‘Catfish’ Host Max Joseph Bids Farewell to MTV Series in Emotional Video

Max Joseph is preparing to make his exit from MTV‘s Catfish.

After announcing his departure from the series in August, Max Joseph is officially saying goodbye to the MTV series on Wednesday night’s episode, and he has a touching goodbye message to fans.

“Hey guys, the time has come, sadly, for me to move on from Catfish,” Joseph said in a clip similar to the ones that begin all Catfish episodes and was clip shared by PEOPLE. “Working on the show for the last seven years has been one of the most meaningful experiences of my life. I’ve learned a lot about myself, my country and human nature in general.”

Sitting beside an emotional Nev Schulman, his co-host, he continued “Nev and I have become brothers, and our bromance has blossomed before your eyes.”

“Along the way, I’ve made some incredible new friends, from people who’ve been on the show to people who watch the show and stop me on the street — and especially to the people who make the show with us. But this is just something I’ve got to do. It’s no secret that I have passions straddling two careers as a TV host and a filmmaker. I feel like it’s finally time for me to make my exit,” he concluded.

Joseph announced his exit from the popular MTV series earlier this month, writing in a statement that after “7 seasons, 115 episodes, 31 specials and showing no sign of slowing down,” he had made the decision to leave Catfish.

Although he made the announcement with “a heavy heart,” he felt that it was “finally the time for me to make my exit,” adding that he was “excited for everything that’s to come for myself, for Nev, for our crew and for the show.”

The series follows Joseph and Schulman as they track-down peoples’ online romantic interests so that they can meet face-to-face, oftentimes resulting in startling revelations and sometimes even true romance stories. The series is based on the 2010 film of the same name, which followed Nev as he started a romantic relationship with someone he met through Facebook.

Should the series return for an eighth season, it is not known if Schulman, who described his relationship with Joseph as a “brotherhood,” would be the sole host or if a new co-host would be brought in to fill Joseph’s place.

The Catfish season 7 finale, Joseph’s final episode, airs Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET on MTV.