Ellen Pompeo Bids Farewell to ‘Grey’s Anatomy’

“Grey’s Anatomy” star Ellen Pompeo is saying goodbye to the hit ABC show after 19 seasons!

On Thursday, Pompeo announced her exit on Instagram. She wrote, “I am eternally grateful and humbled by the love and support you have all shown me, Meredith GREY and the show for 19 seasons! Through it all….none of it …would have been possible without the best fans in the world. You all are RIDERS and you all have made the ride so fun and ICONIC!!”

“I love you madly and appreciate you right back,” Ellen told her fans and followers. “This isn’t your first time on the rollercoaster… you know the show must go on and I’ll definitely be back to visit. With a lot of love and immense gratitude XoE 🙏🏼❤️.”

The night before her big announcement, “Extra’s” Jenn Lahmers spoke with Ellen’s “Grey’s Anatomy” co-star Patrick Dempsey about her decision to step back from the show.

At the “Disenchanted” premiere in Los Angeles, he said, “I think it's great. I think, you know, she's been on it for a long time and it's time to move on and do other things and she's doing that so… the best of luck.”

Months ago, news broke that Ellen was cutting back on her role as Meredith Grey in the 19th season, appearing in only eight episodes.

At the time, it was rumored that she needed to reduce her role since she had signed on to star in a limited Hulu series.

In May, “Extra’s” Katie Krause spoke with Pompeo, who played coy about her future on “Grey’s’ Anatomy.”

When asked if the show could go on without her, she said, “We’ll see… This show really belongs to the fans.”