When Sheree Burton announced her fourth pregnancy, we all, of course, assumed that the father was Steve Burton, her husband of 23 years. The two share three children together: Makena, 18; Jack, 16; and Brooklyn, 7.

The photo, which was of Sheree holding her baby bump and posted to her Instagram Story, added the “Life sure is full of surprises!”

And now, we know she did not mean that the pregnancy came as a surprise. In fact, she meant that it was a total surprise to us that this baby was NOT Steve’s.

Shortly after the post, which led to many people congratulating the couple on their fourth child, Steve announced that the new child is not his, and that he is in fact separated from Sheree.

“I wanted to clear something up. Sheree and I are separated,” he wrote. “She recently announced that she’s expecting her 4th child. The child is not mine. We are still co-parenting our three beautiful kids. We would appreciate privacy at this time. Much luv, Steve.”

Yep—that’s it. No details on when this happened, who the father is of Sheree’s baby, nothing! Sheree hasn’t publicly spoken out about their separation yet, either. Super shocking, right?

The news comes about six months after Steve was let go from General Hospital for not getting his COVID-19 vaccine, which was part of the show’s mandate for employees.

“I know there’s been a lot of rumors and speculations about me and General Hospital. I wanted you to hear it from me personally,” he said at the time in a video. “Unfortunately, General Hospital has let me go because of the vaccine mandate. I did apply for my medical and religious exemptions, and both of those were denied, which, you know, hurts.”

“But this is also about personal freedom to me,” he added. “I don’t think anyone should lose their livelihood over this. But with that being said, you know me, I’ll always be grateful for my time at General Hospital, I love it there.”

Though he left General Hospital, he is returning to Days of Our Lives, reprising his role of Harris Michaels, which he had begun to play back in 1988. He will also appear in the second season of Peacock’s spinoff Days of Our Lives: Beyond Salem, which premieres on July 11.

In the meantime, we’ll all continue to wonder what happened to Steve and Sheree’s marriage, and hope to get some details soon!

What do you think caused the Burtons’ separation? Who do you think is the father of Sheree’s new baby?