Ruth Wilson Says She’s ‘Not Allowed to Talk About Why’ She Wanted to Leave ‘The Affair’ — Watch
[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for “The Affair” Season 4, Episode 9.]
For the last two weeks, “Affair” fans have been gasping over the Season 4 twist that Alison, played by Ruth Wilson, had been discovered dead, floating in the ocean. But while some may have clung to hope, knowing television is full of miraculous resurrections, Wilson told CBS This Morning on Thursday her character is gone for good.
“I’m not coming back, so she’s dead,” Wilson said in the interview, while explaining that while the show’s unique storytelling format doesn’t provide official answers as to what happened to her character, she believes Alison did not commit suicide, but was murdered.
When pressed by host Gayle King about the nature of her departure from the show, Wilson was extremely tight-lipped. When asked if she had chosen to leave the show, Wilson said “I did want to leave, but I am not allowed to talk about why,” a moment you can watch in the video below (at the timecode 4:28).
King then said she had heard the issue might have had something to do with a disagreement over salaries, specifically the imbalance between her and co-star Dominic West, who Wilson had said was paid more than her.
“I’ve never complained to Showtime about pay parity,” Wilson said. IndieWire has reached out to Shwotime for further comment.
Wilson won a Golden Globe in 2015 for her portrayal of Alison, a grieving mother trying to put her life back together in the midst of her complicated relationships. The actor noted in this interview that filming Episode 9, which featured two different versions of what was her last night alive, was like shooting a play — directed by theater director Sam Gold, the production was just “two weeks in the same room.”
The season finale of “The Affair” airs Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on Showtime. Watch the CBS This Morning interview below.
