Who is Denim Richards – and why is he leaving Yellowstone?

“Grateful #yellowstone,” the 36-year-old actor wrote on Instagram after the news broke. Fans mourned his character – and praised his portrayal of him – in the comments section. “I should’ve seen that one coming when he said that I love you. This was a tough loss. This whole thing feels like a loss. You did an amazing job with this character,” wrote one netizen.

Colby meets his untimely end when he is kicked by a wild horse that has cornered teenager Carter (Finn Little).

Richards told Variety that he first learned that his character was going to be written off during a conversation in May. “I was coming back from Dallas, from the US-Africa Business Summit, and I got the call,” he said. “I had a very beautifully sensitive conversation with Christina [Voros, executive producer and director of the episode], and she’s just such a giving person. If anybody ever gets the opportunity to work with her, I think they will all say the same thing: that she’s just so warm and kind and professional.”

Here’s what we know about Richards:

What is Denim Richards’ background?