Grey's Anatomy has been engineering swoony TV relationships and ripping them apart since day one. Off camera, the cast's actual love lives are quieter, but not totally drama- free. Case in point: Ellen Pompeo's home front when the show's steam factor kicked in.
Meredith and Derek: the on-screen gold standard
From the jump in March 2005, fans zeroed in on Meredith Grey and Derek Shepherd as the couple to root for. Patrick Dempsey's Derek bowed out in season 11 with a death that still stings, and Dempsey officially left the series in 2015. Then, five years later, he popped back up in season 17 through dream sequences, letting viewers revisit that core relationship one more time.
- March 2005: Grey's Anatomy premieres on ABC.
- Season 11 (2015): Derek is killed off; Patrick Dempsey exits the show.
- Season 17 (five years later): Dempsey returns in dream sequences, giving fans a brief Meredith-Derek reunion.
Off screen: Ellen Pompeo's real-life romance had an adjustment period
While viewers spent years watching Meredith cycle through romance and heartbreak, Pompeo's husband, Chris Ivery, was dealing with the reality of just how steamy the series could get. The two met about six months before she shot the Grey's pilot, meaning he signed on before the world (and the intimacy coordinators) did.
"Poor guy had no idea what he was getting into."
That was Pompeo, who also appeared in Catch Me If You Can, explaining it on the July 2021 episode of the 'Ladies First With Laura Brown' podcast. She said the early seasons were tough for Ivery; he basically told her this was not what he thought he was agreeing to when your job involves kissing a co-star. He liked Dempsey, sure, but watching your wife go to work and make out with McDreamy is a lot to process.