Justin Chambers Exits ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ with Shocking Twist

Thursday night marked Justin Chambers' last episode of “Grey's Anatomy” — and it was a doozy!

In a shocking twist, his character Dr. Alex Karev decided to leave his wife Jo (Camilla Luddington) and career at Grey's behind… to reunite with Izzie (Katherine Heigl)!

Alex explained all of this in a series of letters to his colleagues. Chambers narrated the letters, but did not appear in the episode, nor did Heigl.

Apparently, Alex and Izzie reconnected while he was reaching out to past colleagues to help Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) keep her medical license.

Karev found out that Izzie was now living in Kansas and raising their twins!

How did they have twins, if they hadn't seen each other since Season 6? Of course, they froze some embryos while Izzie was going through cancer treatments.

After meeting his children, Alex decided to stay with Izzie and raise a family.

Pompeo opened up about Chambers' exit on social media, writing, “For me personally for Karev to go back to the beginning.... was the best possible storyline. It pays homage to those incredible first years and the incredible cast...that created a foundation so strong that the show is still standing.” She also shared a sweet montage of Meredith and Alex. Watch!

Justin announced his exit back in January, telling Deadline, “There's no good time to say goodbye to a show and character that's defined so much of my life for the past 15 years. For some time now, however, I have hoped to diversify my acting roles and career choices. And, as I turn 50 and am blessed with my remarkable, supportive wife and five wonderful children, now is that time.”

He went on, “As I move on from 'Grey's Anatomy,' I want to thank the ABC family, Shonda Rhimes, original cast members Ellen Pompeo, Chandra Wilson and James Pickens, and the rest of the amazing cast and crew, both past and present, and, of course, the fans for an extraordinary ride.”

Justin had been on the show since the premiere episode. Fellow original castmates Sandra Oh, Katherine Heigl, T.R. Knight and Patrick Dempsey have already moved on.