Jennifer Love Hewitt Leaving ‘Criminal Minds’ After One Season, Trading Badge For Baby: Yes, She’s Pregnant!

Jennifer Love Hewitt is leaving Criminal Minds, and fans think it’s, well, criminal. But the actress has a very good reason for surrendering her badge, reported Entertainment Weekly.

When last seen on the show playing the role of Kate, Jennifer was worried about her kidnapped daughter. The Criminal Minds character played by Jennifer then decided to tend to her family. However, the plot and Love’s life coincided.

With Jennifer pregnant (it will be her second child), Criminal Minds showrunner Erica Messer explained that the finale was written to fit the facts.

“I didn’t know she was pregnant until really the end of the calendar year, which was still early, although we had already broken the finale at that point. There was definitely some going back and having more finality to her character. We had already set up that the episode would be about Kate and her family and the horrific thing that happens with her daughter Meg being abducted. That was already in play, but what wasn’t in play was writing her out by any means. We went back into the writers’ room and discussed options of how to do that.”

With the knowledge that the actress was pregnant, Erica and her team decided to change the plot to give Jennifer time to bond with her baby in the same way as with her first child.

“There was an opportunity there to write towards the truth. Jennifer wanted to be able to give this second baby everything she gave her first, and that’s taking time off to be a full-time mom,” explained the showrunner.

As for those who thought she could do both? The timing made it impossible, added Erica.

“Because she’s due in July, when we would start shooting season 11, timing-wise there was no way for her to do both, to be able to give that baby everything she wanted to give that baby and still be on our show. We wrote to that, and that’s how season 10 ends. It’s a bittersweet idea of “life is full of choices and they define who you are.” She makes the decision to leave the team for a while. It’s really lovely and real, not only because it was happening off-screen, but because I know those things happen in real life too.”

Will Jennifer return to Criminal Minds in the future? Well, maybe, reported Fox News.

The showrunner revealed that the opportunity is “definitely open” if Jennifer wants to return one day. Hewitt is due in July.

As Jennifer’s situation illustrates, for working moms in the entertainment industry, it’s not always easy to balance baby and career. As the Inquisitr reported, Carrie Underwood recently was able to take time off after the birth of her first son to bond with her child while still planning an upcoming tour.

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