Rob Lowe’s ‘West Wing’ Exit Was Needed: ‘It Was a Super Unhealthy Relationship’

Rob Lowe is opening up about his time on , and his exit was actually an easy decision to make. The 9-1-1: Lone Star actor starred in the NBC political drama as Sam Seaborn, the deputy communications director to Richard Sciff’s Toby Ziegler. Lowe left the series after four seasons in 2003, with Sam departing the White House after President Bartlet’s reelection to run for Congress. He returned in the series finale when he is recruited to become Jimmy Smits’ Matt Santos’ deputy chief of staff.

Via TVLine, the 9-1-1: Lone Star actor admitted on Podcrushed from Stitcher Studios that he “tried to make it work,” but he ended up walking “away from the most popular girl at school, but I also knew that it was a super unhealthy relationship, and it was the best thing I ever did.” Lowe also said he did “not have a good experience” on the seven-season series, and while he didn’t give the full details, it sounds like his exit was for the better.

Although Rob Lowe didn’t have a good experience on The West Wing, it is nice that he still came back for the two episodes of the series during Season 7 to help wrap up the series. Not only that, but in 2020, he and cast members Martin Sheen, Dulé Hill, Allison Janney, Richard Schiff, Bradley Whitford, and Janel Moloney got together to reprise their roles for a stage version of Season 3’s “Hartsfield’s Landing,” to raise awareness and support for the nonprofit organization When We All Vote. The special was appropriately titled A West Wing Special to Benefit When We All Vote and premiered on October 15 on then-HBO Max.

It would be four years after initially leaving the series that Lowe would land another main series role, but following The West Wing, he went on to star in Brothers & Sisters, the one-season series , Parks and Recreation, and 9-1-1: Lone Star, plus a whole lot of movies, so he’s been doing pretty well, and still doing really well. Since it seems like he is still on good terms with his former co-stars, maybe another West Wing reunion could happen soon, or better yet, another series, hopefully, one that has a better environment. In the meantime, though, all seven seasons are streaming on Max, so fans will be able to see as much of Sam Seaborn as they want, at least for the first four seasons and the finale.