Kate McKinnon says she thought about leaving Saturday Night Live “for a very long time” before finally arriving at the decision to end her 11-season stint.
“I thought about it for a very long time, and it was very, very hard,” McKinnon said on today’s episode of Live With Kelly and Ryan. “All I ever wanted to do in my whole life was be on Saturday Night Live, so I did, I loved it, I had the best decade, and then I was just like, my body was tired, and I felt like it was time.”
McKinnon’s final episode in May included her recurring sketch character Colleen Rafferty, a frequent UFO abductee, taking off in an alien spaceship. “I always kind of felt like an alien on this planet anyway,” McKinnon-as-Colleen said by way of goodbye.
Asked today whether she’ll be watching SNL this coming season, McKinnon expressed doubt. “I don’t know what I will do,” she said. “I don’t know if I can watch the show yet. It’s just too emo because I miss everyone so much. I mean, it’s my family for sure – my other family. I think I’m just going to tape The Bachelorette and watch that instead.”
Watch the interview above.