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Jesse Metcalfe recently opened up about the reasons behind his brief stint on the popular primetime series “Desperate Housewives.”
The 47-year-old actor was a guest on the Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast this week, where he looked back on the early days of his career.
In a conversation with host Amanda Hirsch, Metcalfe candidly shared, “I was fired from ‘Desperate Housewives.’ After the first season, they struggled to find a new direction for my character’s storyline.”
Metcalfe portrayed John Rowland, a young gardener who becomes romantically involved with Gabrielle Solis, played by Eva Longoria.
Discussing the decision on the podcast, he recalled creator Marc Cherry telling him, “This isn’t ‘Desperate House Gardeners,’ it’s ‘Desperate Housewives,’ so unfortunately you won’t continue as a series regular.”
Despite this, Metcalfe made occasional returns to the show in a recurring role.
Jesse Metcalfe has revealed why his time on the primetime series Desperate Housewives was short-lived
Metcalfe played John Rowland, a gardener with whom Eva Longoria’s character Gabrielle Solis was having an affair; pictured in 2004Â
‘At that time I had been offered [the lead role in] John Tucker Must Die from 20th Century Fox, so I was like, hey, cool, no big deal. I’m going to be a movie star,’ he recalled.
The revelation comes after last August Metcalfe opened up to People magazine about getting his big break on Desperate Housewives.
‘I was just kind of riding the wave, you know, because that show really broke me and I had everything coming at me and I was just enjoying it,’ he recalled.
In addition to Longoria, the series starred Teri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman, Marcia Cross, and Nicollette Sheridan.
The cast was plagued by reports of behind-the-scenes drama during its eight-season run.
However, the actor said he was not privy to any contention.
‘I was oblivious to it, basically, you know, because I was just so thrilled to be on a show and just so in the moment,’ he said.
The Hollywood hunk added, ‘I was just happy to have a job. I went through an entire pilot season, I didn’t book anything, and I tested for Desperate Housewives, which was a recast, right at the end of that pilot season and ended up booking it.’Â
The 47-year-old actor was a guest on the Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast this week, where he looked back on the early days of his career
‘I was fired from Desperate Housewives,’ Metcalfe told podcast host Amanda Hirsch. ‘After the first season they didn’t really know where else to take my storyline’Â
The drama series starred Longoria, Teri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman, Marcia Cross, and Nicollette Sheridan
Elsewhere on the Not Skinny But Not Fat episode, Metcalfe got candid about his relationship with Helene Immel, who goes by the professional name Lenachka.
The couple has been together for two and a half years and the actor gushed that the romance is ‘going really good.’
‘I certainly haven’t dated for my career,’ he explained about dating women who are not famous.
He noted about his love life, ‘I’ve been very luck in love. I’ve had a lot of incredible women love me and support me in my life, but this one’s the best one.’
Last July his ex fling Scheana Shay published her memoir My Good Side and wrote about their brief connection.
When the former Vanderpump Rules personality dated the actor in 2007, she said ‘it felt like I was living a real-life fantasy with this guy I’d watched on TV and in movies for years.’
‘It’s always nice when people speak highly of you,’ he later told Us Weekly about Shay’s kind words.