Jesse Metcalfe says he was fired from 'Desperate Housewives' after Season 1

Jesse Metcalfe said on Amanda Hirsch’s “Not Skinny But Not Fat” podcast that he was fired from Desperate Housewives after the first season. “After the first season they didn’t really know where else to take my storyline,” he explained. Metcalfe recalled creator Marc Cherry telling him, “This isn’t Desperate House Gardeners, This is Desperate Housewives, so unfortunately you’re not going to be a series regular moving forward on the show.” At the time, he had been offered the lead role in John Tucker Must Die and thought, “I’m going to be a movie star.” He later returned intermittently as a guest star in several subsequent seasons.

He played teen gardener John Rowland, who had an affair with Eva Longoria’s Gabrielle Solis, a role that quickly made him a heartthrob. The performance earned him three Teen Choice Award nominations in 2005 and the trophy for breakout star, and the ABC drama ran for eight seasons from 2004 until 2012.

Metcalfe has also spoken about how the breakout role brought pressure to maintain his physique.

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