Luke Grimes Says He Hasn't Talked to “Yellowstone” Dad Kevin Costner Since Actor Left the Series

There's definitely some distance growing between Kevin Costner and his Yellowstone family.

Following Costner's exit from the Paramount Network series (which he confirmed in June after months of speculation), one of his four TV kids, Luke Grimes, told Men's Health: "I haven’t talked to him since [he left]."

"It’s not a case of any hard feelings or anything. It’s just — he’s Kevin Costner," Grimes, 40, continued to say of Costner, 69.

Related: Why Did Kevin Costner Leave Yellowstone? Inside the Actor’s Decision to Walk Away from John Dutton — and How It Affected the Patriarch’s Storyline

Grimes said that "none" of the cast "saw it coming the way it did," regarding the drama surrounding Costner's eventual departure. The Horizon: An American Saga director repeatedly claimed that schedule conflicts were the reason behind his exit, and told PEOPLE in June he was "disappointed" that nobody "ever stepped up to defend" him amidst the rumors.

"Obviously there was news about possible blowups behind the scenes or whatever," Grimes said. "But just like in life, man, these things happen. They happen fast and they’re not predictable."

He compared the situation to the death of his father in 2022 as he said, "In life, these things happen and then people have to start making decisions. And in our little Yellowstone world, that helped ramp the show up into a boil."

Though he has Costner's phone number, it's unlikely the Fifty Shades of Grey alum will be reaching out. "He’s a big deal," Grimes told the outlet. "I just don’t feel like it’s my place to reach out. He can reach out to me if he wants to."

Related: Cole Hauser Says Yellowstone Character Is Doing What Kevin Costner's John Dutton Would Want: 'You Got to Move on' (Exclusive)

Grimes previously told PEOPLE that his costar's exit had "a finality to it" as it helped the reality of Yellowstone's conclusion sink in.

"He's a big presence, man, guy's an icon. So not having him around to set felt a little different," he said.

It also lent itself to the end of the story, though. "Him not coming back felt like, 'Okay, we're going to have to land this plane now for real,'" Grimes continued. "I think the patriarch leaving was always going to be part of the story. That's always where it was headed is like, what do these kids do? What does this family do when their rock is gone?"

After Costner's character's fate was revealed in the long-awaited premiere of season 5B, Grimes responded to the "negative reactions" as he told PEOPLE, "I think [fans] feel sort of cheated, and what I would say to that is — I think we were all lucky to have Kevin on the show as long as we did."

"It was always the plan for him to have to go away for the story to really ramp up," he continued of how the death set up the remaining episodes, which aired weekly through the Dec. 15 series finale. "You lose a patriarch of the family. Can the kids do it on their own?"

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Yellowstone can be streamed in full on Peacock.

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