The Real Life Partners Of The Cast Of Grey's Anatomy

The cast of "Grey's Anatomy" has been coming into our homes on Thursday nights (or whenever we get around to watching the DVR'd episode) for 17 seasons. Meredith, Bailey, Richard Weber, and a revolving cast of characters have been on the air since 2005, and show that just keeps on going. That means the real-life partners of the cast of "Grey's Anatomy" have had to put up with the crazy shooting schedules of their spouses and partners.

Patrick Dempsey, an original cast member who made a return to the series in 2021, has been married twice. His first wife, Rocky Parker, is 21 years older than Dempsey. They were married from 1987 to 1994. Dempsey has been married to Jillian Fink since 1999 and they have three kids, per Express.

Justin Chambers, meanwhile, played Alex Karev for 15 seasons. He was Meredith's rock. Well, in real life, he has been happily married since 1993 to Keisha Chambers and they have five children, per Deadline. Likewise, Katherine Heigl, whose character Alex went to see in his last episodes, has been married to singer Josh Kelley since 2007 and they have three kids, Hello Magazine revealed.

And finally, McSteamy, er, we mean Eric Dane, was married to actress Rebecca Gayheart from 2004 to 2018. They have two kids, per Entertainment Tonight.

Now let's look at the real-life partners of current cast members of "Grey's Anatomy."

Jesse Williams plays Dr. Jackson Avery on "Grey's Anatomy." In real life, he was married to Aryn Drake-Lee from 2012 to 2017 and they have two children, Maceo and Sadie. When they split in 2017, Williams wanted full custody of their kids, however in 2018, they were granted joint custody, per Express. Their divorce was finalized in October 2020, a full three years after they split.

In April 2021, the former couple was ordered to take part in an online course for "high conflict parents," per TMZ. The six-session class gives co-parenting relationship strategies for reducing conflicts.

Since his divorce, Williams has been linked to actor Minka Kelly and Bleacher Report journalist Taylor Rooks. Williams is officially off the market now, though. He has been dating actress and dancer Taylour Paige since 2019, per Bustle. She is best known for her roles in VH1's "Hit the Floor," "The Baxters," "White Boy Rick," and the Oscar-winning film "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom."

In "Grey's Anatomy," Kevin McKidd plays Dr. Owen Hunt, the military vet who was in love with Christina Yang but his on/off/on/off relationship with Dr. Teddy Altman screwed things up. (And when he got involved with Amelia Shepherd.) Teddy is always screwing up Owen's love life, but to be sure, he plays a big part in their on/off drama too.

In real life, McKidd has been married to Arielle Goldrath, a private chef, since 2018. They married in March 2018 and Goldrath was pregnant with their first child together at the time, per People.

McKidd took to his website to share his good news, writing a post called "Very happy very good news from Kevin," and saying, "Arielle and I are so happy to announce our marriage and new baby, who is soon to join our growing family." He wrote that his older kids are thrilled for him and looking forward to the birth of their sibling. On his wedding day, McKidd said, "close friends and family came together with my Grey's family to share in our celebration day — an intimate, low key gathering culminating in a Scottish Ceilidh dance."

These days, McKidd and Goldrath have two children, a young son and daughter, per People. McKidd also has a 16-year-old daughter and a 19-year-old son from his first marriage.

On "Grey's Anatomy," Dr. Maggie Pierce recently got engaged to her boyfriend Dr. Winston Ndugu, who recently moved to Seattle from Boston to be close to his fiancée. In the past, Pierce was in a tumultuous relationship with Jackson Avery.

In real life, Kelly McCreary also found love at work. She met director Pete Chatmon on the set of "Grey's Anatomy" in 2017. They married in May 2019 in a seaside ceremony. McCreary posted a photo of her with her groom on her Instagram and captioned it, "Married, yo! In our favorite place, surrounded by beloved family and friends, and under the new moon. I am besieged by blessings. I love you, @petechatmon!"

McCreary wore a wedding gown with a plunging neckline and elegant train by the Australian brand Made With Love Bridal, per Brides, and completed the look with a long veil. Chatmon, meanwhile, kept it a bit more casual, opting for a black tuxedo and white sneakers.

On "Grey's Anatomy," Dr. Miranda Bailey has had perhaps the most stable love life of any of the cast. She's been married twice on the show and balances marriage and motherhood with being chief of staff and, let's face it, the cog that holds Seattle Grace hospital together.

Fun fact about Dr. Bailey: in the script for the pilot, she was described as short, blonde, and Caucasian. Chandra Wilson is short, but obviously not blonde nor Caucasian. Nevertheless, her agent pushed for her to get the audition, she nailed it, and the rest is history, per Parade.

In real life, Chandra Wilson is in a long-term, committed relationship of 33 years, but she is not married. She and her boyfriend, who has never been publicly named, have been together since 1988 and the couple shares three children: their daughter Sarina was born in 1992, their daughter Joylin was born in 1998, and their son Michael was born in 2005, per Parade.

And we have to save the best for last, right? I mean, the show is called "Grey's Anatomy" and Ellen Pompeo is Dr. Meredith Grey. Dr. Grey had been through a lot: her mom's Alzheimer's, random unknown siblings appearing in her life (and then, in one case, dying), the death of friends, the death of her father, the dramatic relationship with Dr. Derek Shepherd, then the death of Derek Shepherd. In short, Dr. Grey has been given a raw deal in her personal life.

Fortunately, Ellen Pompeo's real-life love life is much more stable. She's been married to Chris Ivery since 2007. They have three children, Stella Luna, Sienna May, and Eli Christopher. The couple grew up just 10 minutes from each other in the suburbs of Boston, per Pop Sugar, but didn't meet until one fateful day in a grocery store in 2003.

Ivery was a music producer who co-wrote Rihanna's 2010 song "Cheers (Drink to That)." After 25 years in the music industry, he decided to switch careers. He was a fan of the Italian sportswear label Sergio Tacchini but started having a hard time finding it in stores, so he reached out to the brand about relaunching it, and the STLA Collection was born, per The Hollywood Reporter.

Fun fact: Ivery finds watching his wife's love scenes on "Grey's Anatomy" so awkward that he stopped watching the show, per Us Weekly. Fair enough!