As the World Turns - NEWS ROOM

After more than two decades playing beloved Oakdale character Lily Walsh Snyder, actress Martha Byrne has made the difficult decision to leave the show and explain the reasons she felt she had no other choice. Martha's leaving is not news; rumors began to circulate over the Internet several weeks ago.

You can read more in the original Soaps.com article here. Executive Producer Chris Goutman said at that time that the show made Martha a "generous offer" but that it had been refused.

Martha disagrees with that statement and in a live chat on her website gave her side of the story.

"This has been a difficult few weeks...I did not quit negotiations. I did not want storyline approval-No one gets that," said Martha during the chat. "I had already taken a substantial pay reduction last year. The only thing I wanted was to work at least the same amount of episodes this year as last year. This was denied and that is when I heard about my recast."

Martha went on to say that when she heard about the recast, that was the end for her.

As for what she plans to do with her free time, first and foremost, she is going to spend some time with her family. Her husband is a retired police officer and they have three children (two boys and a girl). After than, Martha has said she will take some time and work on her music. She has also agreed to be an advisory board member for St. Jude's Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.

Acting-wise, Martha says she wouldn't count out a return to daytime television, but that she needs some time before making that decision. She is also interested in behind-the-scenes work as a producer or writer. In fact, she mentioned working on a few writing/producing projects already!

So even though we won't see Lily for much longer, it looks like we'll be seeing - or hearing! - more from Martha very soon!

Martha's official last day was March 14 and her last episode will air in April. Sources tell Soaps.com that Lily will leave town in a limo and at some point later this year nuLily will return to town. At this point, there is no word who will replace Martha as Lily but as soon as Soaps.com can find out we will pass the word along here.