So, This Is the Real Reason Daniel Lissing Left 'When Calls the Heart'

From Country Living

• When Calls the Heart revealed that character Jack Thornton had died in the Hallmark show's season 5 finale.

• The actor, Daniel Lissing, opened up about the real reason he left after the final episode aired.

When Calls the Heart devastated its loyal viewers when the show revealed the heartbreaking death of Jack Thornton during the season 5 finale.

The beloved Mounty had been a central character to the Hallmark series since it began in 2014, and "Hearties" were deeply invested in his relationship with the central character, teacher Elizabeth Thatcher (Erin Krakow). So why did Daniel Lissing, the actor who played Jack, have to go and ruin such a good thing?

“Circumstances arose for me where I needed to leave When Calls the Heart for reasons that are very personal to me,” Daniel said in a Facebook Live, according to Entertainment Tonight. “I went to Hallmark and they were nothing but supportive of me. I went to the girls and they were nothing but supportive of me.”

The “girls” he references are his close pals, Lori Loughlin and Erin, who play Abigail Stanton and Elizabeth, respectively. Erin said she was “really sad” about his exit, and SAME.

“Dan, in many ways, has been my partner in crime for five years, and one of my greatest scene partners ever,” she said. “I’m just really gonna miss him.”

But despite him leaving his cast members behind, Lori assured that there was no behind-the-scenes drama that led to Daniel's decision.

“We are actors, and actors have contracts and sometimes those contracts expire and you have a choice to make,” she said. “You either renegotiate or you don’t, and Dan has chosen to move on, we respect that.”

Luckily, it doesn’t appear that Daniel is forgetting Hallmark entirely. He starred in a Christmas movie, Christmas in Love, in 2018, and attended a Television Critics Association event with his Hallmark friends in February.

But it also looks like we’ll be able to see Daniel outside of the family-friendly network, too. In 2018, he appeared on several episodes of S.W.A.T., and we can only hope we also see him on some of our other favorite crime dramas.

“I have no idea what the future holds for my career..but I’m excited to see what happens,” he wrote after his final episode aired. “I feel very lucky you have the support of the #hearties and @hallmarkchannel moving forward.”

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