Ruth Wilson ‘Not Allowed’ to Reveal Why She Left ‘The Affair’

Ruth Wilson surprisingly revealed on Thursday’s episode of CBS This Morning that she is “not allowed” to talk about her departure from Showtime’s The Affair.

In the most recent episode of season four, Wilson’s character, audiences discover tht Alison has died. But it’s not clear if it was murder or suicide.

“I think it’s murder,” Wilson told CBS’ Gayle King. “I’m not coming back, because she’s dead.”

It was then that King asked if Wilson wanted to leave the show.

“I did want to leave, but I’m not allowed to talk about why,” Wilson said, leading to an awkward moment at the table.

“You’re not allowed to talk about why?” King asked.

“No,” Wilson replied.

King tried to get some kind of explanation out of Wilson, asking if she wanted to leave because of a rumored pay gap between her and co-star Dominic West.

“I’ve never complained to Showtime about pay parity,” Wilson said.

However, Wilson has hinted at a pay gap publicly before. In February, she told Radio Times she is sure West “definitely gets more” money.

“Certainly when I signed up to that project, I would have got paid less. Then they [the producers] might argue, ‘Well, he’s already done a major American TV show [The Wire] so he’s already got a level.’ But even after a Golden Globe I’m not going to be on parity,” Wilson explained. “So he definitely gets more than me. I mean, I don’t know what the figure is, but I’m sure he does.”

At the time, Wilson said she did not talk to West about the pay gap, saying it was hard to bring up the subject.

“I don’t want more money, I just want equal money. Which means men have to take less,” Wilson said.

After Wilson made her comments on CBS This Morning, Showtime issued a statement, praising Wilson for her Golden Globe-winning work on the series.

“Ultimately, the character’s story ran its course and it felt like the most powerful creative decision to end her arc at the moment when she had finally achieved self-empowerment,” the network said. “But the impact of her loss will significantly shape the lives of our three remaining characters, as they head into the final chapter of their own stories. We thank the many fans who embraced the character of Alison and especially thank Ruth for her indelible work over the past four seasons.”

Wilson’s departure was announced earlier this month, with showrunner Sarah Treem telling The Hollywood Reporter on Aug. 5 that Wilson requested she leave. But on Thursday night, Wilson told Vulture she did not have a say on Alison’s death.

“No, I had no say over how the character’s arc was going to end, or how she would die and leave. I always hoped that she would … I always had the image that she would walk into the sunset with her son with no man,” Wilson told the site. “That’s what I hoped for her. But no.”

The Affair will return for a fifth and final season next year. In the meantime, you can catch Wilson on the big screen in The Little Stranger on Aug. 31.

Photo credit: Ali Goldstein/SHOWTIME