Reneé Rapp to leave The Sex Lives of College Girls in season three

Actor starred as series regular Leighton on HBO’s hit comedy

The Sex Lives of College Girls star Reneé Rapp will not be returning as a series regular for the comedy-drama’s forthcoming third season.

For two seasons, the 23-year-old actor has starred as Essex College’s legacy student Leighton on the HBO hit show about the sexual escapades of four fundamentally different college roommates.

On Monday (10 July), it was confirmed by Variety that Rapp will briefly pick up her storyline for a few episodes of season three, before eventually exiting the show.

Shortly after the news broke, Rapp posted a note on her Instagram Story, saying: “College girls moved me out to LA and introduced me to some of my favourite people. Two and a half years later – it’s given me y’all and this community.

“Thank u Mindy [Kaling], Justin [Noble] and everyone at Max for believing in me. A lot of queer work gets belittled – but playing Leighton has changed my life. I love who I am 10x more than I did before knowing her. I hope she gave y’all a little bit of that too.

“She’s such a tiny part of representation but even the tiny parts count. I wouldn’t be half the person I am without her and y’all. I love that b**** more than you know. I’m so excited for this season and I can’t wait for you to see what we have coming for her and the girls.”

The Sex Lives of College Girls was renewed for a third season in December, with Pauline Chalamet (Kimberly), Amrit Kaur (Bela), and Alyah Chanelle Scott (Whitney) expected to reprise their roles.

Season two of the series saw Leighton come to fully accept her identity as a queer woman while finally quitting her sorority and getting back together with her ex-girlfriend Alicia (Midori Francis).

In support of Rapp, co-creator Kaling followed up with a message on her Instagram Story, writing: “We love @reneerapp so much and of course will be so sad to say goodbye to Leighton Murray! But we can’t wait to see our friend on tour!!”

Rapp’s exit comes amid her budding music career. Last month, she announced she was embarking on her debut Snow Hard Feelings tour, in support of her upcoming debut album Snow Angel, releasing on 18 August.

Meanwhile, the actor and singer has also been cast as Regina George in the Mean Girls movie musical that’s based on Tina Fey’s Broadway adaptation.

The first two seasons of The Sex Lives of College Girls are available to stream on Max in the US and ITV Hub in the UK.