Fans have been speculating that something dark was in store for Kate and Toby on This Is Us ever since the Season 3 finale episode "Her," which was the first time we flashed forward to the Pearson family gathering at Kevin's cabin. Now, in the Season 5 finale, the fan theory that Kate and Toby get divorced is finally confirmed. Though it's heartbreaking for Kate and Toby stans, it feels a whole lot lighter than some of the working theories out there about what happened to them — like, uh, Kate being dead? Why was that ever an option?
Luckily, Kate is alive, well, and even chipper in the new flash forward which takes place in a hotel, presumably the venue for her second wedding to her boss, Peter. Toby is obviously nowhere in sight, but Kate doesn't even seem to be thinking of him as she shows off her wedding dress to bridesmaids Madison and Beth and even gives Kevin permission to do his Princess Bride impression at the reception. This is not as bleak a future for her and Toby as everyone had predicted.
After the initial cabin flash forward in Season 3, Chris Sullivan, who plays Toby, told The New York Post, "At that point Kate and Toby are no longer married. Who knows why that could be? Clearly [Toby] is still in communication with Kate and Jack. There are a lot of reasons why marriages don’t continue. The [show’s] writing staff hasn’t told us exactly what that situation will be but I think, either way, there are a lot of lessons to be learned.”
This led to a ton of speculation about Kate and Toby's marriage and even though it seems like they are happy in the present timeline, working things out as married couples do, they really have So. Many. Problems. The biggest now being... this guy.
As romantic as Kate and Toby's relationship was in the beginning, things have been going south for a while now. Between Toby masking his depression, Kate's jealousy at his weight loss, and his new job in San Francisco, fans have had more than enough clues that they weren't going to make it for the long haul.
While we don't know exactly how Kate and Toby break up, it is very possible that the on and off LDR set up in the finale didn't work out for them, and somewhere in between all of that, Kate starts having feelings for her boss, Peter, played by the ever charming Chris Geere.
Given that next season will be the series last season, everything will eventually become clear. But for now, all we know is that Toby and Kate don't make it through his San Francisco job. And that it might be Kate and Peter in that car pulling up to the cabin.
Images: NBC