The Affair: Ruth Wilson Says Theres a “Much Bigger Story” About Her Sudden Exit

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The strange mystery surrounding Ruth Wilsons sudden departure from The Affair continues. Speaking with The New York Times, the actress shot down the two most salient theories about why she left the show, leading to her characters sudden death on the Showtime drama: “It isnt about pay parity, and it wasnt about other jobs,” Wilson said, adding, “But Im not really allowed to talk about it.” After a long pause, Wilson continued, cryptically: “There is a much bigger story.”

Wilsons character, Alison Bailey, died toward the end of the dramas fourth season. At first, it appeared that she had killed herself—but later on, it was revealed shed been murdered. The death caused immediate uproar among fans, who wanted to know why the seriess protagonist had died so abruptly.

Wilson has batted away the notion that her departure had anything to do with pay parity before. On CBS This Morning, she denied just that after Gayle King mentioned that she had once complained in an interview that her co-star Dominic West earned more than her on the show. Beyond her initial comments to the Times, Wilson urged reporter Ruth La Ferla to reach out to show-runner Sarah Treem, who simply responded with the same statement Showtime initially sent out regarding Wilsons exit: “The character of Alison had run its course. By completing her arc this season, the consequences of her death will lead to compelling story lines for our final season.”

In an interview immediately following Alisons death, Treem told The Hollywood Reporter that she decided to kill the character off only after Wilson had indicated that she wanted to leave the show. In her own interview with Vulture, Wilson said that she had no say in how her character left the show. “I always had the image that she would walk into the sunset with her son with no man. Thats what I hoped for her. But no.”

Get Vanity Fairs HWD NewsletterSign up for essential industry and award news from Hollywood.Laura BradleyLaura Bradley is a Hollywood writer for VanityFair.com.

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