What Happened to Series Favorite Aaron Thorsen on 'The Rookie'? His Exit, Explained

When Season 7 of The Rookie kicked off on Jan. 7, 2025, it did so without a series staple: Aaron Thorsen. Aaron, played by actor Tru Valentino, has long been a series favorite and heartthrob. With a charming personality and award-winning smile, it's easy to see why he quickly rose to the ranks of beloved regular.

So despite the fact that fans were excited to get off and running with Season 7, there are some bittersweet feelings about returning to a show that feels just a little empty with Aaron gone. But what happened to Aaron, and why did he leave? Here's what we know about Aaron's exit from his precinct, along with Tru's exit from the show in real life.

Aaron joined the series during Season 4. He was a former TikTok star who rose to international fame after he was wrongfully accused of the murder of his roommate. This inspired the young content creator to become a police officer, and he wound up at the Mid-Wilshire Precinct in the LAPD under Nyla Hunter.

In Season 5, Aaron sustained a gunshot wound in the line of duty that led him to seek the therapy services of one Dr. Blair London.

But Season 6 revealed that Dr. Blair was not who she pretended to be, and she manipulated Aaron into secretly informing about police activities, which she then provided to Monica Stevens.

After the scandal broke, it would seem that Aaron switched precincts in order to start over where people wouldn't link him to Dr. Blair and her insidious shenanigans.

Showrunner Alexi Hawley explained that Aaron was written out due to creative directions, offering nothing but praise for actor Tru's skills while speaking with Screen Rant: "Of course. Tru is a great actor, and he was a huge part of our show for several seasons, and so we'd love to have him back in some capacity. It just ultimately felt like, creatively, for where the show was going, that we needed to pivot a bit. But he's still very much alive in our universe.”

It seems to an outside observer that with a write-out like that, something must have happened behind the scenes to make Tru Valentino be on the outs with his cast and crew, right? Wrong, apparently.

When news broke that Aaron would not be returning to the show, Tru took to social media to explain his side of the split and it sounded fairly amicable on both sides.

Tru wrote in a since-deleted Instagram story (via TikTok), "I will always cherish my time on The Rookie but couldn't be more excited for what the future has in store. I adore the friends and relationships made while being there."

He continued, "It was such an amazing opportunity and I feel so lucky to have had the last three seasons. Thank you to the best fans in the world. I know I don't talk much, but I appreciate you all so much."

Tru concluded, "You never know who may pop back up in the Mid-Wilshire Precinct. Until then, 7 Adam 19, this is Officer Thorsen, over and out!"

It was a sweet sign-off from the series that showed there's goodwill between Tru and his former co-stars, and hopefully the production team as well. We say "hopefully" because it sure sounds like Tru plans on reprising his role in future cameos, and we're behind that move wholeheartedly.

Here's to three wonderful seasons of Aaron Thorsen and the luck that we may see him again.