Pain can bring them together? Grey’s Anatomy‘s Martin Henderson told TVLine that his character, Nathan Riggs, and Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) have a burgeoning romance thanks in part to the grief they’ve both endured.
The long-running ABC medical drama’s two surgeons have been able to bond over “shared loss … and just the fact that maybe [he can be] someone in her life that she can relate to on that level,” the actor said of the pair who surprisingly hooked up in last month’s penultimate episode of season 12. Throughout the season, Mer had continued to grapple with season 11’s death of longtime love Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey), while viewers learned that Riggs’ girlfriend, Megan Hunt, sister of his former pal Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd), disappeared when her helicopter went MIA years earlier.
“I think that’s always really powerful between a couple,” Henderson, 41, explained. “[It] may be fertile ground for them to actually have a relationship with some meaning.”
The actor also credited his character for getting the Grey Sloan chief of general surgery to loosen up from time to time.
“Nathan is irreverent and kind of calls Meredith on her s–t, and that might be really good for her because he doesn’t take [things] all that seriously,” Henderson said.
“It might be nice for her to have the opportunity to actually lighten up a bit around some stuff,” he continued.
Tell Us: Do you think Meredith and Riggs are right for each other — or would you rather see her with someone like, say, Alex Karev (Justin Chambers)?
Grey’s Anatomy returns to ABC for its 13th season this fall.
