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For 14 years, fans enjoyed watching the beloved Reagan family solve tough cases and enjoy their weekly Sunday night dinners. Over the years, the faces around the dinner table and in the squad cars have changed for various reasons, with new characters appearing and a few main characters leaving before fans were ready to say goodbye.

Find out why your favorite Blue Bloods characters, portrayed by actresses such as Jennifer Esposito and Sami Gayle, left the series unexpectedly.

Jennifer Esposito

One of the earlier character departures was Jennifer Esposito’s Detective Jackie Curatola, partner to Detective Danny Reagan (Donnie Wahlberg). Jackie had an extremely abrupt exit, starring on the show until the 7th episode of Season 3. The on-screen explanation for the character’s departure was that she took a leave of absence from the NYPD to deal with burnout and stress.

In real life, Esposito was dealing with a diagnosis of celiac disease, which led to an on-set collapse because of the demands of the production schedule. CBS announced that the actress was only available part-time, leading to her departure, but Esposito shared on Twitter that that wasn’t the case. She said her doctor requested she be put on a reduced schedule, to which CBS allegedly declined and instead put her on unpaid leave, not allowing her to work anywhere else. The character was then written out of the series, though she did later appear as a guest star in the final seasons of the show.

Amy Carlson

Amy Carlson, who portrayed Danny’s wife Linda Reagan, left the show unexpectedly after its 7th season, leaving fans stunned. Her on-screen exit was an abrupt one, having been explained in the season 8 premiere with no final appearance by Carlson.

In the series, it was said that Linda had died in a helicopter crash—which later turned out not to have been an accident—after surviving a house fire in the season 7 finale. The character’s death was not shown on-screen; rather, it was done off-camera between the 7th and 8th seasons. Fans were upset by the way it was portrayed in the show, with no closure for the character.

Executive producer Kevin Wade explained this decision, saying, “If we opened with a funeral, it would feel so immediate and the characters would be mourning for at least one-third of the season. That’s what drove the decision to use Linda’s death as a touchstone, but not having it drive the tone of the series.”

In real life, Carlson decided not to continue on the series after her seven-year contract ended. Instead, she moved on to pursue other projects, which surprised Wade and co-stars like Wahlberg, who expected Carlson to stay on the show.

Sami Gayle

Nicky Reagan, daughter of Erin Reagan (Bridget Moynahan), was a main character in Blue Bloods for 10 years before the actress decided to leave. Her timing coincided with the character growing up and moving out, so it wasn’t a huge surprise when she left. On-screen, Nicky accepted a job in San Francisco after graduating from Columbia University, making it hard for the character to be in New York too often.

Off-screen, it seems the reason for her exit was similar, as Gayle was attending Columbia as well, and the schedule conflicted with her appearances. Gayle left the series midway through the 10th season, returning one time each in seasons 11, 13 and 14.

Flex Alexander

You may not remember this exit, but Flex Alexander, who portrayed Detective Demarcus King and partner to Danny, left after only one episode. Alexander, who appeared in the pilot episode, was originally slated to star alongside Wahlberg as his partner, but was replaced with Esposito so that Danny could have a female partner.