Sad Details About Hallmark Star Hunter King

With a flourishing acting career and being the sister to famous movie star Joey King, Hallmark star Hunter King's life may look perfect from the outside, but she has dealt with some hardships over the years. The "Hollywood Heights" actor found success early on, with her first role in "A.I. Artificial Intelligence" at just eight years old. Hunter would go on to star in other notable roles, but it wasn't until she landed "The Young and the Restless" that she shot to fame. After winning two Daytime Emmy Awards for her depiction of Summer Newman, Hunter's career seemed cemented.

Sadly, it was Hunter's personal life that she struggled with. After playing high school bully Avery Keller in "A Girl Like Her," she revealed that she was able to draw upon her own past experiences. "I was bullied a little bit in high school, so I understand the issue very clearly," Hunter shared with the Chicago Sun-Times in March 2015. Although her character wasn't on the receiving end of the bullying, it still dredged up past emotions for Hunter, who channeled the energy into understanding her role. Thankfully, the soap star is way past the high school bullying stage, but that doesn't mean she lives a fully charmed life. In fact, along with the pressures of Hollywood, Hunter has had to deal with many difficult moments, including a very heartbreaking loss and a daily struggle with her mental health.

One of Hunter King's favorite things to do was post about her dog Dallas on social media. The golden dog provided lots of heartwarming moments for the actor, as well as her fans. However, one Instagram post broke the hearts of many when King revealed that Dallas had died. "There are no words. ... No words to describe the love I have for you Dallas, and no words to describe how much my heart is hurting without you by my side," she wrote. "From the day Mom and Joey surprised me with you at the airport, you've been my best friend. I hope I brought you even a fraction of the amount of the joy that you brought to me," she continued.

Hunter had previously shared that Dallas was going through chemotherapy for cancer in April 2018 and told fans, "My lil trooper. Dal girl just got her [second] round of chemo today. She has good and bad days but she's still her sweet self through it all. I love you Dallas. Keep kickin cancers ass." Sadly, as we all know, Dallas did not make it. However, the following year, King announced that she had a new fur baby named Poppin that looked just like her beloved Dallas.

Hunter King found love on the set of "The Young and the Restless" with Nico Svoboda, who worked as a camera operator on the show. Two years after they began dating, Svoboda popped the question and the newly engaged King gushed in a now-deleted Instagram post shared by People, "Thank you for making yesterday the best day of my entire life! I can't wait to marry you and spend our future going on endless adventures together. I am one lucky lady." King told the publication, "8-18-18 was the best day of my life. The love of my life asked me to marry him and I've never been more excited for the future [than] I am right now."

It turns out that the wedding never happened and a source told Us Weekly in August 2020 that King and Svoboda had broken up months prior. According to the insider, the split was friendly and both parties remained present on each other's social media pages at the time. King has since moved on with her boyfriend Chris Copier, who also happens to work behind the scenes. "Roses are red, violets are blue, even though the Raiders may always lose, I will always love you. Happy Valentine's Day babes (plz don't hate me for this caption)," she playfully wrote on Instagram on February 15, 2024.

In 2014, Radar reported that Hunter King accused her "Young and the Restless" co-star Michael Muhney of groping her breasts and consequently demanded that the producers fire him from the show. At the time, King was just 20 years old, while Muhney was 18 years her senior. An insider revealed, "Hunter went to the top brass at CBS and Sony and accused Michael of grabbing her breasts on two separate occasions. Hunter demanded Michael be fired or else she would file a police report against him."

Following Radar's report, King never spoke out about the allegations, nor did she file an official report. However, Muhney was fired, but the reasons behind his ouster weren't verified by the network. He later opened up about the incident on "The Peloton Brief Podcast: Real Talent with Phil Gaimon" (via She Knows). Muhney claimed to have never sexually harassed King and said the reason producers fired him from "Y&R" was because he told them, "I am gonna leave or you have to push me out the door or something has to change. After six months they finally said fine, you are leaving." He added, "This rumor disgusted me. I have a daughter. I never would do that."

After almost a decade on "The Young and the Restless," Hunter King made the decision to step away from the soap. In an interview with Soap Opera Digest, she hinted that money was behind her exit and stated that her co-star Michael Mealor had approached her about renegotiating his contract with the higher-ups. "Michael did wind up telling me everything that was going on with his contract negotiations, I wanted to tell him everything that was going on with mine, but yeah, it's such an odd process when you're doing that but also feeling that you're family, so, it's definitely weird, especially with soap operas," King recalled.

Sadly, leaving her role as Summer Newman meant King could no longer live vicariously through her character and have her television wedding with Mealor, who played Kyle Abbott. "I grew up being the typical little girl that dreamt of having her fantasy wedding. So it was, for sure, a part of me that wanted to live out that crazy wedding — a soap opera wedding too," she told Soaps. King went on to say, "Sometimes I was sad that we didn't get that splashy wedding." Another regret was that she didn't get to experience Newman getting pregnant and playing a mom, which is something King had always yearned for. There are always future opportunities — or perhaps a real-life one someday.

Mental health is a topic many celebrities keep quiet about but Hunter King bravely opened up about her struggles in a 2020 Instagram post. "Mental health has been something I've struggled with for many years as I try to navigate depression as gracefully as I can. It's not something I share much, and I'm not really sure why. I think a lot of times I feel ashamed for dealing with depression and anxiety," the "Hidden Gems" actor shared. King acknowledged that a lot of others feel the same way, which was the reason she felt compelled to tell her story. She reminded fans to check in on their friends and family, as well as with themselves.

After leaving "The Young and the Restless," King revealed to Soap Opera Network that she was studying psychology in school. "Depression is something I've struggled with for years, so I'm passionate about finding ways to not only help myself but others in that way. That would be extremely rewarding for me," she stated. It's unclear if King is still in school but she has been on top of staying mentally healthy by going on walks with her pooch Poppin. "Don't mind us just taking our stupid daily walk for our stupid mental health (jk .. taking care of your mental health is actually the coolest)," the actor posted on Instagram. Looking at that cute furry face would definitely give anyone a boost of dopamine.