‘The Walking Dead’: Norman Reedus Shares Heartbreaking Andrew Lincoln Photo

Norman Reedus shared a photo of his The Walking Dead co-star Andrew Lincoln which has triggered heartbreaking reactions from fans.

Days after reports surfaced claiming Lincoln would be exiting The Walking Dead in its ninth season, Reedus shared a photo of the two actors — who have taken the journey together since 2010 — embracing one another. The photo is from the set of the show’s Episode 7×08, which saw Rick Grimes reuniting with Daryl Dixon for the first time since he was taken prisoner in the Season Seven premiere. Many fans are assuming the photo’s posting is in relation to the news of Lincoln’s departure.

Check out the photo of Lincoln and Reedus below.

Reedus simply captioned the photo with a heart emoji, giving little room for any true assumptions to be made about the post’s meaning and whether or not it actually pertains to Lincoln’s potential exit from The Walking Dead.

The fans’ comments on the photo, however, are heartbreaking. They range from, “I don’t believe!” to, “No Steven. No Chandler. Now, no Andy…” in reference to Steven Yeun’s Glenn, Chandler Riggs’ Carl, and Andrew Lincoln’s Rick all leaving the show.

In the wake of Lincoln’s exit, Reedus is expected to get a considerable payday to stay aboard the AMC show.

“There’s only me left in the top 10 [of the call sheet,]” Lincoln told ComicBook.com ahead of the Season Eight finale. “Norman [Reedus] and Melissa [McBride] and Danai [Gurira] and [Lauren Cohan], they’re all in the twenties…This job is, as I said before, glorious and unique. I wouldn’t trade it for the world. The stinger is the fact that I seem to be the guy left on the pier waving people away. That’s powerful.”

Though Lincoln has expressed his excitement over the new showrunner heading into Season Nine, with Angela Kang taking on the position, he also has told ComicBook.com that he is ready to see an endpoint for his character which could be justified for the series.

“There’s part of me that really wants to complete something,” Lincoln said. “How long that takes? I don’t know but certainly I really think the fans and my character deserves an end point as some time in the future.”

AMC does not currently have plans to end The Walking Dead in Season Nine. The network declined ComicBook.com’s request for comment.

The Walking Dead will return for its ninth season in the fall. Fear the Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 pm ET on AMC. For complete coverage and insider info all year long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter.