"This hurts my soul"— Fans react to Hilarie Burton leaving the Drama Queens One Tree Hill podcast

One Tree Hill alum Hilarie Burton is stepping away from Drama Queens, the show's rewatch podcast with cohosts and former costars Sophia Bush and Bethany Joy Lenz.

The three ladies announced Burton's exit on the June 24 episode of the podcast as they finished the season 6 finale. In the final episode, Burton's character Peyton Sawyer appeared as a series regular on the show. She still plans to "pop in here and there" as she also serves as an executive producer on the podcast. However, her exit didn't sit well with fans and they took their disappointment to social media.

"I was definitely looking forward to @HilarieBurton's perspective on the seasons she wasn't in while listening to @DramaQueensOTH and I love Rob, but like this hurts my soil all over again," a fan wrote on X.

Other fans also expressed their dismay at Hilarie Burton's exit, sharing that they have been looking forward to her perspective on the episodes she hasn't seen, with one pointing out the irony of her leaving the TV show and the podcast after season 6.

"Damn I was not looking forward to @HilarieBurton leaving I was hoping she's continue the pod after the seasons ended," another X user wrote.

"Absolutely gutted that @HilarieBurton is tapping out of @DramaQueensOTH, I was so excited for her to get to the seasons she hadn't seen. Genuinely so disappointed, she was the best part of the podcast," an X user commented.

"I stopped listening to the Drama Queens podcast during the first season but Hilarie Burton leaving One Tree Hill TWICE, both after season 6, is an unfortunate stroke of irony," another user on X pointed out.

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Why is Hilarie Burton leaving the One Tree Hill rewatch podcast Drama Queens?

Hilarie Burton is stepping away from the Drama Queens podcast and she shared the reasons for her decision in the latest episode. She said that they wanted to find a new podcast host "who represented the same things that I've brought into this show."

With her character's exit in season 6, the actress didn't feel it necessary for her to be in the podcast. She said:

"And so as we head into seasons seven through nine, it was important that we introduced a new queen who could take over for me."

The actress admitted that she "didn't know how to feel" after they recorded their recap of her final episode on One Tree Hill, further saying:

"It felt like I could finally take deep breath because every single week it was, 'Oh my God, I got to tell that story.' 'Oh my God, we have to relive that.'"

Hilarie Burton also noted that while there is a lot of "good stuff" in the podcast, it doesn't take the fact that she had to "psyche" herself up every week they have to record a rewatch.

With the actress out, the podcast brings actor Robert Buckley to complete the trio with Sophia Bush and Bethany Joy Lenz. Like in the hit series, he joined the crew as sports agent Clay Evans in season 7.