14. After six seasons, Murray and Burton exited the series in 2009. But the seeds for Burton’s departure were planted much earlier, the actress revealed in her memoir.
After a dear friend from high school, Scott Kirkpatrick, was killed while serving in Iraq in the summer of 2007, her life “took a turn,” she wrote, his death snapping her “priorities and goals back into focus.”
“I had spent the previous few years wandering, never really finding my place, but I wanted more,” she explained. “I wanted a family. I wanted a home that could be a refuge and a blank canvas that would allow me to daydream, to take risks, to try and fail and try again. I wanted to push myself every day. I wanted to make every moment intentional. Wake up intentionally. Work intentionally. Eat intentionally. And rest intentionally.” So she quit, began writing a novel and booked a one-way ticket to Paris.
15. At the time, however, Schwahn told a group of fans in Paris that their departures were due to a contract dispute, according to The Los Angeles Times. “[Hilarie and Chad] are in negotiations right now and I know they’ve been offered great things, and hopefully they’ll decide to come back,” he said. “If they don’t that’s always a possibility…[the show] has made it through some of the riskier moves we’ve done.”
Murray also spoke out to the show’s viewers, saying in a video, “They’re not bringing me back next year…because they want to save money. Start blogging and being pissed off.” While Burton never returned, Murray made an appearance in the final season.