Yellowstone: How Luke Grimes Feels About Monica Dutton's Marshals Death

While fans were left reeling in the aftermath of Monica Dutton's (Kelsey Asbille) death in "Marshals," Luke Grimes — who plays series lead and Monica's widower, Kayce Dutton — admitted in a recent interview that his sadness was equal to Kayce's when the news hit.

"I was heartbroken for myself and for [Kelsey]. It felt like, 'I don't even know what that would look like, doing it without her, what that would feel like,'" Grimes told TV Insider. The actor explained that he and Asbille had become close friends while working on "Yellowstone" together, which made the storyline even more bittersweet for him. 

Grimes felt so bad about the situation that he personally called Asbille to talk about the change. He credits her with behaving in a professional manner. "I had to see how she was doing," he explained to TV Insider. "We had a great conversation. In true Kelsey fashion, she handled it like a pro and totally understood."

Luke Grimes had admitted in a previous interview that the notion of killing off Monica Dutton in his "Yellowstone" spin-off seemed verboten to him at first. "My first gut reaction was, 'I hate that idea.' It just didn't even compute," he told Radio Times. "There was no Kayce without Monica. That was their whole arc — this Romeo and Juliet love story. They were two halves that made the whole so I couldn't even wrap my head around it at first." 

It took a lot of time and rumination for him to realize that killing Monica off would be better for "Marshals" in the long run. "Little by little, I started to realize that they had everything they'd ever wanted," he added to Radio Times. "If they were going to be together, and have Tate, the ranch, and that dream life, then there's no more stories to tell." He realized that the options for deconstructing Kayce and Monica's perfect world were minimal, and that Kayce losing his wife was the best creative idea they could come up with.

It's a bargain that's definitely paid off for Grimes and the "Marshals" crew; the drama has swiftly become the most watched new show of the 2025-2026 season. While Monica will always be a much-missed part of the Dutton family tree, her legacy has definitely helped turn "Marshals" into appointment television for Western fans everywhere.