Very few shows can hold a candle to the sheer volume of jaw-dropping Grey’s Anatomy exits.
Twenty years of character turnover have brought us new players that we couldn’t live without.
But along the way, we’ve also had to say goodbye to dozens of fan favorites.
Sometimes, those goodbyes have been predictable.
While her death was sad, no one expected Ellis Grey to have a particularly long arc on Grey’s Anatomy.
She was introduced as an Alzheimer’s patient in an assisted living facility, so from day one, her impending death was anticipated by fans.
When Addison reflected on her life and decided to start over in L.A., it didn’t really take anyone by surprise.
She wasn’t from Seattle, her husband chose to stay with another woman, and she had a built-in community in California.
Plus, her departure gave us Private Practice, so who could complain?
Some Grey’s Anatomy characters, however, left us in absolute shock when they were written out.
From Alex Karev’s sudden disappearance to Derek Shepherd’s preventable death, fans weren’t always ready to say goodbye.
Even when an actor’s decision to leave was announced in advance, their final scenes were sometimes hard to take.
Honestly, we’re still not over some of these, so let’s talk about some of the most unexpected Grey’s Anatomy exits to date.
George O’Malley, Played By T.R. Knight
It’s hard to even talk about this one without getting emotional.
George was a beloved fan favorite, and his death shocked us to our cores.
He went out a hero, sacrificing his life to save a stranger, but that didn’t make it any easier.
T.R. Knight said that communication issues with the show’s creator were ultimately behind his decision to leave Grey’s Anatomy.
Callie Torres, Played By Sara Ramirez
While their decision to leave seemed to be based on a desire to pursue other opportunities, Sara Ramirez’s Callie Torres has been sorely missed on Grey’s Anatomy.
Callie left the show by following her girlfriend across the country, and fans were devastated to say goodbye.
Since her introduction during Grey’s Anatomy Season 2 Episode 19, Callie captured fans’ hearts as she navigated love, sexuality, parenthood, and her career.
Sara Ramirez left the possibility of a return to the series on the table, so we’ll keep our fingers crossed that we haven’t seen the last of Callie Torres.
Izzie Stevens, Played By Catherine Heigl
Fans continue to have mixed feelings about Izzie Stevens despite the fact that she hasn’t been spotted on Grey’s Anatomy since Season 6.
Online, you can find opinions about the character that range from infatuated to hateful, so it’s clear she’s a polarizing figure.
After surviving a near brush with death via Stage 4 cancer, Izzie’s departure came as a surprise.
Rumors swirled for years about the reason Katherine Heigl left the show, with some sources suggesting that she and Shonda Rhimes had personal issues that couldn’t be overcome.
Ultimately, Heigl pointed to mental health and family as her main reasons for stepping away.
In recent years, she has reunited with her former cast mates, giving fans a dose of nostalgia.
Derek Shepherd, Played By Patrick Dempsey
Here’s the thing about McDreamy: I never liked him, and I’m glad he’s dead.
Now that my hot take is out of the way, his death had a pretty big impact on Grey’s fans.
After years of on-again, off-again activity with Meredith, a couple of kids, and some major fights, it looked like MerDer had finally figured out their issues and were ready for a happy ending.
Enter: a giant transfer truck, an incompetent surgeon, and a pulled plug.
If the gossip mill is to be believed, Dempsey was highly difficult to work with, leading to issues between him and several other people on set.
But that didn’t stop Derek from returning in Meredith’s COVID-coma dreams during Grey’s Anatomy Season 17, giving her the closure and motivation she needed to wake up.
Alex Karev, Played By Justin Chambers
This one freaking hurt.
It wasn’t just that the actor left and the character had to be written out. It was how the writers removed Karev from the show.
Alex went through serious character growth, and after he finally found Jo and they were happy, he threw it all away.
For Izzie? (Yes, I know there were kids involved, but it’s still ridiculous.)
Chambers wanted to explore different acting opportunities, which is fine, but it would have been less insulting if they’d killed him off.
After the way he abandoned Jo, he’s dead to me, anyway.
Preston Burke, Played By Isaiah Washington
This one came as a shock too, especially because Burke disappeared after leaving Cristina at their wedding.
Behind the scenes, Isaiah Washington’s choice to use homophobic slurs about T.R. Knight got him fired.
It was a deserved punishment, but the show brought him back for Grey’s Anatomy Season 10 Episode 22 to help with Cristina Yang’s sendoff.
We can’t say we miss this character, honestly.
Cristina Yang, Played By Sandra Oh
On the other hand, we desperately miss Cristina Yang.
Sandra Oh brought this character to life, and things haven’t been the same since she left.
We’re thankful that her Grey’s Anatomy exit was a positive one, at least, and her character wasn’t written off in an unfavorable way.
By all accounts, Oh left on good terms, hoping to expand her career in exciting ways.
She’s done exactly that. With major hits like Killing Eve on her resume, Oh proved that she had more range than we could have predicted.
Arizona Robbins, Played By Jessica Capshaw
The cheerful, roller-skating peds surgeon was widely loved by fans, but it wasn’t enough to keep her on the show.
Grey’s Anatomy said goodbye to Robbins when the character chose to move closer to Callie and Sofia in New York.
Thankfully, they left the door open for Arizona to return on occasion, which happened on Grey’s Anatomy Season 20 Episode 4.
Capshaw and Grey’s showrunner Krista Vernoff have cited creative reasons for Robbins’ departure.
Lexie Grey, Played By Chyler Leigh
Lexie was another character fans struggled to part with.
Leigh wanted to have more free time to focus on her family, so she chose not to return to the show after the end of her contract.
Unfortunately, that meant we had to watch her die during one of the most tragic storylines on Grey’s Anatomy.
There seems to be no limit to the heartbreak Grey’s fans can endure.
Mark Sloan, Played By Eric Dane
Following Lexie’s death, Mark was close behind.
Eric Dane said recently on Armchair Expert that his departure was largely financial, and that ABC opted to let him go rather than continue paying his high salary.
But watching Mark die was one of the hardest things Grey’s fans have had to endure, and it’s one of those episodes that we still can’t get through without crying.
While a life without Lexie would have been hard for Mark to face, we wish there had been a way to keep him on.
Andrew DeLuca, Played By Giacomo Gianniotti
Everyone loved Andrew; it was impossible not to.
He had several huge storylines on the show, and was instrumental in mental health representation for Grey’s Anatomy.
But even good things have to come to an end, and DeLuca was killed off to advance the show’s plot and bring light to the issue of human trafficking.
Like George O’Malley, DeLuca went out as a hero, and we’ll never forget him.
Maggie Pierce, Played By Kelly McCreary
Maggie Pierce was a super divisive character.
When Kelly McCreary left the show to chase other career opportunities, her character mirrored the actor and did the same.
She’s been back briefly to give her ex-husband, Winston, some closure, but it looks like we’ve probably seen the last of Dr. Pierce.
I, for one, loved Maggie, and hated to say goodbye.
Stephanie Edwards, Played By Jerrika Hinton
Another example of actors choosing to move on to new creative projects, Jerrika Hinton’s Grey’s Anatomy exit made us say goodbye to Stephanie Edwards.
Stephanie was a great character and fans generally loved her, especially after watching her get jilted by Jackson.
When she narrowly survived an explosion, Stephanie decided she wasn’t cut out to be a doctor.
Since she wasn’t killed off, there’s always the possibility that she could return. Hell, even death hasn’t stopped some Grey’s Anatomy characters from showing back up at times.
Now the real question: will we ever get to say goodbye to Webber, or is this poor man going to have to work until he dies?
Let us know in the comments if we missed any of your favorite departed Grey’s characters!
Don’t forget to tune in to watch Grey’s Anatomy on ABC, Thursdays at 10/9c.
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