'This Is Us' Star Chris Sullivan Dishes On Kate-Toby Split: 'It's Going To Be Handled Delicately'

Chris Sullivan shared his thoughts on Kate (Chrissy Metz) and his character Toby's split in the "This Is Us" Season 5 finale.

The last episode of "This Is Us" Season 5 featured a flash-forward scene that all but confirmed the upcoming breakup of Kate and Toby. In the finale, Kate appears in a wedding dress, and her boss Phillip (Chris Geere) addresses Kate's brother, Kevin (Justin Hartley), as his “future brother-in-law."

During an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Sullivan said he and Metz have known about Kate and Toby’s fate for "a couple of years" but not when the breakup would happen.

"We didn't know how or when it might all occur. But we've known for a while. And of course, as soon as Dan [Fogelman the show's creator] told Chrissy and I, it was very sad," the Emmy-nominated actor said.

Sullivan assured fans that the hit NBC drama will handle their split "delicately" in its upcoming sixth and final season.

"That's tricky information to have when you're just rolling along, enjoying this romantic comedy of a relationship. To know that eventually, it's going to dissolve is hard to handle," he said. "But if 'This Is Us' is a handbook on relationships and exploring every aspect of a relationship, somebody has got to split up — and it wasn't going to be Randall and Beth. It's a difficult part of a relationship to discuss, but I know it's going to be handled delicately."

Metz previously said she started crying when she learned that their characters would not end up together and tried to jokingly talk the writers out of it, EW noted. She also said that they didn't talk too much about their characters' eventual separation because it would almost make it too real — something that Sullivan confirmed.

Sullivan shared that they "had to talk about it a little more toward the end of the season" but mostly avoided discussing it.

"It's not a fun thing to talk about. And it's not like there's anything we can do about it. If it were a real relationship, it certainly would be time to talk about it," he added with a laugh.

When asked about his reaction when Kate and Toby's breakup finally happened, Sullivan said there was "a somber acceptance of understanding" what the showrunner and the writers were trying to do. He added that it will be an "interesting challenge" for him and Metz.

"This Is Us" Season 5 aired its finale on May 5. In the same month, the network announced that the sixth season would be the series' last.

Fogelman promised an "ambitious" last season for "This Is Us." "We always knew that season 6 would be ambitious in the way it jumps times, and even more ambitious than other seasons," he said as quoted by Deadline as saying. "Because our audience has been so devoted, and I think because hopefully we smartly set up the contained areas where these future timelines live, I think you’re going to have a real sense of resolution and completion for this family."