Eighteen seasons ago, Meredith Grey had a one-night stand the night before she started her new job and, while McDreamy may have been her first random sex hook-up, he was far from her last. Grey’s Anatomy has always been known as much for its romantic entanglements as its medical cases, but long gone are the days when Meredith’s fling shows up at the hospital with priapism, or her panties end up on the hospital bulletin board following a steamy “prom night” hook-up (one of Grey’s Anatomy’s best episodes). In fact, fans can pretty much give up on seeing that side of Meredith again, as Ellen Pompeo has all but assured us those days are behind her.
Those days are behind the actress — to be clear — regardless of the character’s circumstances, as Ellen Pompeo recently divulged that she’s become less comfortable with doing intimate scenes with actors she’s not familiar with. Thankfully that’s not an issue with Meredith’s current beau, Nick Marsh, as Pompeo has known and respected actor Scott Speedman for years. Talking to Kate Walsh — who is set to make another Season 18 guest appearance when Grey’s Anatomy returns May 5 — on her podcast, Tell Me, Pompeo made a pretty definitive statement on what she’s willing to do (or not do) regarding love scenes:
Like I work with Scott Speedman right now, who I adore. I really love him as a friend. He’s, like, such a decent guy and I really value his friendship, and I value him as a person, and he’s a great actor. But… there’s a lot of shit that I don’t want to do anymore. And I’m really lucky that I get to work with Scott, because I really like him, and that makes a huge difference. Would I ever do that with a stranger? Like if they just cast some stranger off the street? Nope. Not doing it. Can’t do it.
Does that mean Meredith and Nick are endgame? Not necessarily, but it does likely mean she won’t be going home with any more veterinarians (despite how much that role helped Chris O’Donnell) or bedding the best friend who’s in love with her (RIP, George).
Ellen Pompeo also made sure to point out that her decision has nothing to do with not trusting other male actors. She stated that they are put in the same awkward situation as women, and they don’t necessarily want to be there either.
All that said, Meredith has been having plenty of sexy time with her Minnesota romance and, when Grey’s Anatomy comes back from its hiatus, we’ll see if she follows through on her decision to leave Seattle (a major twist) and work at The Grey Center in Minnesota full time.
Big things await fans as Season 18 winds down. Grey’s Anatomy will return at 9 p.m. ET on Thursday, May 5, and it’s all leading up to the two-hour season finale on May 26, which will feature the return of Jesse Williams and Sarah Drew as fan favorite couple Japril! See when all of the spring finales are airing, and be sure to check out our 2022 TV Schedule to see what shows are premiering soon!
