Yellowstone fans were divided when a major character from the original series was killed off on Sunday’s premiere of the spin-off Marshals, starring Luke Grimes.

Grimes, 42, became a household name on Yellowstone playing Kayce Dutton, the son of Kevin Costner‘s rancher patriarch John Dutton.

Marshals and will center on Kayce working for the U.S. Marshals, armed with the skills he previously cultivated during his time as a Navy SEAL and a cowboy.

As cast announcements tricked out over the past few months, there was no confirmation of whether Kelsey Asbille would return to the role of Kayce’s wife Monica Dutton, the mother of his son Tate (Brecken Morrill).

A trailer for the show that dropped in January heavily implied that Monica had been killed off – and the series premiere this weekend confirmed she has died of cancer.

Fans leapt to social media to share their aghast reactions to the development – but there were others who took a different view, such as one who slyly commented on X, formerly Twitter: ‘Not sad to see Monica go.’

Yellowstone fans were divided when a major character from the original series was killed off on Sunday’s premiere of the spin-off Marshals starring Luke Grimes

The series premiere confirmed that Monica Dutton (Kelsey Asbille), the wife of Grimes’ character Kayce Dutton, has succumbed to cancer

At the close of the season premiere, Kayce is seen paying a visit to Monica’s grave and saying: ‘The best part of me died with you.’

He adds: ‘You always told me to fight for the life I want, but the life I wanted was with you. I’m trying to find a new path, a new beginning for me and Tate.’

Many viewers of the episode were saddened at the news of the character’s untimely death: ‘Damn not Monica,’ ‘MONICA DUTTON DIES IN MARSHALS?????’ and: ‘why did they kill Monica Dutton off?!?!’

Showrunner Spencer Hudnut offered an answer to the last of those questions in an interview that ran after the series premiere aired Sunday night.

Hudnut explained that Yellowstone gave Kayce a ‘perfect ending’ in which his ‘dreams had finally come true,’ and so he needed to be ‘shaken out of that.’

He added however that ‘Monica is really guiding Kayce through this first episode,’ noting that their son attends a rally in order ‘to honor his mother, and Kayce goes there to protect Tate,’ which is how the main character finds his ‘path.’

Hudnut insisted: ‘We really wanted to be respectful of the way that we said goodbye to her. I also didn’t want to step on the ending of Yellowstone because what they had was a beautiful ending. Unfortunately, real life intervened.’

Grimes starred throughout the hugely successful five-season run of Yellowstone as Kayce Dutton, one of the family of ranchers at the center of the story.

At the close of the season premiere, Kayce is seen paying a visit to Monica’s grave and saying: ‘The best part of me died with you’; the characters are pictured on Yellowstone

Meanwhile Brecken Morrill (center) has returned to the Yellowstone for Marshals, reprising the role of Kayce and Monica’s son Tate; all three characters are pictured on the original series

Fans leapt to social media to share their aghast reactions to the development – but there were others who took a different view

Kevin Costner left the show after filming only the first half of season five, prompting his character, John Dutton, to be killed off in a murder-for-hire plot.

His departure came under a cloud of rumors that he feuded with Taylor Sheridan, though he evidently ultimately left the show over scheduling conflicts with his own four-part Western movie Horizon, which he directed, starred in and co-wrote.

Horizon, a decades-long passion project that Costner poured over $38 million of his own money into, debuted its first part in 2024 to dismal box office results.

Meanwhile, Yellowstone aired the last half of season five in 2024, dividing fans – and shortly thereafter, Grimes gave a telling interview about Costner’s exit.

‘Hopefully everyone can see that it was time,’ Grimes said of John Dutton being killed off, in an interview with Men’s Health. ‘To be really honest, there was a part of Kevin being gone that meant some of the conflict was gone.’

He shared: ‘Obviously, it didn’t make it super fun to be around… Not pointing any fingers, but it was actually the easiest season we’ve filmed.’

Grimes revealed he had not spoken to Costner since the Oscar-winner left the show, explaining with a laugh: ‘It’s not a case of any hard feelings or anything; it’s just, he’s Kevin Costner. He’s a big deal.’

He clarified: ‘I do have his phone number – I just don’t feel like it’s my place to reach out. He can reach out to me if he wants.’

In footage obtained by the Daily Mail, Costner shut down a question about rumors of a feud with Grimes but confirmed they had not spoken since the finale aired.