Ellen Pompeo Has 'Immense Gratitude' for 'Grey's Anatomy' Fans as Meredith Grey Readies to Leave Seattle

Mar. 15, 2025

Ellen Pompeois thankful for all 19 seasons ofGrey’s Anatomy.

She added, “I love you madly and appreciate you right back.”

Series creatorShonda Rhimesalso shared a sentimental post about Pompeo on social media.

“What a wild ride these past 19 seasons have been. None of it could have been possible without the incomparable@ellenpompeo, the one and only Meredith Grey,” she shared on Instagram alongside a selfie of her with Pompeo.

Liliane Lathan/ABC via Getty

Pompeostepped back from the seriesthis season to pursue outside projects, including Hulu’s adaptation of the 2009 filmOrphan, which follows a terrifying adoption story in which a couple’s new daughter turns out to be a grown woman masquerading as a child.

Meredith’s storyline (so far) ended with her character’s decision to leave Seattle for Boston, where she accepted a position with the Catherine Fox Foundation to research Alzheimer’s disease. There have been far more dramatic (and tragic) exits on the series — and Meredith’s new job certainly leaves the door open to guest appearances.

Kelsey McNeal/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

Pompeo confirmed as much in the conclusion of her statement. “This isn’t your first time on the rollercoaster… you know the show must go on and I’ll definitely be back to visit,” she wrote. “With a lot of love and immense gratitude XoE 🙏🏼❤️”

Though Pompeo has been one ofGrey’sanchors since its premiere in 2005, her decision to scale down her role on the series this year wasn’t entirely unexpected — the actress has long been candid about her attempts toconvince ABC to end the series.

“I’ve been trying to focus on convincing everybody that it should end,” she told Insider in December 2021. “I feel like I’m the super naive one who keeps saying, ‘Butwhat’s the story going to be, what story are we going to tell?'”

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Grey’s Anatomyreturns Feb. 23 on ABC.

source: people.com