Grey’s Anatomy has made an art form out of bringing fictional couples together and tearing them apart while in real life, the cast’s romantic ventures are not always so dramatic.
Ellen Pompeo and Patrick Dempsey’s Meredith Grey and Derek Shepherd are the most beloved duo in the ABC drama’s history. Since the show began in March 2005, fans have been rooting for the pair, even after Derek was killed off in season 11. Although the actor left the series in 2015, viewers got to revisit his relationship with Meredith five years later when his character returned via dream sequences in season 17.
While fans have enjoyed watching Meredith fall in and out of love over the years, Pompeo’s husband, Chris Ivery, was not thrilled when he discovered just how steamy the show is. The couple met approximately six months before she filmed the Grey’s Anatomy pilot.
“Poor guy had no idea what he was getting into,” the Catch Me If You Can actress explained during a July 2021 episode of the “Ladies First With Laura Brown” podcast.
As fans applauded Pompeo and Dempsey for their chemistry, Ivery struggled with their romantic scenes. “I remember in the beginning it was really hard for him,” she revealed. “He was like, ‘This is not what I signed up for. You’re kissing a guy — you go to work and make out with that. I like Patrick and everything, he’s a good dude, but, like, really?’”
Scroll through the gallery below to explore the Grey’s Anatomy cast’s dating histories.
