'General Hospital,' Hallmark movie alum Ryan Paevey stepping away from acting

June 22 (UPI) -- General Hospital and Hallmark movie alum Ryan Paevey has announced he is stepping away from acting to focus on his family.

"I am a bit apprehensive that I even have to make a statement like this," Paevey, 39, wrote in a lengthy Instagram post on Friday.

"I am certainly accustomed to a certain degree of gossip, but the past few weeks in particular have gotten out of control with speculation from third parties that have taken my words and expanded upon them to meet their narrative, or flat out misrepresented my words or misconstrued their meaning," he added. "I am taking a step back from acting, something I've felt I've needed to do for a while now, and a decision proven to be absolutely necessary in the past few weeks."

The actor went on to say he recently had "bank accounts hacked, money embezzled, investments stolen," all while his mother is battling lung cancer.

"The industry hasn't felt like the place for me in quite some time now, and my mental health has suffered from it. It's taken me to a bit of a dark place, made me into a version of myself I don't like very much. I've vented some of my anger and frustration publicly, and for that I apologize," he added.

"I left Los Angeles to be closer to [my mother], and feel the need to devote more of my time, energy, and resources closer to home."

Paevey has starred in more than a dozen Hallmark films and played Nathan West from 2013 to 2018 on the ABC soap opera, General Hospital.