Why did a promising 'Voice' contestant leave the show?

Ryan Gallagher, one of the hopefuls on the current season of "The Voice," has left the show for breaking its COVID-19 protocols, TODAY has learned.

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At the beginning of Monday night’s episode, host Carson Daly revealed that Gallagher, 31, “had to exit the competition.”

Gallagher, who was on Kelly Clarkson’s team, competed in the knockout rounds last week, looking to advance in the top 17. The knockout winner, Taryn Papa, was determined by tabulating votes from the three remaining contestants.

On social media, some fans were speculating his departure had something to do with his family, since Gallagher previously revealed that his mother had been hospitalized with the coronavirus. On his Instagram Stories Monday, he shot those rumors down.

"Thanks you everybody for your concern for my family," Gallagher said. "However, everybody's fine, that's not the cause of what happened tonight on ‘The Voice.’ I didn't drop out of the show. Details are still to come, I'll keep you posted.”

A source close to the show said Gallagher broke the show's strict COVID-19 protocols and was dismissed "out of an abundance of caution."

"We cannot have him continue in the competition and potentially put others at risk," the source said.

On Monday, he posted a trio of photos of himself on his Instagram page seemingly plugging the fact he was on the competition.

"1,2,3....? Which look do you prefer?” he captioned the photos, adding @nbcthevoice and @kellyclarkson, as well as the hashtag #teamkelly.