The actress and comedian opened up about it on 'Live With Kelly and Ryan.'
Kate McKinnon revealed why she left Saturday Night Live after a decade at the iconic sketch series, and she summed it up rather simply: she was tired.
The 38-year-old actress and comedian appeared on Live With Kelly and Ryan earlier this week and she revealed it had always been her dream to be on SNL. That being said, McKinnon said she knew she had to make the hard decision and, in the end, time proved it was time to walk away.
"I thought about it for a very long time, and it was very, very hard," she said. "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."
Back in May, ET learned that McKinnon, Aidy Bryant and Kyle Mooney would not be returning for season 48. McKinnon and Bryant both joined SNL in 2012, while Mooney was cast on the series the following year.
In the final episode of the season, McKinnon appeared as her recurring character Colleen Rafferty, a woman who has been frequently abducted by aliens and then interrogated by government agents.
Joined by Cecily Strong and host Natasha Lyonne as fellow abductees, the trio answer questions from two agents -- played by the departing Bryant and longtime castmember Mikey Day. The "Close Encounters" series of sketches was made famous back in Season 41, when the sketch featured host Ryan Gosling, and McKinnon's flawless performance as Rafferty made him break down into fits of laughter throughout nearly the entire sketch.
As for what's next for McKinnon, at the very least she knows what she won't be doing on Saturday nights, and that's watching her TV family continue their thing on NBC.
"I don't know that I can watch the show yet because it's just too emo because I miss everyone so much. I mean, it's my family," she said. "It's a little ... it's too emo. So, I think I'm just going to tape The Bachelorette and watch it."
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