A star from The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live explains why a Rick and Michonne love triangle was never considered. The Walking Dead spinoff series reunites Rick and Michonne with a focus on their love story and conflict with the Civic Republic Military (CRM). Other than Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira, The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live cast also includes Lesley-Ann Brandt as Pearl Thorne, a Command Sergeant Major in the CRM who becomes Rick’s friend, though their relationship never turns romantic, as some suspected it might.

During an exclusive interview with Screen Rant discussing The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live season 1 ending, Brandt was asked if a love triangle between Thorne, Rick, and Michonne was ever considered for the spinoff. The star says it was never considered, nor was she interested in exploring “any kind of love triangle,” which she called “kind of cliché,” and was much more interested in exploring the friendship and the subsequent betrayal between Rick and Thorne. Read her full response below:

No, not at all. Not at all. I was not interested in exploring any kind of love triangle. I think, one, that it’s kind of cliché, especially when you’re telling a love story about Rick and Michonne. And two, these platonic male/female relationships exist in real life in military settings every day. Let’s explore that. Let’s explore friendship in that way. Let’s explore betrayal with that context. It doesn’t always have to be sexual. I just never at all interpreted that relationship that way. I knew the fans would come for me. They were already going to come for me for trying to take out Michonne. I don’t need that too.

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Brandt confirms that a love triangle between Thorne, Rick, and Michonne was never considered by creator Scott M. Gimple and his writers’ room, which was a wise decision considering it would have likely ruined Rick and Michonne’s love story and the perfectly happy ending it received in The Ones Who Live. In The Walking Dead and the subsequent spinoff, Rick and Michonne’s love story is depicted as one of unstoppable power, which is ultimately why they were able to escape from the CRM, reform the military organization, and finally be reunited with their children, Judith and RJ.

Just as Brandt says, a love triangle between Thorne, Rick, and Michonne would have felt “cliché,” but it would also have undermined Rick and Michonne’s committed relationship. Throughout their seven years apart, the duo displays an unwavering commitment to each other. Rick forming a romantic relationship with Thorne would have felt out of character, since he never stopped loving Michonne.

Instead of forming a clichéd love triangle, The Ones Who Live wisely kept Thorne and Rick’s relationship platonic. This made the relationship much more interesting, but it also makes more sense within the context of a military setting. This well-developed platonic relationship is why Thorne’s betrayal and death packs an emotional punch, and why the final fight scene between Rick, Michonne, and Thorne is so powerful to watch in The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live.