Andrew Lincoln, star of AMC’s The Walking Dead for nine seasons, has a very simple reason for leaving the hit television show: He misses his kids.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, the actor made the reason for his departure quite clear. Lincoln and his family live in England, while The Walking Dead shoots for six grueling months every year in Atlanta, Georgia, and the distance between them was becoming tiresome.

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“I have two young children, and I live in a different country, and they become less portable as they get older,” Lincoln explained. “It was that simple. It was time for me to come home.”

Lincoln officially confirmed his departure from The Walking Dead during Comic-Con International earlier this month. The upcoming ninth season of the show will be his last. His final episodes have already been filmed.

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Returning Sunday, October 7, on AMC, The Walking Dead stars Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes, Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon, Lauren Cohan as Maggie Rhee, Danai Gurira as Michonne, Melissa McBride as Carol Peletier, Lennie James as Morgan Jones, Alanna Masterson as Tara Chambler, Josh McDermitt as Eugene Porter, Christian Serratos as Rosita Espinosa and Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan.