David Del Rio returns to Instagram after ‘Matlock’ firing
David Del Rio made an unexpected return to Instagram after his dismissal Matlock amid allegations of sexual abuse.
Del Rio, 38, was seen with his wife, Katherine Del Rioand their two daughters – Lilliam Kellie Wallace, 2, and Coco, 11 months – in a belated Thanksgiving tribute to the couple’s friends and family via Instagram on Saturday, December 6.
Along with a collage of festive photos and videos, Katherine, 34, wrote, “Belated Thanksgiving fun! Very thankful for my family – who always shows up for the girls and me.”
We weekly confirmed this in October Matlock would write out Del Rio’s character Billy Martinez for the remaining episodes of Season 2. Term broke the news that the actor was “fired and escorted off the lot” on the same day as an alleged incident with costar Leah Lewis was reported to CBS at the end of September.
David Del Rio in a late Thanksgiving 2025 photo
Courtesy of Instagram/Katherine Del RioKatherine defended her husband in the wake of the controversy, sharing a photo of Lewis, 28, via her Instagram Story, along with a caption on Lewis’ face that read: “This is the most disturbing human being I have ever met.”
David’s wife later deleted the photo. Lewis followed Katherine on Instagram for hours before her former co-star’s wife targeted her, but has unfollowed Katherine since.
Friends of the couple confirmed this Us in October that Katherine had chosen to ‘stand by’ the embattled actor in the aftermath Matlock to shoot.
Season 2 of Matlock got off to a strong start before an investigation into David Del Rio’s alleged sexual assault of costar Leah Lewis led to an off-screen firing. CBS introduced a gender-swapped – and very different plot – version of the original Matlock series with Kathy Bates at the helm. Matlock followed a fictional story […]
“They are a family and stick together,” an insider told Us.
David has not yet discussed his departure Matlock. Us contacted his representatives when the news broke.
Meanwhile, on October 9, Lewis broke her silence on the situation by revealing that her mother had come to visit.
“Mother is here, we move forward in love and strength. I am in good hands,” she wrote alongside a photo of her hugging her mother. “Thank you everyone for every kind of support and care. Truly, we are moving forward strongly.”
Matlock went on a pre-planned hiatus following the investigation into David’s alleged behavior, as the cast completed full filming of the first half of Season 2. David’s character – Jacobson Moore junior lawyer Billy – is expected to be written out in the second half of the season.
Lewis confirmed on Monday, December 1, that she had returned to filming Matlock for the first time since the break. (Lewis played Billy’s Jacobson Moore co-star Sarah Franklin in both seasons of the CBS legal drama.)
“And we’re getting back to work,” the actress wrote alongside a photo of herself on set.
Her costar Beau Bruggen had previously confirmed this during an interview with Access to Hollywood‘S Mario Lopez of which the cast Matlock would be back to work before Christmas.
“I don’t want to give up too much. We’ve already done half of the second season and we’ll come back in about a week to do the second half,” Bridges, 83, revealed earlier this month. ‘But I’m just saying that [my character] Senior always has a few tricks up his sleeve, and I’m glad that’s the case.”
Matlock – a gender-swapped legal drama starring Kathy Bateswhich is inspired by Andy Griffith‘s classic show of the same name – airs on CBS Thursday, December 11 at 9pm ET. The second half of the season is expected to premiere in February 2026.
