Summary
It’s a bit of a surprise when Toni (Jill Marie Jones) suddenly leavesGirlfriends, considering how important a character she was to the hit sitcom, but Jones has her reasons.Girlfriendsran for 8 seasonsbefore it ended in February 2008. In that time, the series followed the lives of four friends, Joan (Tracee Ellis Ross), Maya (Golden Brooks), Lynn (Persia White), and Toni (Jones).
Toni is Joan’s oldest friend, with the two growing up together, and she considers herself the popular and “cute” one of the group. Though this can sometimes be read as shallow, she’s a loving and loyal friend. A talented real estate agent, Toni eventually opens her own brokerage. After some on-again, off-again relationships, Toni finds love unexpectedly with Todd Garrett (Jason Pace), whom she quickly marries and divorces after a year. The couple have a kid together, and it’s their son, Morgan, who gets the ball rolling on Toni’s exit from the show.
15 Best Television Shows With Female Leads Ranked
After male characters dominated TV in the 20th century, the last few decades have seen the best female leads come to the fore in top-tier shows.
Toni Actress Jill Marie Jones Left Girlfriends Because Her Contract Was Up & She Wanted To Pursue Movie Opportunities
Toni Was Written Off The Show By Sending Her To New York City
Throughout season 6, Toni is in a custody battle with Todd over their son. At the same time, she and Joan are fighting more than they usually do. Everything comes to a head when Toni misses a custody hearing, leading to Todd taking Morgan to New York City. Joan and Toni have a huge fight andToni realizes she needs to be in NYC to be close to her child and departs the show, without reconciling with her oldest friend.
While this may seem abrupt, it was what Jill Marie Jones wanted.
While this may seem abrupt, it was what Jill Marie Jones wanted. In an interview withBlackFilm, Jones talked about why she was leaving the show,
“For me and my career, my contract was up after six seasons and there’s a whole film world that I wanted to experience and that’s what I’ve been doing.”
It wasn’t that Jones didn’t like being on the show; she just wanted to try something new and this was an opportunity, and the actress ended up appearing in eight movies in the next five years. Though none of those movies were notably successful, she still had major roles in studio films. Jones ultimately found more success in returning to television, with recurring parts as Amanda Fisher inAsh vs Evil Dead, Maggie inMonogamy, and Bianca inThe Chi.
As forGirlfriends, losing one of the four main characters was an undeniable blow to the series, but seasons 7 and 8 were still very good. With only three main cast members, they each got more screen time, though there were moments where the story missed the energy Jones brought.
1
6
22
Jill Marie Jones' Girlfriends Co-Stars Understood Her Decision To Leave
The Cast of Girlfriends Reunited For An Episode Of Black-ish
Tracee Ellis Ross, Golden Brooks, Persia White, and Jill Marie Jones had a miniGirlfriendsreunion on Ross' showBlack-ishin season 6, episode 3, “Feminisn’t”. In the episode, Bow (Ross) takes Diane (Marsai Martin) and Ruby (Jenifer Lewis) to her feminist group, where they meet three of Bow’s friends: Malika (Brooks), Lila (White), and Tina (Jones).
Reggie Hayes, who was the unofficial fifth member of theGirlfriendsgroup as William Jerome Dent also appears in theBlack-ishepisode as Walter.
TheGirlfriendsgroup had a post-Black-ishinterview withCharlamagne Tha Godto discuss the reunion. It’s an hour-long interview where the women catch up and talk about the struggles of working in Hollywood as Black women.Jones also talks about her regrets onGirlfriendsand not telling her co-stars sooner that she was leaving the show, tearfully saying,
“I didn’t, I didn’t know that you have to make an announcement. I know that, but I regret… If I could go back, I would definitely do things differently for sure.”
While Jones doesn’t regret leaving, she wishes she had the wisdom to be more communicative. Her co-stars were empathetic, however. Brooks says,
“What you cannot do is tell someone or project how you would do something on to someone else. She made a choice that was right for her and that was her choice and we had to respect that.”
Whatever happened in the past, all four members of the cast ofGirlfriendshave gone on to excellent careers and clearly still have a lot of love for one another.
Girlfriends
Cast
Girlfriends is a comedy television series that follows the lives of four African American women navigating both personal and professional experiences in Los Angeles. The show, led by Tracee Ellis Ross, highlights the group’s life journey, including friendship, love, and career ambitions as their lives cross at different points.
