B&B’S KIARA BARNES OUT

■ Kiara Barnes (Zoe) has been cast in the Fox reboot of FANTASY ISLAND and will be wrapping up her run at the soap she first joined in 2018. “Soooo…the cat is officially out of the bag!” she tweeted. “I’m so excited to be joining the cast for FANTASY ISLAND on FOX!!! I’m so grateful for everyone who made this possible. Dreams really do come true. Continue to believe, and you will receive. Cheers to a new adventure!”

Executive Producer/ Head Writer Bradley Bell addressed Barnes’s impending departure from the show, noting, “It’s been a pleasure having Kiara in the role of Zoe Buckingham on THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL. I wish her all the best in her future endeavors.”

Barnes’s B&B on-screen love interest, Lawrence Saint-victor (Carter), has mixed feelings about her exit. “First of all, I am so happy for her,” he smiles. “We’ve talked about goals, dreams and desires and for this to happen is just amazing. It is bittersweet. I am going to miss her. I really enjoyed working with her. She is such a fantastic scene partner, and what we had to do was something that neither one of us has ever had to do, which is create romance and create a relationship in the middle of a pandemic, where we were 8 feet away from each other. When she was crying, I couldn’t wipe a tear away or even hold her hand. We had to create a relationship and break up from across the room and the only reason that worked is because we trusted each other and knew we had each other’s back. But because of those circumstances, an interesting and wonderful bond was formed between us. We had to work in a way we never had to work before, so I’m definitely going to miss her — but I can’t wait to watch her on FANTASY ISLAND!”

Barnes is expected to air through early July. No announcement has been made about how or if Zoe will exit or the role will be recast.

“I’m so grateful for everyone who made this possible.”