The NCIS crew revealed that they discovered the shock news of Cote Pablo’s departure just 20 minutes before the rest of the world back in 2013

NCIS star Cote de Pablo’s fellow cast members were just as shocked as fans were when they discovered the news of her exit just minutes before viewers in 2013.

While long-time fans were stunned over Cote’s abrupt departure, so were her NCIS co-stars who claimed they were made aware she was leaving just 20 minutes before the rest of the world. After starring alongside Cote for eight seasons – from season 3 to 20 – many of her coworkers were crushed when she was killed off the show.

At the time Pauley Perrette, who starred as the bubbly forensic scientist Goth Looks on NCIS, told E! News: “It was huge news to us. I found out literally 20 minutes before it was released in the press. But we love her. She’s our friend. She had a personal decision to make. No one wanted her to leave. There was no drama…there really isn’t much to tell. There really wasn’t any drama. But we love her, we respect her and that’s what happened.”

In NCIS, Cote took on the strong, tough, and playful character of Ziva David before her character was killed in an explosion in Israel. Ziva was a former Israeli Mossad officer and former NCIS Special Agent who was known for being a ruthless, skilled assassin. Ziva was also the daughter of Eli David and Rivka David, the sister of Tali David, the half-sister of Ari Haswari, and the girlfriend of former fellow NCIS agent Anthony DiNozzo Junior.

And while at the time of her exit Cote said that she left for “undisclosed reasons,” she later opened up about the real reason she was ready to leave the show. During a 2016 Q&A session held at Babson College in Massachusetts, Cote told students: “I worked eight years crafting this character and loving her.”
She continued: “I felt or I perceived that the character was not being treated with the respect that I thought she deserved. So no money in the world (would make me stay). Unless someone can really write something fantastic, I won’t go back.”