There’s nothing sadder than when one of your favorite characters leaves a show, but apparently this Virgin River character will be back “later”

There wasn’t a dry eye in the house when the hit drama series Virgin River season 4 ended with beloved bartender Ricky (Grayson Maxwell Gurnsey) leaving his sleepy home town to join the army (at long last). While fans were hoping the brave teen wouldn’t be away too long, Gurnsey’s been clear Ricky won’t appear in Virgin River season 5.

“I’m not coming back for season five. I don’t think that means he’s not coming back ever,” Gurnsey told the Express. “I think these things will…depending on how they play out. He has this semi-important role in the books. It can really vary, but he needs to move out of the way so other plotlines can develop.”

However, showrunner Patrick Sean Smith has promised that we’ll see Ricky again before too long. “The timeline was set that he would be in basic training until December,” Smith told TV Line. “I won’t say [you’ll have to wait until] Season 10, but he’s a fan favourite. Everybody loves him. We’ll probably see Ricky at some point down the road.”

Don’t get too sad, Virgin Riverites (that’s totally what the Virgin River fans call each other and not just made up by me), two fan favourite characters you’ll definitely be seeing a lot more when the TV series returns are Mel and Jack who got engaged at the end of season 4.

“Mel and Jack are such an epic couple that you really want to savour things as much as you can,” Smith told TV Line during the same interview. “We don’t want things to ever feel like they’re stalled, but we also want to enjoy [their engagement] while we can. So we’re moving at that pace with all of the things they have ahead of them, anticipating [a wedding] down the road.”

If you’re mad for Virgin River like us, check out our guide to the Virgin River cast, or if you want to take a break from the River, check out our list of the best Netflix series.