Send-off for "Sloane"

"Dear Gibbs": See Maria Bello's Emotional Goodbye Message For 'NCIS'

We all knew it was coming, but it was still a sad send-off for "Jack Sloane" in Tuesday's episode of NCIS. She had been with the NCIS team since season 15, but actress Maria Bello has now left the series and the "Gibbs" - "Sloane" storyline has come to an end. Read on to see the poignant message Bello shared for her farewell. (Warning: Spoilers from the new episode follow!)

"Jack Sloane" said goodbye to NCIS on Tuesday — and so did actress Maria Bello, who penned an emotional tribute to the series and her will-they-won't-they relationship with "Gibbs" on-screen.

"Sloane" exited in the new NCIS episode, where it turned out that she wouldn't be moving to Costa Rica after all. Rather, the Special Agent ended up staying in Afghanistan after she and "Gibbs" (Mark Harmon) battled through a gruelling kidnapping case there.

NCIS: Maria Bello's goodbye to "Gibbs" and the show

After the new episode aired, Bello took to Instagram for a final goodbye to the series she'd been with for four years. She signed off with a message addressed to "Gibbs," teasing at their long-speculated romance and paying tribute to her own experience working on NCIS. It reads:

"Dear Gibbs - my pal. - Did we or didn't we? Who will ever know. They will only know that we loved each other dearly and were grateful for our time together with our crew. Love. Jack Sloane."

Bello's message was posted with a picture from her final episode, in which she and "Gibbs" finally shared a kiss—albeit one in parting. Visit here for a full recap of the March 2 episode of NCIS season 18.

It was known going into this season that Bello would be leaving NCIS, and she had her final day on set back in December, at which time she also shared a touching tribute to the show and behind-the-scenes pictures of her last day of filming with Mark Harmon.