Why Patrick Dempsey Really Left Grey’s Anatomy

Fans of Grey’s Anatomy remember the emotional send-off that the character of Derek Shepherd got when his actor Patrick Dempsey left the show in its 11th season. The reasons for the star’s exit have been in the news recently.

It seems that Dempsey had been wanting to move on from the show for a while, and this created a lot of tension between him, show creator Shonda Rhimes, and co-star Ellen Pompeo.

In a 2016 interview with People, Dempsey expressed regret at not having left the show a couple of years earlier, saying that he “stayed a bit longer” than he should have. It seems that the show kept Dempsey from spending time with his family.

In the book “How to Save a Life: The Inside Story of Grey’s Anatomy,” the producers of the show reveal that Derek’s death had to be written into the show since it was time to let Dempsey go.

They also claimed that due to his frustration, Dempsey had resorted to terrorizing the set, complaining about how time-consuming the show was. Ultimately, Dempsey left the show and was able to take on other projects and spend time with his family.

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