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‘Nashville’ Fans Are Reeling After a Fan Favorite Dies: Read Their Reactions

Oh, say it isn’t so! Spoiler alert: Stop reading right now if you don’t want to know what happened on the Thursday, February 23, episode of Nashville.

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So after This Is Us‘ heartbreaking death earlier this week left us grief-stricken, there really weren’t enough Kleenex left in our tissue box to deal with what the CMT show dished out — when Rayna died. Watch the devastating moment in the clip above.

That’s right, Connie Britton has left Nashville. And boy, did it hurt. Last week’s episode saw the country superstar injured in a car accident and this week the episode focused on the aftermath, with Rayna in the hospital, where a doctor assured her husband, Deacon (Charles Esten), that she was going to be OK.

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But she wasn’t. After surgery, Rayna went downhill fast and died in her hospital room, surrounded by her husband and daughters, Maddie and Daphne (Lennon and Maisy Stella).

Let’s just say fans didn’t take it well — especially because they’d stuck with the show (and fan-favorite Britton) after Nashville was canceled by ABC in May last year after four seasons before being resurrected by CMT.

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“I’m pretty sure I’ve never been so pissed at a TV show in my life,” one fan tweeted. “Never again will I get this invested.”

“I need a #Nashville support group right now,” Bachelor alum Ashley Iaconetti tweeted. “I’ve never experienced a character death that felt like it happened in real life like that did.”

“This is NOT what we wanted when we saved #Nashville,” another fan complained. (Read more fan reactions below.)

Britton, 49, took to social media shortly after the episode aired.

Thank you Rayna Jaymes. For your magic and your dignity. And thank you to all the creators of Rayna Jaymes, for there were many. Callie Khouri, who gave her life. Deacon, Maddie, Daphne, who shaped her as her family. Teddy, Tandy, Lamar too. Juliette, Scarlett, Bucky and the ones who crafted her into a business woman. Along with countless other compatriots and combatants. And then of course the crew of “Nashville” who brought her to life, every crew member in every department who made Rayna live each week. And then there’s the music. T Bone, Buddy, Tim, Frankie and all the brilliant songwriters who gave Rayna a voice. There was no music, and no Rayna, without you. But finally and most importantly, the fans. You made Rayna. You supported her and loved her and gave her inspiration just as she was able to inspire you. You were the energy source, the power behind her heart and soul and life. Rayna lived for you. And, from the depths of my heart, I thank you, for her and for me. It has been an honor to be a part of that creation. And as I know she would want it, the show must, and will go on. Long live Rayna Jaymes. #RIPRayna #NashvilleCMT

A post shared by connie britton (@conniebritton) on

“Thank you Rayna Jaymes. For your magic and your dignity,” the Friday Night Lights alum wrote. “And thank you to all the creators of Rayna Jaymes, for there were many. Callie Khouri, who gave her life. Deacon, Maddie, Daphne, who shaped her as her family. Teddy, Tandy, Lamar too. Juliette, Scarlett, Bucky and the ones who crafted her into a business woman. Along with countless other compatriots and combatants. And then of course the crew of Nashville who brought her to life, every crew member in every department who made Rayna live each week. And then there’s the music. T Bone, Buddy, Tim, Frankie and all the brilliant songwriters who gave Rayna a voice. There was no music, and no Rayna, without you.”

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“But finally and most importantly, the fans. You made Rayna,” she continued. “You supported her and loved her and gave her inspiration just as she was able to inspire you. You were the energy source, the power behind her heart and soul and life. Rayna lived for you. And, from the depths of my heart, I thank you, for her and for me. It has been an honor to be a part of that creation. And as I know she would want it, the show must, and will go on. Long live Rayna Jaymes. #RIPRayna #NashvilleCMT.”

Deadline reports that Britton, 49, who was still under a contract when the show was picked up by CMT last year, approached new showrunners Marshall Herskovitz and Ed Zwick with a request to leave the show for personal and professional reasons.

Speculation that she was leaving ramped up earlier this year when the American Horror Story alum was approached with roles at the start of pilot season.

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