Ellen Pompeo reveals why she continued with 'Grey's Anatomy' after Patrick Dempsey left

Patrick Dempsey bid a farewell to his character, Dr. Derek Shepherd, in Grey's Anatomy after being associated with the show for a whole decade. While talking to People in 2015, the actor had expressed that while the show gave him an opportunity to do everything in life, it did come with a cost. At the time, Dempsey and his wife were going through a public divorce battle, which was eventually called off in November 2016.

Dr. Derek Shepherd's character was killed off in the show in a way which was deemed forced by may fans. Now, actor Ellen Pompeo, who plays the role of Dr. Meredith Grey in the long-running series has revealed what kept her going after Dempsey's departure from the show. 

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The reason Ellen Pompeo stayed in Grey's Anatomy

Pompeo, who has portrayed Meredith Grey's character ever since 2005, recently sat down for the virtual Armchair Expert podcast hosted by Dax Sheperd. During the podcast, Ellen revealed that when Patrick left the show, she felt like she has something to prove. This allowed her to renegotiate her terms as the lead of the series.

Patrick left the show in season 11 and back then, Pompeo was in talks with the makers of the show about future seasons, she could have left Grey's Anatomy but chose not to as she didn't want to tell a story in the mainstream which suggests that a female star left the show after her male costar bid farewell. 

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The Massachusetts native recalled that people had put stories in her head which made her feel that she was no good without Patrick on the show. Pompeo took it to herself to rewrite the script and change her character's arch to make her less reliant on Dr. Shepherd's character. The actor has been vocal about the pay gap for women in show business.

The US Magazine reports that Pompeo, in her season 15 and 16 pay negotiations, signed a deal for $575,000 per episode amounting to over $20 million per year. During the podcast, Ellen shared that she is definitely not going to hang around Grey's Anatomy for her entire career as an actor, but for the time being, she is happy to be on the sets. The season 17 of Grey's Anatomy will debut in fall 2020. 

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