Amber Marshall Opens Up About Heartland’s Season 14 Shocker and the Painful Goodbye to Ty Borden

If you watch Heartland, you’re probably still reeling from the season 14 opener. It’s a gut punch. Hearts racing. Tears you didn’t see coming.

Luckily, Amber Marshall, who plays Amy Fleming, sat down for an exclusive interview to talk about the emotional journey ahead for her character.

Amber Marshall, who plays Amy Fleming, sat down for an exclusive interview to talk about the emotional journey ahead for her character — and for the fans who’ve been with Amy and Ty for 14 seasons.

It wasn’t a secret that Graham Wardle, who played Ty Borden for 14 seasons, chose to leave the show and chase other passions. For Marshall, and for a lot of us watching, it was still a hard hit. She knew about Graham’s decision long before anyone else did. He reached out to her personally. Their close friendship made the news even harder to take.

Saying goodbye to a character who’s been the heart of the show for that long is never easy. The writers needed an ending that felt true to Ty and to the story. They went with something gut-wrenching: Ty’s sudden death from complications of a gunshot wound he suffered at the end of season 13.

Within the first few minutes of the episode, Ty collapses and dies. Viewers were left devastated. In an interview with Postmedia, Marshall doesn’t pretend it’s easy to watch. She knows a lot of people are heartbroken. She also believes the season’s journey matters — that real life includes profound loss, and that grief eventually touches everyone. Watching this widowed mother find the strength to keep going for her daughter, and lean on her family, is a message with weight.

Graham’s exit was about new paths beyond acting. He launched a podcast called Time Has Come, where he talks with people stepping out of their comfort zones to chase what they want. It’s hard to see Ty go. Fans still wish Graham the absolute best in whatever comes next.

The loss hit hard behind the scenes too. Heartland holds the record as the longest-running drama in Canadian television history. Keeping a core cast together that long is rare. Graham leaving left a real void. The team came together to honor what Ty meant to the show.

Season 14 picks up a year after Ty’s death. In the early episodes, Amy is still numb with grief, her life on hold. Other family members deal with the loss in their own ways. Flashbacks fill those first hours. Ty’s absence keeps echoing through the whole season.

Heartland has faced loss before — Amy and Lou arrived at the Bartlett ranch after their mother’s death — but this is easily the darkest turn the show has taken. Marshall prepared for Amy’s grief by speaking with the family of a friend who lost her husband in a similar tragic accident. She learned that the first year of that kind of sudden loss often feels like moving through a daze of numbness. That shaped how she played Amy when the season opens.

Even with the heavy themes, the show doesn’t lose its warmth. New characters and lighter beats keep the air moving. Parker, a socially conscious preteen city kid played by Ava Tran, spends time on the Bartlett ranch and brings a fresh point of view — and some much-needed levity. Lou, now mayor of Hudson, gets laughs out of her chaotic approach to politics. Tim finds himself in humorous misadventures trying to impress people.

A main character leaving might make some fans wonder if the series is winding down. Marshall doesn’t see it that way. She believes there are still plenty of stories left to tell in the world of Heartland. These are fictional stories built to pull real emotion and leave you with something to carry. If the heavy beats land hard enough to make you cry, she says, that means the cast and crew did their jobs right.

Missed the premiere? Past episodes are available to stream on CBC Gem.