One of the most iconic love triangles on the small screen back in the young days of Grey's Anatomy involved Patrick Dempsey's McDreamy Derek Shepherd and Kate Walsh's Addison Montgomery. While most fans of the show were probably rooting for Meredith and Derek over Addison and Derek, Derek and Addison eventually found a status quo relatively free of drama. Now, Grey's Anatomy fans are having flashbacks to those early days courtesy of Dempsey calling Walsh "radiant."
Yes, Patrick Dempsey channeled his inner McDreamy to reach out to his former Grey's Anatomy costar via social media and drop a compliment. Just take a look at the photo that motivated him to praise her radiance:
In the photo Kate Walsh posted to her own Instagram account, the former Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice actress showed off the car fresheners from the Boyfriend perfume company, which Walsh founded back in 2009. She certainly looks lovely in the image, and probably brought a lot more attention to these car fresheners than they would have received otherwise.
Car fresheners aren't known as the hottest commodity on the market, but Kate Walsh (and Patrick Dempsey's comment) show them off! As it happens, Dempsey did more than just call his former on-screen ex-wife "radiant." Check out what he had to say:
Looking radiant my lady
I can think of worse things than being called "radiant" by McDreamy himself! Patrick Dempsey is unlikely to reprise his role as Derek Shepherd given how he was written out of the show, but Addison Montgomery was still alive and well when Private Practice ended back in 2013. Kate Walsh has said that she'd return to Grey's Anatomy if the circumstances are right, and it's possible Grey's showrunner Krista Vernoff was referring to Walsh as the "someone" she wanted to get back in Season 16.
Fans may never get that on-screen Addison/Derek reunion, but Addison dropping by Grey Sloan to speak to Meredith would be the next best thing, right? Grey's Anatomy lost one of its few remaining original series stars in Season 16, and another longtime star might have a much smaller role moving forward. A familiar face from days gone by showing up for a guest appearance or arc could be fun, even if Addison was once more of a villain to fans than somebody welcome!
None of this is to say that Kate Walsh hasn't been busy since leaving the role of Addison behind. In addition to running Boyfriend, she appeared in several episodes of Netflix's The Umbrella Academy and had an important role on Netflix's divisive hit 13 Reasons Why in the last few years alone. Only time will tell if she'll return to ABC to play Addison once more and catch Grey's Anatomy fans up on everything that's happened with her character since the end of Private Practice. As for Patrick Dempsey, he may returning to broadcast television himself with a new project.
For a blast from Kate Walsh and Patrick Dempsey's pasts, you can find the first 15 seasons of Grey's Anatomy and all six seasons of Private Practice streaming on Netflix now.
