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.

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.

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.