Ruth Wilson found smashing success owing to Showtime's hit TV series The Affair, which even brought her a Golden Globe award for Best Actress in Drama Series.
Flashback three years later, and Wilson inexplicably leaves the show after four seasons with no explanation, what happened?
It's not uncommon for actors to leave shows due to professional disputes with producers, but in case with Ruth Wilson it wasn't just a matter of being underpaid or not liking her character's arc, it was reportedly much more personal.
Whenever the 37-year-old actress was asked about why she left the series, she couldn't answer the question. Once during CBS This Morning, Wilson was once again asked about it and she gave the same answer (skip to 4:30 in the video):
I did want to leave, but I'm not allowed to talk about why.
So what is so terrible that she couldn't talk about? Apparently it was the sexual nature of the series.
The Hollywood Reporter made an extensive article based on insider information about what's happening behind the scenes of The Affair, and the consensus is that Wilson left due to "hostile work environment."
The biggest culprit? The show's creatir Sarah Treem. Many sources claimed she demanded nudity from Wilson when it wasn't needed, which made the actress uncomfortable. One insider shared:
Over and over again, I witnessed Sarah Treem try to cajole actors to get naked even if they were uncomfortable or not contractually obligated to.
Ruth Wilson's co-star Maura Tierney spoke with Vanity Fair about her exit and confirmed that Ruth was struggling:
The work was certainly very demanding for her. Like, that character was just suffering all the time. I mean, I can’t speculate as to what happened...
We feel bad that Ruth Wilson experienced such a treatment during her work on The Affair. She's an incredibly talented actress and we're confident she'll find more fascinating projects in the future.