Chyler Leigh just opened up on her biggest regret over her time on Grey’s Anatomy and a certain beloved co-star!
Grey’s Anatomy fans are still mourning the tragic loss of Eric Dane. The actor who played Mark Sloane (aka “McSteamy”) lost his battle with ALS in February. Grey’s did a beautiful on-air tribute to the actor and character, which included his romance with Meredith’s sister, Lexie (Chyler Leigh).
The pair had an on-and-off relationship for several years with hot hookups, ugly breakups, reunions, and so on. It built to the infamous season 8 finale when the pair were among the doctors caught in a plane crash. Mark confessed his love to Lexie before she died of her injuries. The season 9 premiere had Mark mourning, only to succumb to his own injuries.
The pair would return in Season 17’s emotional episode “Breathe.” While in a coma due to COVID-19, Meredith dreams of being on a beach to reunite with Lexie. They’re then joined by Mark, the trio lying on the grass by the beach as they talk about old times, and Lexie and Mark both encourage Meredith not to give up.
After they have a talk and bid goodbye, Lexie and Mark depart, showing that the two are happily spending eternity together. The scene is even more powerful to watch today, with the clip of Mark telling Meredith, "Don't waste a single second,” used as part of Dane’s tribute video.
Speaking to TV Insider to promote the final season of her Hallmark drama The Way Home, Leigh was asked about Dane and admitted she was “really bummed” about a decision she made in filming that episode due to the pandemic restrictions at the time.
“We were filming all during COVID, actual COVID, and I was filming Supergirl in Vancouver. And I couldn't go down to be there because I would have had to quarantine two weeks coming back into Vancouver. And we couldn't; we did not have the time for that. So if there's anything that I regret, it would be not having been able to do that.”
Leigh confirmed at the time she filmed her scenes on a green screen, and the combination of filming two shows at once, one in Canada (where pandemic restrictions were different), meant it couldn’t be in person. Obviously, she had no idea Dane was so sick, and this would be one of the last chances to be with him. Sadly, real life threw too many complications for them to work together again.
Leigh did talk a bit about her favorite Lexie/Mark moments while emphasizing, "I could pick a million. I really could. He was a wonderful, wonderful human being.”
Her words no doubt echo with many Grey’s fans and are a reminder to hold close to those you have while you still have time.
Grey’s Anatomy is streaming on Disney+, Netflix, and Hulu.
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