Bunk'd: Here's Why Kevin Quinn Had to Leave the Disney Show

Questions are still swirling about why Bunk'd star Kevin Quinn had to leave the show. 

Bunk'd aired on the Disney Channel for seven seasons, starting as a spin-off of the fan-favorite Jessie series. The show followed the campers and counselors of a Maine summer camp and the hijinx that ensues between them.

Quinn is just one of the show's notable alumni, including Cobra Kai's Peyton List and Skeleton Crew's KB actress, Kyriana Kratter. 

Why Did Kevin Quinn's Xander Leave Bunk'd?

Xander actor Kevin Quinn left Disney Channel's Bunk'd following Season 2 in 2017, yet the official reasoning for his departure remains murky. 

For the show's first two seasons, Quinn played the mega-popular lead camp counselor Xander on the Disney Channel series, serving as the primary love interest of Jessie mainstay Emma (played by School Spirits' Peyton List). 

However, following the end of Season 2, he split from the series, with it moving forward without Xander as a character and Quinn as one of its leads. 

Describing his departure on The Sit and Chat, which is notably hosted by Disney Channel alumni Bradley Steven Perry and Jake Short, Quinn revealed the primary reason for him leaving the series was because of what he described as "instability" in his life. 

He recounted a story of having a "mental breakdown" on a plane trip with his parents where he broke down and asked them, "Please don't let me come back to that show:"

"I was struggling big time. I remember I just had this mental breakdown. I was on a flight, and I had this mental breakdown when I found out I was supposed to get a call to see if I was supposed to come back to Season 3, and I started freaking out on the flight and crying to my parents. I was like, 'Please don't let me come back to that show."

"Had I come back for Season 3, I would have done it," the former Disney star continued, lamenting that he "was secretly hoping [he] would be able to walk away:"

"It has nothing to do with 'Bunk'd,' I absolutely loved every minute. I was just in a place of instability. In a way, everything was as it should be. Had I come back for Season 3, I would have done it and pulled up my boot straps and did the job. But I was secretly hoping I would be able to walk away."

Quinn credits leaving Bunk'd for letting him explore himself more deeply, discovering parts of his personality that helped him put out his first full-length album in 2024. He told Forbes in January 2024, "I don’t think I would’ve ever gotten to this album" had he not experienced his departure from the show:

"I don’t think I would’ve ever gotten to this album and been able to tap into that creativity if it were not for what I had been through."

In that same interview, Quinn reiterated his feeling of instability at the time of working on the show, revealing he "ended up really struggling with [his] identity related to what is now a working borderline personality disorder diagnosis:"

"I ended up really struggling with my identity related to what is now a working borderline personality disorder diagnosis. People with BPD tend to struggle with their sense of self and how they relate to other people. That was very much the case for me to the point where I was losing parts of my identity and I didn’t know who I was. It’s really amazing how the brain can wipe your ego and identity clean, but that’s the disorder."

He called his experience of working with Disney "incredible," but admitted he was "still a child" and did not "[realize] the extent of the work [he] was doing or the kind of pressure [he] was under:"

"Developmentally I was still a child. The brain isn’t fully developed at 17 and I don’t think I realized the extent of the work I was doing or the kind of pressure I was under...My experience working with Disney was incredible—the people, the employees, the network executives, everyone in production."

Quinn believes his story could be used for good, as he has become somewhat of an advocate for young actors working on shows like Bunk'd. 

The former Xander star shared he believes a better support system for these young actors should be in place, podering if "when those actors move on from that gig that the network covers them with a transitional social worker" to help with the move:

"The one thing I wish could be different for child actors is that if they are spending significant amounts of time on a sound stage or working where they’re not getting the time to develop themselves in the context of school or college or home life—when those actors move on from that gig that the network covers them with a transitional social worker. And that is something that should be paid by these corporations."

He said that leaving a situation like that as a young actor has the potential to leave the star feeling like, "Well now I’m back to this random life and I don’t even know what I’m supposed to do with it:"

"To be working in that environment for two years and then suddenly you exit the show and it’s like, ‘Well now I’m back to this random life and I don’t even know what I’m supposed to do with it.’ To be honest, I’m not entirely convinced that transitioning out of that experience isn’t what [exacerbated] my identity issues. And it has nothing to do with Disney Channel. It was just being so young with that much pressure and not getting a chance to develop my sense of self."

Since departing Bunk'd, Quinn has appeared in several other TV, film, and video game projects, including multiple appearances in the Kingdom Hearts video game franchise, Adam Sandler's Hubie Halloween, and the 2024 J.K. Simmons thriller You Can't Run Forever. 

Bunk'd is streaming in its entirety on Disney+.