Amanda Righetti Officially Bids Farewell To ‘The Mentalist’

Amanda Righetti officially confirmed her exit from the CBS series The Mentalist.

Although rumors suggested earlier this year that the actress was leaving the show, Righetti didn’t cough up any details about her departure. According to E! Online, fans of the program now can now officially get depressed about her character’s exit.

“I feel like the time is probably right. It’s the end of one thing but the beginning of something new,” Amanda Righetti recently explained to TVLine.

While the actress confirmed that special agent Grace Van Pelt is leaving The Mentalist, she doesn’t know what the writers have in store for the character. If you’re hoping to catch Righetti on the street and pry this information from her brain, then you’ll be completely out of luck. In short: Don’t bug her about it.

“It’s been a little bit of a fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants season. I think it was sort of an unexpected turn for the writers too, to have the show kind of be reworked this season. So everybody’s kind of trying to figure it out. And [they’re] probably keeping it close to the vest so it comes as a surprise to everyone that is watching,” Righetti explained during her chat with TV Line.

The Inquisitr previously reported back in August that both Amanda Righetti and Owain Yeoman were leaving the series after a spending a great deal of time on the popular procedural. At the time the rumors started swirling online, many believed their departure would tie into the unmasking of the mysterious Red John.

Series creator Bruno Heller dropped a few hints about Wayne Rigsby and Grace Van Pelt’s relationship with the folks at Entertainment Weekly last May. Although he didn’t give any specifics, Heller hinted that Red John could figure prominently into their exit.

“They’ve always been in love with each other… As we get closer to Red John, all the team members will start thinking about their major life decisions. That applies to both Lisbon [Robin Tunney’s character] and Grace. They haven’t been able to look to their own feelings. As the show rolls on, those feelings will come to the fore,” he said.

If you’re curious to see what happens with the Red John storyline, then you’ll need to tune into The Mentalist this Sunday. When the program returns on December 1, the story will have jumped two years into the future.

Are you disappointed that Amanda Righetti is saying goodbye to The Mentalist?

[Image CBS Television]