Did Alexis Bledel's Personal Life Lead To 'Handmaid's Tale' Exit?

Alexis Bledel has had quite the year!

The actress, who is best known for bringing Rory Gilmore to life on the beloved television series, "Gilmore Girls," has experienced giant shifts in both her personal and professional life.

When it comes to public knowledge about the 40-year-old actress, most of it seems to revolve largely around her professional life.

Bledel has always been notoriously private in sharing any details related to her personal life; the actress has worked incredibly hard over the years to keep any non-work-related elements about her relationships outside of the spotlight.

In fact, Bledel and former "Gilmore Girls" co-star Milo Ventimiglia rarely discussed their four-year-long relationship with the press, despite being frequently photographed together in the aughts!

Ventimiglia, who became a series regular on "Gilmore Girls" during its second season, is not the only TV beau of Bledel's where sparks flew in real life!

Bledel and actor Vincent Kartheiser met on the set of "Mad Men" 11 years ago after Bledel joined its cast. According to Us Weekly, Bledel's character dated Kartheiser's Pete Campbell, and the actress had been signed on for five episodes of the series.

The duo began dating and went public with their relationship a year later, with an engagement happening a year after that! The details of the pair's engagement had also been initially confirmed by the aforementioned outlet.

Kartheiser let the public inside his relationship with Bledel a year after their engagement, specifically about why the couple made such an effort to keep details of their relationship private.

"It's something I realized about the most important things in my life," the actor told Vulture per Us Weekly, "If I share them with the world, and I open that door to their fuming anger that they need to get out or their adoration they want to flaunt, it lessens it. It cheapens it; it weakens it. And it's magical, love, and all of that is... profoundly spiritual, and it just doesn't feel right."

By 2015, the couple had become parents to a son after a  year of marriage; the new arrival had been confirmed by Bledel's "Gilmore Girls" co-star Scott Patterson, according to Us Weekly.

Despite the couple's intense efforts to keep details of their relationship to themselves and out of the spotlight, (their son's name has never been revealed publicly as of this writing, according to In Touch Weekly!), their efforts were not enough to sustain a life-long marriage.

Yesterday, news broke that Bledel and Kartheiser had decided to end their marriage.

Currently, there aren't many known details about their divorce, except it had been Kartheiser's decision to file. (via Us Weekly)

The dissolution of her marriage to Kartheiser isn't the only major change Bledel has endured this year.

A year after she portrayed Rory Gilmore in the Netflix revival of the "Gilmore Girls," Bledel signed on to star in the Hulu adaptation of Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale," and would go on to score an Emmy for her performance, according to Glamour.

However, earlier this Spring, Bledel announced her time on the series had run its course, and that she would not be appearing in any subsequent seasons.

Bledel's statement wherein she made the announcement, had been vague.

Her statement read, "After much thought, I felt I had to step away from 'The Handmaid's Tale' at this time. I am forever grateful to Bruce Miller for writing such truthful and resonant scenes for [her character] Emily, and to Hulu, MGM, and the cast and crew for their support." (via Variety, per Glamour).

In our report covering details of Bledel's departure, we pondered her decision to exit the popular show, however, it seems likely Bledel may have made the decision to focus on her personal life in an effort to withstand a sense of normalcy for her and Kartheiser's young son, who would now be around seven years old.

We wish Alexis Bledel and Vincent Kartheiser the best of luck and a smooth transition for their son!