'Criminal Minds' Season 12 Spoilers: Erica Messer Opens Up About Thomas Gibson's Exit Stating That It Wasn't Easy

"Criminal Minds" Season 12 is already back on the screen, but the majority of the fans are quite heartbroken with what's bound to happen. One of the fan favorite characters, Aaron Hotchner, who is portrayed by Thomas Gibson will be making his exit.

"Criminal Minds" Season 12 showrunner Erica Messer finally broke her silence in regards to Gibson's controversial departure. During her interview with TV Line, Messer shared that she came across a tough challenge when she wrote Aaron Hotchner's exit. To cut the drama short,   she mentioned that the best way for Hotch to leave the series is to leave his job as a BAU chief for his son.

"I don't know how much I can say," "Criminal Minds" Season 12 showrunner Messer said. "But personally, I was really sad writing the episode where I had to say goodbye [to the character] because I knew that no matter what you do, it's never going to be perfect. You're not going to please everyone, especially when you don't have the face there to say goodbye to."

Messer then explained that the first few episodes in the "Criminal Minds" Season 12  will revolve around Hotchner and why he left. It was mentioned that Hotch's absence on some episodes will be justified as he didn't want his team to be involved with the beef his facing with Mr. scratch. He will be entering Witness Protection program along with his son, which can pave way for his exit on "Criminal Minds."

"Criminal Minds" Season 12 is said to be in shallow waters after Hotch's exit as Deadline mentioned that the viewership drastically dropped after it was announced that Hotch would be leaving the series. As the series progressed, the show is starting to lose their audience as their favorite cast member is bound to leave the show.

There are no updates as to whether Gibson will still be making a comeback in "Criminal Minds" Season 12 or not. Fans are still hopeful that Aaron Hotchner would still return to the long-running series in the near future.