False Facts About Grey's Anatomy Even Die-Hard Fans Still Believe To Be True

In the 90's era, there were medical shows like ER and Doogie Howser, M.D. that made a doctor's office and a hospital look more dramatic and gripping than a live play on a stage. That is why in 2005 everyone jumped on the Grey's Anatomy bandwagon. A young and naïve intern sleeps with a sexy older man from the bar, just to find out the next day that he is one of her bosses, a neurosurgeon, in her new residency program in Seattle, Washington. If that wasn't enough, she is also the daughter of famous surgeon Ellis Grey-- and has A LOT to live up to in the professional realm of success.

Grey's Anatomy is currently on its fourteenth season-- wow!-- and still going strong with fresh narratives, new and interesting characters, and still some pretty cool medical storylines. But, even die-hard fans don't know the truth to some of the rumors swirling around the ever-popular medical drama. Below we dissect sixteen false facts about our favorite Thursday night show.

16 Why Katherine Heigl Left The Show

Lots of speculation started circling around the show about Heigl when the actress infamously withdrew her name from Emmy consideration in 2008. The actress had previously won for her work on Grey's Anatomy, however, this particular year she stated that she was not given enough good material to even be considered for it, presumably taking a dig at the writers in a not-so-subtle way. Heigl officially left the show in 2010 after much time off. Her character, Izzie Stevens, left Seattle to live somewhere else and start anew. Since then, Heigl has been in several movies, attempting to achieve success on the big screen, but it seems that her attitude has affected her career, as many movie writers and producers may agree with Rhimes' explanation of Heigl in a statement to Oprah in 2012: "When people show you who they are, believe them." As you can guess, things are not very amicable between the two even today.

15 Lexie Grey Didn't Exist?!

There is actually a crazy fan theory in which a fan describes in detail how and why she is convinced that Lexie Grey did not exist. In short, due to her age difference to Meredith, it is quite impossible for Lexie to only be one year behind her in her medical career when she is supposed to be five years younger than her. There is also the factor of Ellis and Thatcher, Meredith's parents, and when they split up. Thatcher would have had to have a one-night stand with Susan, Lexie's mother, very quickly after his breakup with Ellis for Lexie's age to be correct on the Grey's timeline. This fan is just convinced that Lexie never existed-- and was only put in the show to create drama for our main character, Meredith Grey. Even though the numbers don't make sense, as this fan states, it is actually false that Lexie never existed, because really, all of these characters aren't real!

14 Why Patrick Dempsey Was Killed Off

There were actually a lot of false facts and speculations swirling for months when fans found out that our lovably intelligent and flawlessly handsome Derek Shepherd was killed off toward the end of season eleven. Did he leave because of the big rumor of him and writer Shonda Rhimes not getting along? There was major speculation that his "diva" ways on set were getting to be too much to handle. Another rumor was that he was leaving the show, and its' grueling schedule, so that he could work on his marriage after his wife filed for divorce the year before. However, all these reasons are just that--speculation-- as Dempsey's reason for leaving was simply because he wanted to focus on other projects. The good news is, though, that he did have time to fix his marriage as the divorce was called off not long after he met his end on Grey's.

13 The Medicinal Accuracy Is Spot-On

For awhile many fans believed this to be true; there are even real-life doctors on set! They are hired to make sure the medicine can be as accurate as possible. However, several of the medicinal storylines are in fact not accurate-- maybe only 50-70% could be considered true. Other things like bedside manner are not portrayed well either. We know this is because it is a show-- a drama-- so there needs to be some suspenseful or comedic  moments throughout to keep it interesting. Furthermore, the scenes where the doctors cut into a patient right in their rooms if "there isn't enough time"? Those are inaccurate as well. If doctors did this in real life, the patient would be heavily prone to bacterial infections! So, even though some of the medicine and doctoral duties are indeed accurate, many of it is not, often to increase dramatic effect.

12 The Show Is Filmed in Seattle

Several shows do this actually; it is not uncommon. They really film on a soundstage and then overlay different scenes with various shots of the city they are supposed to be set in. Grey's Anatomy is no different. Contrary to many fans' belief, this show is mostly filmed on a soundstage in Los Angeles, where most of the stars of the show live. The shots of the Space Needle or the ferry are juxtaposed in to the show to make it look authentic. However, there are some parts that are indeed in Seattle, like the exterior shots of Meredith's house that she grew up in-- that house is actually in Seattle! This false fact should not be a shock to many of us, though, as most shows film in a different place than they are set.

11 Derek's Unexpected Demise

As most of us die-hard fans know, Derek Shepherd died unexpectedly at the end of season eleven when a tractor trailer hit his car as he was trying to save a family in an accident. When he was rushed to the hospital, the equipment, nor the nurses and surgeons, were not advanced enough medically to save his life. In fact, the doctor that was supposed to come and do his surgery was taking his time at dinner while Derek slowly lost brain function. But what most fans don't know is that there quite possibly could have been a foreshadowing many seasons before! Meredith has a nightmare about Derek early on in season five in which he dies in a car crash and doesn't come back to her. It's a little too similar to be ironic, right? Well, that is all it is, as that nightmare had nothing to do with his demise in season eleven. The only reason he was killed off was because he wanted to leave the show and Rhimes has stated before that killing him was the only option, as we know McDreamy would never leave our Meredith!

10 Pompeo Knew About Her Character's Affair In Season 1

The end of season one gives us an incredibly-timed cliffhanger in which we see Derek Shepherd's wife, Addison Montgomery-Shepherd (another surgeon), come into the hospital shocking Meredith, his girlfriend, and many of the other characters when she leans in to kiss him. A lot of fans, even those fiercely dedicated ones, do not know the truth behind this storyline, however. Ellen Pompeo, the actress who plays Meredith Grey, did not know that she was "the other woman" until they filmed the episode! Patrick Dempsey, though, did know about their relationship being an affair early on in the season. This storyline did certainly put a bump in their road to happiness, but only a little one, as the two lovable soulmate characters still end up together!

9 The Musical Episode Was ABC Producers' Idea

Season 7 gave us our first Grey's Anatomy musical episode! Albeit a tad awkward, the musical episode is still endearing and smart and powerful. However, this was not the producers' idea to spice up the show, contrary to some people's speculation. This was actually Shonda Rhimes' idea. She asked Kevin McKidd ("Owen Hunt"), Chandra Wilson ("Miranda Bailey"), and Sara Ramirez ("Callie Torres") to help her convince the producers to let her do it, so they sang a song for the them. As you can see, their attempts were successful because of our powerful season 7 episode 18 "Song Beneath the Song". I won't give too much away, but it is still a great episode with or without the singing, so go watch it on Netflix!

8 The Writers Come Up With The Medical Storylines

Obviously this one is in fact partly true, as many times the writers do come up with the storylines. It is their job and they are the professional experts after all! However, some of the medical plots actually come from fans, too! Crazy, right? Shockingly enough, thousands of fans send in ideas for suspenseful and exciting subplots for the show. The writers actually do read through these and do take some into account when they are writing the scripts for different episodes! So, if you have any ideas, feel free to take a leap and boldly write the producers and writers a letter explaining your idea. You never know, your idea could become the next storyline for our favorite Meredith Grey or Alex Karev or Amelia Shepherd!

7 Patrick Dempsey Was Always To Play The Role of Derek Shepherd

Shockingly enough, our perfectly handsome Derek "McDreamy" Shepherd was not always meant to be played by Patrick Dempsey. He was not the first choice! How funny because I bet none of us could imagine Derek being any different now! In fact, you may know the famous actor who was asked to play him, none other than Rob Lowe! After days of contemplating between Grey's Anatomy and another show, Dr. Vegas, Lowe decided to go with Dr. Vegas instead. Ultimately, that show would be cancelled, but lucky for us, we got the hottest and best second choice out there, Patrick Dempsey! Another fun tidbit: Dempsey was "terrified" of Rhimes during his audition! It looks like it worked out for him, though, because she offered him the role not long after.

6 Dr. Erica Hahn: Let Go For Screenwriting Purposes Or…

In 2008, Brooke Smith, who played cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Erica Hahn, was abruptly fired by the show and the writers. They released a statement stating that they could not come up with anymore storylines for her character. Simple enough, right? However, some fans believe she was fired for other reasons, like speculation that the show was becoming "too gay" because of her strong-willed and tough lesbian character who helped Callie Torres realize her own sexuality, and that perhaps that was why she was fired. However, this would contradict their actions when they fired Isiah Washington after he called T.R. Knight a homophobic slur during a verbal altercation on set. So even though there was speculation on their reasons, this rumor and reason was ultimately false.

5 Rhimes Came Up With The Famous "Va-Jay-Jay" Line

It's a classic episode! Season 2, Episode 17 titled "As We Know It" has the suspenseful storyline of a bomb inside a person's chest cavity, as well as the intensely dramatic storyline of Miranda Bailey's husband having last-minute surgery. Because of Bailey's stress due to her husband's uncertainty, she goes into early labor with their baby. George O'Malley, our favorite intern, helps her deliver the baby. During this labor scene, we are given the classic "va-jay-jay" line, where Bailey tells O'Malley to stop staring at her you-know-what! It is perfect comedic relief, but as many fans don't know, Shonda Rhimes, the writer of the show, did NOT come up with this famous line! She actually overheard an assistant use this word and decided to put it in the script!

4 Sarah Drew's Labor Scene

Sarah Drew plays our favorite anxiety-ridden over-thinker April Kempner. The episode in season 10 when she leaves Matthew at the altar to run off with Jackson Avery and get married is still one of the greatest episodes written, in my opinion! They heartbreakingly lost a baby soon after that, but happily found out they were pregnant again in season 12, right after they officially got divorced (still not over that). When Drew found out about the pregnancy storyline, she revealed that she was actually pregnant in real life, too! What is interesting about her labor scene for their daughter is that Drew actually went into labor in reality merely 12 hours after she shot the Grey's Anatomy scene for April! So it begs the question, was she really acting during those delivery scenes?!

3 Mark Sloane's Easy Way Out

When Eric Dane, who played sexy and seductive Dr. Mark Sloane, decided to leave Grey's Anatomy to pursue other interests, Rhimes really wanted to give his character a proper farewell. Most fans and critics alike were angered that Sloane was killed off, like other characters such as O'Malley and our favorite little sister Lexie Grey, stating that it was his "easy way out". This is false, however, because Rhimes and Dane agreed that it was actually the opposite, that anything less than him being with Lexie in the afterlife would not have been the proper send-off, because the two of them were meant to be together (everyone knows that!). Dane now stars on TNT's The Last Ship, but we will always remember him as little Grey's soulmate.

2 Derek Shepherd Got His Hot Nickname During Filming

Season one gives us incredibly sexy Shepherd scenes. The writers wanted us to see what Meredith was seeing, the heart of who she was falling in love with. Derek is sultry and sensual, with a smoldering glance, a witty personality, and big brains to match! So, it is no wonder many people think that his "McDreamy" nickname was given to him after filming started, after everyone saw the sexiness transfer to the screen. However, this nickname was actually given to Patrick Dempsey before filming really even started! Rhimes and a few other writers and/or producers on the show were discussing how dreamy he looked-- and the name stuck, so much so that they decided to use it on the show with Cristina Yang's character ultimately giving him the nickname! This nickname sparked others, like Eric Dane's "McSteamy" too!

1 Sara Ramirez's Audition

Many fans assume and believe that each actor had to try out for their role. For example, Jessica Capshaw, who plays pediatric surgeon Arizona Robbins, had to audition three times before landing a role on the popular drama, auditioning for the role of Nurse Rose and Sadie Harris. As discussed before, Patrick Dempsey was terrified during his audition-- and was not even the show's first choice for Derek Shepherd! But Sara Ramirez, who played Callie Torres from seasons 1-12, actually did NOT have to audition! A worker from ABC saw Ramirez in Spamalot on Broadway and liked her so much that they offered her a role in any ABC show of her choosing! Lucky for us, Ramirez picked Grey's Anatomy and gave us twelve great years of Torres' drama, love, heartbreak, and laughter.