Max Joseph Announces He’s Leaving ‘Catfish’: Says Doing the Show Was “One of the Most Meaningful Experiences of My Life”

“Don’t leave me!”
“Um, yeah, I’ve gotta go.”

Catfish host is swimming away!

Max Joseph, the longtime co-host of ‘Catfish’, has announced that he is leaving the MTV reality show after seven seasons. He discussed his departure in a message posted to his social media accounts on Tuesday.

“Hey guys, the time has come, sadly, for me to move on from ‘Catfish,'” Max wrote. “Working on this show for the last seven years has been one of the most meaningful experiences of my life. I’ve learned a lot about myself, my country and human nature in general.”

Max made sure fans knew that his decision to leave the show obviously had nothing to do with his co-host Nev Schulman, whom he praised in his announcement.

“Nev and I have become brothers and our bromance has blossomed before your eyes,” Max wrote.

Max stated that the reason he’s leaving the show is to focus full-time on his film-making.

“For a while now I have been straddling two careers as a TV host and film maker and, while this level of business is a dream come true, my life can no longer sustain it,” Max wrote. “With ‘Catfish’ still going strong…with no signs of slowing down, I feel it is finally the time for me to make my exit.”

Max has a long list of writing and directing credits outside of ‘Catfish.’ Most notably, he wrote and directed the 2015 film “We Are Your Friends” (which starred Zac Efron).

Nev posted a message on his social media, expressing how sad he is that Max is leaving the show.

“Working with Max on ‘Catfish’ has been a blast,”  Nev wrote. “What started as a casual friendship quickly turned into a brotherhood…Max isn’t just a co-host, he’s a partner, brother and therapist. His ability to listen, emphasize, and advise is astounding and has truly made me a better man…I’m going to miss him a lot. He’s my best friend. Period.”

Nev encouraged ‘Catfish’ fans to continue following Max and support his upcoming projects.

“As sad as I am that Max is leaving the show, it brings me great joy to know that he is following his heart,” Nev wrote. “While selfishly I’d love to keep him all to myself, the world needs more passionate, creative people and we’ll all benefit from his work to come.”

Nev did not state who, if anyone, will be replacing Max as his ‘Catfish’ co-host.

According to Max, the last ‘Catfish’ episode that he will be featured in will air August 22.

Relive some of Nev and Max’s most “bromatic” moments by watching the video below!

(Photos: Instagram, Twitter)

10 Comments

  1. Awh Nooo!! I love these two together!! I’m also loving the Trolls spinoff and I hope it becomes a regular series


  2. Not only does the audience dislike the segments with Laura, it’s also annoying that he won’t travel anymore. All of last season, they either brought the Catfish people to LA or they only traveled to the Catfish if they were within driving distance of LA. Like, I get Nev has a wife and baby now, but Max traveled the country without an issue from his wife. If she didn’t want a husband who travels the whole country, she shouldn’t have married Nev.


  3. I will miss Max. That being said, I watched “We Are Your Friends” and he should have stayed in the show. Seriously, he won’t make it as a filmmaker if he keeps doing movies of the sort.


  4. I think Catfish was turning into the Nevshow anyway. We wanna see the people, not his gf or kid. I stopped watching but Max was always my favorite.

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