Patrick J Adams to leave Suits but no royal engagement in storyline

Meghan Markle’s on-screen husband-to-be has said their final storyline in TV series Suits will not make any reference to the royal engagement.

Actor Patrick J  Adams, who plays Mike Ross, has announced his departure from the popular US legal series a few months after Ms Markle confirmed she would be leaving.

Ms Markle, who has played Rachel Zane in the show since 2011, confirmed in her first joint television interview with Prince Harry at the end of last year that she would be giving up her acting career.

The 36-year-old said: “I don’t see it as giving anything up, I just see it as a change.”

Talking to The Hollywood Reporter about his departure, Adams said Suits creator and writer Aaron Korsh had “always actively avoided any sort of real-life commentary”.

Adams said: “He (Aaron) actively wanted to keep those two worlds totally separate. People can draw their own conclusions and comparisons.

“The last season of Suits has been really special in that we didn’t let anything bleed into our world.”

Suits fans will be eagerly waiting to see if Mike and Rachel have a happily-ever-after ending in the swansong series.

Asked if he and Ms Markle had talked about their respective exits, Adams told The Hollywood Reporter “a lot went unsaid. Meghan has this whole crazy part of her life that’s just beginning now.”

He continued: “In some ways, Meghan and I were the closest because we were the youngest people in the cast and both came in with the least experience.

“We grew up together over the course of the show. There was this natural sense that we both knew that the time had come for both of us.

“It went unspoken and we just enjoyed the hell out of the last few episodes that we got to shoot. We both knew that we wouldn’t be coming back. It made every one of our scenes that much more special. We had a great time”.

State of the Union #MikeLoss

A post shared by Patrick Adams (@halfadams) on Jan 30, 2018 at 12:11pm PST

In an Instagram post confirming he was leaving, Adams said: “The last 7 years have been life changing. And playing a character that so many people all over the world have connected with has been one of the great honours of my life”.

Seven years of #Suits brought me this brother from another, a scene partner like no other, an ever trusted director, and the raddest fairy godfather a mom could ask for. I love you and your huge heart, @halfadams. Ever grateful for this journey together and excited for all the goodness that lies ahead. It will forever be a highlight of my life and career to have shared screen time with wildly talented, super hilarious, deeply honest, you. 😘😥 oh…and you’re really pretty. Photo @philcrozier

A post shared by Sarah Rafferty (@iamsarahgrafferty) on Jan 30, 2018 at 4:13pm PST

His Suits co-star, Sarah Rafferty, who plays fiery redhead Donna, paid an emotional tribute to him on Instagram, writing: “I love you and your huge heart, @halfadams. Ever grateful for this journey together and excited for all the goodness that lies ahead.

“It will forever be a highlight of my life and career to have shared screen time with wildly talented, super hilarious, deeply honest, you.”

Adams commented on the post, saying “Love you the most”, to which the show’s leading man, actor Gabriel Macht who plays Harvey Specter, replied jokingly: “Really?”

The final episode of Suits featuring Ms Markle and Adams will air in the US as a two-hour special at the end of April, with UK dates to be confirmed.