Less than a year after Chandler Riggs left The Walking Dead, his co-star and on-screen father Andrew Lincoln followed suit and Riggs is not surprised.While appearing over the weekend at Walker Stalker Con in Orlando, Florida, Riggs was asked about Lincoln's departure from the popular AMC survival horror series after eight seasons starring as the show's main character Rick Grimes.

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"He had to leave his family for seven months at a time, having to leave and go to work. He would come over to the States and film for that long, every single year for nine years straight. It’s just insane," admitted Riggs. "To hear that he was leaving, it didn't really surprise me."

Riggs clarified that Lincoln's departure was largely the actor's decision, confirming earlier reports he wanted to spend more time with his family, as opposed to Riggs' own departure being a network decision during Season 8. As Riggs had already relocated to Los Angeles from the production's Atlanta location, he first learned of Lincoln final decision to leave the series online.

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"We had talked about it about a year before," Riggs revealed. "About him, what he wanted to do with his future. And it didn't really involve the show."

News of Lincoln's departure first became public in May though the actor will appear in a handful of episodes at beginning of the ninth season of the series.

The Walking Dead stars Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Lauren Cohan, Danai Gurira, Melissa McBride, Lennie James, Alanna Masterson, Josh McDermitt, Christian Serratos, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan. The series returns on October 9 for its ninth season on AMC.