Patrick Dempsey Reacts to Ellen Pompeo’s Grey’s Anatomy Exit

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McDreamy can not help but crack some jokes about Meredith Grey hanging up her stethoscope. Just hours after Ellen Pompeo shared an emotional message to fans about her forthcoming departure from “Grey’s Anatomy,” longtime costar Patrick Dempsey reacted to the news on “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”

Host Kimmel breached the subject by telling Dempsey, “She’s leaving the show. I do not know if you happen to heard — she got caught stealing Band-Aids from the set.” Without hesitation, the “Disenchanted” star went together with the bit, quipping, “Did she really? Finally they caught her. Are you able to imagine what she’d have in her house now from 19 seasons? A full hospital within the basement.”

On Nov. 17, Pompeo preemptively bid adieu to fans before her role within the medical drama drastically scales back in the brand new 12 months. “I’m eternally grateful and humbled by the love and support you’ve gotten all shown me, Meredith GREY and the show for 19 seasons!” the actor wrote on Instagram. “Through all of it . . . none of it . . . would have been possible without the very best fans on the earth. You all are RIDERS and also you all have made the ride so fun and ICONIC!! I like you madly and appreciate you right back.”

Meredith will appear within the winter premiere of “Grey’s Anatomy” on Feb. 23 to have fun her last day at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital before moving to Boston to research a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. But in true “Grey’s Anatomy” fashion, it likely won’t be her last time on the long-running ABC series, as Pompeo hinted she may pop up again in the long run. “This is not your first time on the rollercoaster,” the mother of three added on Instagram. “You already know the show must go on and I’ll definitely be back to go to.” Show creator Shonda Rhimes echoed the same sentiment in her own Instagram tribute to Pomepo that read, “This is not a goodbye, it is a see ya later!”

Though Pompeo will proceed narrating “Grey’s Anatomy” episodes and remain an executive producer, she’ll be spending much of her time working on an untitled Hulu limited series about an adoption story that goes awry. As for Dempsey, who exited the show in 2015 after 11 seasons of portraying heartthrob Dr. Derek Shepherd and Pompeo’s onscreen husband, he’s still grateful for his time within the halls of Grey Sloan. “It’s amazing the ability of that show and the way long it’s lasted and the impact it’s had all over the world,” he told Kimmel on Nov. 17. “It’s modified my life profoundly, [and] my family’s.”