While Michelle Stafford has left the soap twice before, it doesn't appear that she's ready to pull up stakes this time. Per her IMDb page, she has not been cast in any recent projects that would require time off from the show. While it's possible that the show might choose to use Stafford in a limited way as it does King and Mealor if a dearth of storyline material exists, it's much more likely that Phyllis will turn her daughter's offer down and stay in Wisconsin.
Judging by the show's past choices when it comes to the character of Phyllis, "The Young & the Restless" has been much more apt to recast the role than write the character off the show in Stafford's absence. When the actress first left the show in 1997, she was replaced by Sandra Nelson for two years. Stafford returned in 2000 and left the soap again in 2013 to originate the role of Nina Reeves on "General Hospital." In that case, Stafford was replaced by fellow soap vet Gina Tognoni, who won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for playing Phyllis in 2017 (per IMDb). Tognoni was replaced by Stafford in 2019, and Nina is now being played by a third soap vet, Cynthia Watros (per ABC).
