Virgin River's Ben Hollingsworth breaks silence on costar's surprise exit from show

Virgin River star Ben Hollingsworth has finally addressed Lauren Hammersley and Marco Grazzini‘s surprise exits from the show.

“We found out about a month ago, when [showrunner] Patrick Sean Smith reached out to the cast members," the 41-year-old actor told Entertainment Tonight on Monday.

"He didn’t want us to find out via an article, and I reached out to Marco immediately and offered my condolences," he continued. "But also, I let him know how much the show won’t be the same without him, and how much he meant to all of us."

Ben added that this “is just the start of great things” for Marco.

After Virgin River season 7 premiered on March 12, the show's creator, Patrick, confirmed that Marco and Lauren would not return for season 8 of the romantic drama.

“For me, I’m just trying to look to the longevity of the show and making sure that the characters that we’re keeping have enough story engine in them to keep going,” the showrunner told Deadline. 

“So I can’t say there are any specific cast shakeups planned, but I think we will have to start to — as characters run their course — make some decisions and bring in some new blood," added Patrick.