Revealed: Why Ellen Pompeo, Eric Dane and more Grey’s Anatomy actors suddenly left

Oh McDreamy, why did you have to die? After appearing as Derek Shepherd for a decade, Patrick Dempsey decided to leave the show in 2015, with his character killed off in a brutal car accident. 

Speaking to People in 2016, Patrick noted that the long hours on set had impacted his decision to leave. “I think after a certain period of time, no matter how much money you make, you want control out of your own schedule,” he said. 

“It had been long enough. It was time for me to move on with other things and other interests. I probably should have moved on a couple of years earlier. I stayed a bit longer than I should have.”

The show’s creator, Shonda Rhimes, also weighed in, explaining that the only way for Derek to plausibly leave the show was to have him die because fans wouldn’t believe he’d walk away from Meredith. 

According to former executive producers James D. Parriott and Jeannine Renshaw, however, there was more to the story. 

In their tell-all book, How to Save a Life: The Inside Story of Grey’s Anatomy (2021), the duo insisted that there had been “issues” behind the scenes, with Patrick behaving badly on set and butting heads with Shonda Rhimes and Ellen Pompeo. 

While the stars have kept tightlipped about the finer details of their time on set, Patrick, Shonda and Ellen have collaborated since, with the McDreamy actor appearing in a dream sequence in series 17. 

Leading lady Ellen said it had been a “ball” filming with Patrick, while the 58-year-old remarked that it had been “healing” to reunite with his Grey’s family for the episode.