Removing the endnotes separator line in Word on a Mac

I am trying to edit an academic document to be published, and it has come down to the same issue from nearly 15 years ago... an inability to remove the separator line when creating endnotes (or footnotes). I am literally pulling my hair out over this issue... UGH

Has anyone figured out how to do this on a mac? Has Apple even fixed the issue yet?

Completely unacceptable, and getting ready to switch to a PC so I can actually do my documents correctly...