How The Sex Lives of College Girls Handled Reneé Rapp’s Exit

Season three of HBO’s The Sex Lives of College Girls saw the departure of main cast member Reneé Rapp and her fan favorite character Leighton Murray. Rapp announced her intention to step down as a series regular in 2023, wanting to focus more on her music career. The new season finally debuted this month. Warning: some spoilers ahead!

In the season three premiere, Leighton is commuting from Essex so she can take an advanced math program at another college and in episode two, she follows her math dreams to MIT as a transfer student. It works out, because Leighton’s girlfriend Alicia, played by Midori Francis, is also leaving Essex—to work for the mayor of Boston. So they’ll be reunited somewhere off-screen.

In an interview with The Wrap, showrunner Justin Noble shared that the transfer storyline was their first choice for how to write her off, because it “felt natural right out of the gate.”

“I was excited to do this transfer story because, my first year, one of my best friends transferred,” Noble explained. “That’s part of college that I haven’t seen before—when someone who’s so important to this aspect of your life is just saying they’re gone. It’s really showing that Leighton kind of just figured college out faster than the others, and she’s ready to pursue what’s next.”

It was also important to him to keep Leighton and Alicia going.

“Alicia was so consequential in Leighton’s life—we watched as Leighton became more comfortable with who she is by being around the women’s center,” Noble said. “I love the way that first season unfolded, and I love that they went their different ways in the second season and and eventually found their way back to each other. I don’t know that they’re end game, but I think it could work.”

Noble confirmed Rapp won’t be on further episodes, at least not in season three.

“She’s only in these two episodes of this season,” he said. “I don’t want to mislead anyone and have an And Just Like That… moment. But I think that people will see the season at its end and feel like there’s so much more going on. Truly, there’s more characters to keep around than we find space for, so I think it’ll still feel very full and fun.”

In an interview with ELLE in August 2023, Rapp talked about her feelings around her departure and her time on the show.

“To be honest, I think the biggest feeling right now I feel, and it will sound cheesy, but I feel overwhelmingly grateful for everything that I’ve been able to be a part of,” Rapp said. “And I hope that it continues in my life, and I hope that I’ll be able to get that lucky again. I have made the greatest friends over the last couple years and friends who have come to be my collaborators in music.”

She continued, “My best friend, Alyah [who plays Whitney on Sex Lives], is somebody who I met on the job, and that’s my best friend in the whole wide world. She also is directing my videos. So I feel really, really, really lucky and I really am appreciative of the fucking lessons that I have learned because, my God, have I learned many.”

Aimée Lutkin is the weekend editor at ELLE.com. Her writing has appeared in Jezebel, Glamour, Marie Claire and more. Her first book, The Lonely Hunter, will be released by Dial Press in February 2022.