Yes, that 'Fear the Walking Dead' exit is real: Alycia Debnam-Carey departs after 7 seasons

The Walking Dead universe has lost another battle-hardened veteran of the zombie apocalypse. Posting on Instagram Monday, actress Alycia Debnam-Carey confirmed that she will not reprise the role of her fan favorite character — Alicia Clark — after Season 7 of Fear the Walking Dead. 

"Tonight marks the end of an extraordinary and life changing journey of playing Alicia Clark," she wrote in the caption. "I will never be able to fully express the kind of journey I have had working on Fear the Walking Dead for so long. It has gifted me so much. It has been the most extraordinary training ground as an actor where I’ve been given the chance to grow and learn. I’ve had the honor of working with so many inspiring and talented people. It provided new opportunities, such as directing and it has bonded me to such incredible fans that have supported me along the way. It has been exciting, challenging, fun, hard and inspiring."

This past Sunday's episode, the show's 100th, looks to be Debnam-Carey's final appearance. It ended with Alicia seemingly still alive but marching off to try and save the day — either to her doom or off to a new life. Regardless, her story will continue off-screen wherever the post-apocalypse takes her.

Debnam-Carey, who first boarded the show at 21-years-old and appeared in over 100 episodes, explained that the split was amicable, citing a personal desire "to move on as an actor and as a person. As is the nature of our jobs I needed to seek out new challenges, new opportunities and carve out a new chapter for myself. I have been so lucky to be a part of something so awesome for so long but I hope you can understand and respect my choice to further expand and grow. I wouldn’t be here without you all and I am so grateful. I had a lot of conversations over the years with our showrunners Ian Goldberg and Andrew Chambliss and I think we found a fitting way to conclude Alicia’s story. It is beautiful, hopeful, and elusive."

She concluded: "To the crews and casts from Los Angeles to Vancouver, Mexico to Texas, I am thankful for everything you’ve taught me. I love you all so much and I am so lucky to have had you all by my side. To the cast going forward, I’m so excited for what you will create next! And to my ride or dies who have been there with me every step of the way (you know who you are) I will be forever grateful to you. It is bittersweet, but it is time. Thank you for everything. My love to you all."

The Walking Dead franchise is no stranger to bidding farewell to iconic and longstanding cast members. Both Andrew Lincoln (Rick Grimes) and Danai Gurira (Michonne) bowed out of the main series after starring in more than 100 episodes apiece. Other actors — like Lauren Cohan (Maggie Rhee), Lennie James (Morgan Jones), and Austin Amelio (Dwight) — briefly exited the series, only to show up again in later seasons and/or Fear. Even Samantha Morton's Alpha, who was killed by Negan in Season 10, is going to be resurrected for this summer's Tales of the Walking Dead anthology.

Fear the Walking Dead will close out its seventh season Sunday, June 5 at 9 p.m. EST. The show was renewed for an eighth season last December.

If you're looking to satisfy your zombie craving immediately, head over to Peacock and check out the movie that kickstarted the entire genre: George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead. If you're looking for more horror, the Firestarter remake is in theaters and streaming on Peacock now.