Ellen Pompeo has shared the heartbreaking news that Meredith Grey will hang up her scrubs for the last time…
Grey’s Anatomy has been such a staple part of so many people’s lives since it debuted all the way back in 2005.
So the news is pretty painful!
Grey’s Anatomy has been in the spotlight for seventeen years now.
The medical-based drama has been on our screens for almost 2 decades now and has racked up an impressive nineteen seasons!
The show has managed to keep audiences totally enthralled over the years, which is no mean feat…
When it comes to keeping audiences entertained, many shows fall flat after a strong third season.
I mean, there’s only so much you can squeeze out of something before it’s dead, you know?
But what’s so different about Grey’s Anatomy?
Directed by Shonda Rhimes, Grey’s Anatomy tells the story of Dr. Meredith Grey (played by the very talented Ellen Pompeo)…
And portrays the hectic life of healthcare professionals as they balance their own lives as well as the lives of patients.
There are a lot of sensitive issues tackled in the show…
So is important for the producers and the directors to be able to keep the storylines raw and realistic without putting off viewers.
But it was also the characters that kept people hooked week after week…
Many also fell madly in love with the actors that played them.
Can you blame us?
Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital has now become a part of everyone’s life, despite it being a fictional location.
But that’s the impact of good TV shows, they manage to create that all-important bridge between stories and reality.
And as the seasons have gone on, the stories have developed immensely.
We always knew we were getting more seasons after Rhimes extended the sixteen-year contract when we reached Season 15, but we didn’t expect that they would switch it up to reflect real-life events.
The pandemic became the main topic…
After a turbulent few months in season seventeen, the show prepared to take on the sensitive topic that destroyed our planet.
And they approached it in the best way.
The cast of Grey’s Anatomy also spoke out about it, with some even lending a helping hand in real life…
Kevin McKidd, who plays Owen Hunt in the drama released a charity single in which all the profits were donated to food banks to reach vulnerable people in society.
The show also donated a lot of equipment to the medical sector during the COVID outbreak, to help with the lack of supplies.
“At Station 19, we were lucky enough to have about 300 of the coveted N95 masks which we donated to our local fire station,” said showrunner Krista Vernoff.
“They were tremendously grateful. At Grey’s Anatomy, we have a backstock of gowns and gloves which we are donating as well.”
She also thanked the healthcare professionals who were working tirelessly to keep people safe…
“We are all overwhelmed with gratitude for our healthcare workers during this incredibly difficult time, and in addition to these donations, we are doing our part to help them by staying home.”
On the surface, the show seems like an ideal place to work, with co-workers coming together and everyone working as a team…
But according to Ellen Pompeo, that wasn’t always the case.
Pompeo revealed that she only stuck by her role for the money because the working environment was pretty toxic.
Pompeo is one of the world’s highest-paid actresses, with each episode banking her an average of $575,000 dollars.
And it seems as though the money is what kept her going…
The actress shares 3 children with her husband Chris Ivery and lives a very stable, some may refer to it as “lavish”, lifestyle thanks to the success of the show.
On an episode of Jemele Hill Is Unbothered podcast, she said:
“I made choices to stay on the show – for me… a healthy home life was more important than a career.”
She added: “I didn’t grow up with a particularly happy childhood.
“So the idea that I have this great husband and these three beautiful children and a happy home life was really something I needed to complete, to close the hole in my heart.”
But for her, acting became extremely stressful…
“I don’t like chasing anything ever, and acting to me, in my experience, was a lot of chasing. Although I produce and it’s the same kind of thing, I think I do it from a place of, I’m never that thirsty because I’m financially set.”
Pompeo revealed that she got into the industry really late compared to other actors who manage to save up enough money and then quit if they don’t want to continue.
“I got in the game late. I didn’t start Grey’s until I was thirty-three, and then I started having kids at forty,” she said. “If I started the show when I was younger, [at] twenty-five, I probably would have dipped out when I was thirty-one, thirty-two, [when] my 6-year contract was up, but my age had a lot to do with it.”
She continued: “The first 10 years we had serious culture issues, very bad behavior, a really toxic work environment.
“After season 10, we had some big shifts in front of the camera, behind the camera,” she went on. “It became my goal to have an experience there that I could be happy and proud about because we had so much turmoil for 10 years.”
Despite this, she carried on for several more seasons, but it looks like this is finally the end of Meredith Grey…
The actress is set to make her exit in January, but it has been reported that she will stay on as a narrator and return one more for the show’s season finale.
Pompeo took to Instagram to share the news with heartbroken fans…
“I am eternally grateful and humbled by the love and support you have all shown me, Meredith GREY, and the show for 19 seasons,” she wrote.
“Through it all….none of it …would have been possible without the best fans in the world.
“You all are RIDERS and you all have made the ride so fun and ICONIC!! I love you madly and appreciate you right back. This isn’t your first time on the rollercoaster… you know the show must go on and I’ll definitely be back to visit. With a lot of love and immense gratitude XoE.”
And now, Pompeo has revealed the real reason she’s leaving the role.
“I feel super happy, but listen, the show has been incredible to me and I’ve loved a lot of the experience,” Pompeo told Drew Barrymore on a recent episode of The Drew Barrymore Show.
“Listen, it’s just, I gotta mix it up a little bit.
“I’m 53. My brain is like scrambled eggs,” she said.
“I gotta do something new or I’m literally gonna turn into like, you can’t do the New York Times crossword puzzle every single day.
“I mean, 19 years, that’s more than people keep their kids in their house, like people keep their kids in their house until they’re 18 and then they send them off to college.
“So this is like me like going away to college,” Pompeo admitted.
What do you think about her reasoning?