‘Grey’s Anatomy’: Which Character Was Supposed To Be Meredith Grey’s Love Interest?
It’s wild to find out that Meredith could have had another love interest entirely.
While it’s fun to watch what medical cases come up in each episode of Grey’s Anatomy, the romances are the real crowd pleaser on this long-running TV drama. Some fans don’t love Meredith and Derek’s romance, but others swear that theirs was the best love story on TV.
Pompeo has said that playing Meredith feels secure, but it’s safe to say that Meredith Grey doesn’t always feel like her life is working out the way that it was supposed to.
It’s wild to find out that Meredith could have had another love interest entirely. Let’s take a look at who it was supposed to be.
Meredith And Burke?
Ellen Pompeo didn’t act before Grey’s Anatomy, which is amazing to hear since she does an incredible job portraying her vulnerable and tough character.
Pompeo said Burke was supposed to be Meredith’s love interest. According to E Online, Pompeo said, “You know they wanted Isaiah Washington to be my boyfriend. Shonda [Rhimes] really wanted to put a black man in the mix. I didn’t think they were really going to put an interracial couple on the show and I didn’t want him. It was too close to home.” She continued, “I said I wanted that Dempsey kid. I think that once Isaiah did not get the role it backfired.”
Instead, Meredith and Derek have had quite an epic love story that has spanned many years and included ups and downs and different emotions. Derek built her a dream home, they got married on a post-it note because that felt better than a big church ceremony, and they started a family. Tragically, Derek passed away, and Meredith gave birth to his baby months after losing him.
Burke, played by Isaiah Washington, and Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh) had an interesting romance of their own. Cristina’s time on Grey’s Anatomy was always compelling as she is incredibly ambitious and strong-willed, and it’s tough for her to find someone who is okay with that. As fans know, Burke totally broke her heart by leaving her at the altar.
Pompeo’s Marriage
Pompeo and Chris Ivey got married in 2007. They decided that NYC’s City Hall was right for them, and they had been in love for four years up until that point.
According to Good Housekeeping, Pompeo said that they are both from Boston and in 2006, talked about how they would definitely become husband and wife but she wasn’t going to tell people about it. She said. “We were six degrees our whole lives, so I feel like we were sort of meant to be. We’ll get married eventually, secretly.”
All The Controversies
As it turns out, there have been some scandals involving Meredith’s major love interest Derek, along with her potential one, Dr. Burke.
According to Good Housekeeping, Washington made an anti-gay comment about T.R. Knight, the actor who played fan-favorite character, George O’Malley. When the character was on the show again years later, not everyone thought that he should be given the screen time, but Shonda Rhimes said that was what she wanted. She explained, “It’s important to me that Cristina’s journey unfolds exactly as it should. Burke is vital to that journey — he gives her story that full-circle moment we need to properly say goodbye to our beloved Cristina Yang.”
As for Derek? According to People.com, a source talked about “no love lost” when it came to Patrick Dempsey and his co-workers on the TV drama. People say that he didn’t have a good reputation on set. Looper.com says that he didn’t get along with Shonda Rhimes and that he was called “a diva.”
According to E Online, Rhimes said that this creative choice to have him die was the one that had to happen. She said, “The decision to have the character die the way that he did was not a difficult one in the sense of what were the options? Either Derek was going to walk out on Meredith and leave her high and dry, and what was that going to mean? That was going to suggest that the love was not true, the thing we had said for 11 years was a lie and McDreamy wasn’t McDreamy. For me, that was untenable.”
Grey’s Anatomy fans are definitely amazed to learn that Burke and Meredith were supposed to be a couple. While this show is always fascinating, juicy, and dramatic, many would agree that Derek is the only one for Meredith. And it seems like things have worked out exactly as they should have for everyone on the popular hospital drama.