Cecily Strong reveals why she kept her SNL exit a secret

Cecily Strong has opened up about her decision to quit Saturday Night Live after over a decade.

Taking to Instagram Monday, the 38-year-old comic reflected on her departure from the comedy sketch show, while extending her gratitude to everyone who supported her on this journey.

"My heart is bursting," she began the caption alongside a clip from her final appearance on Saturday. "I have a lot of big huge life-changing love to unpack, so this is what I can say tonight.”

The Staten Island Summer star went on to recall her eventful first day on the set of the NBC show “ten and a half years ago.”

“Ten and a half years ago I got my dream job," she wrote. "The first actual work day I tried to be very cool and make it look like I knew what i was doing and I was supposed to be there. I left that night around 11 after saying goodbye to everyone. I got stuck wandering around the building because none of the elevators went to the first floor and I was trying so hard to avoid having to go back upstairs to ask for help because I'd already said goodbye!!!”

Ultimately, she was extended help by her “soon-to-be great friend” Colin Jost, who walked her over to the “secret nighttime elevator.”

Strong thanked Jost for helping her “again” for “getting Elvis to sing me off” – referring to her duet with Austin Butler on Saturday night’s episode.

The multi-hyphenate star apologized for being a “little quiet” about her exit from the show, sharing that she “didn't want the extra pressure on something already so emotional for me.”

"And I'm so grateful I got to have these wonderful past six shows to help me ease into it and get to meet and laugh and probably overly hug Molly [Kearney], Marcello [Hernandez], Devon [Walker], and Michael [Longfellow] who I think are not only brilliantly funny but really great humans," she concluded.

"I am ready to go, but I'll always know home is here. I've had the time of my life working with the greatest people on earth," she added.