always love you. People don’t leave messages like these for a coworker who quietly broke down. They read like sincere love for someone who managed her departure with dignity and made everyone around her feel happy about their time together.

At the age of 22, Reyes is at the start of something rather than its conclusion. At that age, a year on a legacy soap opera is a significant credit because it indicates that she is familiar with a set, can manage a shooting schedule that would wear most people out, and has learned to follow instructions and hold her own against more seasoned actors. She comes with that behind her, no matter what she does next. It’s quite possible that she decided it was time to try something different after weighing the opportunity cost of remaining in Salem permanently. It’s not a disease. That’s a strategy.

The illness narrative should be regarded as what the evidence suggests it is: a rumor, not a story, until Reyes herself speaks directly about any health issues, which she may never choose to do, and is under no obligation to do. With her co-stars supporting her and her future seemingly open, she said goodbye on her own terms. That is the true story.