The Rocky Relationships You Didn't Know The Cast Of Home Improvement Had

The unquestionable breakout star of "Home Improvement," Jonathan Taylor Thomas entered the mid-to-late '90s as a bonafide teen heartthrob, his image plastering the covers of teen magazines from Bop to Tiger Beat. However, as Thomas' star rose, his commitment to the show appeared to falter, culminating in his early departure from the series at the start of its final season. 

Thomas has spoken frequently of how fame weighed on him (including his hatred of the tabloid moniker "JTT"), and he made it clear his focus was on academics, extracurriculars, and social life outside of "Home Improvement." In a 1996 interview with Premiere Magazine, Thomas called the industry "neurotic and weird," stating that he preferred socializing with friends outside of Hollywood. He foreshadowed further that "every job has an end ... You can't base your life around one thing."

Thomas ruffled feathers among the cast and crew when he declined to return for Season 8 or the show's final episode. Commenting to TV Guide around the time of the show's finale, Patricia Richardson remarked (via the New York Post), "I think there were a lot of bad feelings all along." TV dad Tim Allen further expanded on the situation, noting that he and Thomas had disagreements over his expressing surprise over Thomas' exit. "It got mixed up in the translation," Allen said. "I mentioned [publicly] that I was confused. I don't think he liked that."