Jack Thornton met his tragic demise in the Season 5 finale of Hallmark Channel's hit drama "When Calls the Heart" in a sudden offscreen death that occurred shortly after his fairy-tale wedding to Elizabeth Thatcher. Hearties across the globe were crushed and left wondering why the dashing Canadian Mountie was written off so abruptly. "Circumstances arose for me where I needed to leave 'When Calls the Heart' for reasons that are very personal to me," Lissing revealed during the broadcast, as reported by Entertainment Tonight. He emphasized that there was no behind-the-scenes feud, sharing, "I went to Hallmark and they were nothing but supportive of me. During the same 2018 aftershow, Loughlin explained the "tricky decision" writers explored when deciding how to handle the Mountie's exit.