Why Is Patrick J. Adams Leaving ‘Suits’ With Meghan Markle?

“Suits” has finally confirmed the reports that Patrick J. Adams is leaving the series with Meghan Markle. While the latter has to leave to take on duties with the royal family, Adams’ reasons for leaving aren’t quite as unusual.

While Adams, who plays Mike, isn’t getting any royal titles, he is excited about going home to Los Angeles. It sounds like he may have even made the decision before Markle, who plays Rachel, announced that she would retire from acting.

“After seven seasons — really, eight years of being away from home and away from my now-wife and there was that pressure,” Adams (who is married to “Pretty Little Liars” star Troian Bellisario) told the Hollywood Reporter.

“I started thinking about leaving at the end of the first half of season six, after Mike was released from prison,” he continued. After the writers pitched him an interesting storyline for Season 7, he decided to stay on for another year.

He revealed to THR that the decision to leave “Suits” happened halfway through Season 7 when he realized that Mike’s story had really run its course.

“I had this voice in my head that said that we’ve told his story and if he hangs out longer, Mike is just going to be another lawyer on television,” Adams explained. “That didn’t feel right for him. It didn’t feel right for where I was at in my life, either. I started having conversations with Aaron and we both decided [Adams leaving] made sense, as sad and scary as it was.”

USA Network announced Adams’ departure in a press release Tuesday. Shortly after, the actor took to Twitter to apologize for the long silence. Reports of his exit started in November, but he was asked to keep quiet until Season 8 was confirmed. He thanked fans for their support.

“Thank you for the wild ride. It’s one I will never forget. ‘Suits’ still very much remains and I look forward to seeing how it all unfolds,” he wrote.

Markle, of course, announced her retirement along with her engagement in late November.

“I don’t see it as giving anything up, I just see it as a change,” she told BBC News. “It’s a new chapter. Right. And also keep in mind I been working on my show for seven years. So we’re very, very fortunate to be able to have that sort of longevity on a series and for me, once we hit the 100 episode marker I thought, you know what? I have ticked this box and I feel really proud of the work I’ve done there, and now it’s time to, as you said, work as a team with you.”

Don’t expect Adams to retire. He already has a movie set to come out this year. He made the sci-fi movie “Clara” with wife Troian Bellisario.

Adams and Markle fans don’t have to say goodbye to Mike and Rachel just yet, though. “Suits” Season 7 returns March 28 at 9 p.m. EST on USA Network. Their arcs will end in the two-hour wedding-themed season finale on April 25.