Katherine Heigl Left ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Over ‘Hurt Feelings’ & Money, Says Ellen Pompeo

Katherine Heigl Grey's Anatomy — Courtesy of ABC

For the first time, Katherine’s former co-star offers her take on ‘Izzie’s’ infamous exit.

It’s been more than three years since Katherine Heigl scrubbed in on Grey’s Anatomy — her final episode aired Jan. 21, 2010 — but her departure remains a touchy subject. In a new interview with the New York Post, show star Ellen Pompeo gets very candid about the reasons behind Katherine’s exit, which she attributes to “hurt feelings, combined with instant success and huge paychecks started things spinning out of control.”

“When Katie left, it was tough,” Ellen continues. “You could understand why she wanted to go — when you’re offered $12 million a movie and you’re only 26. But Katie’s problem is that she should not have renewed her contract. She re-upped, took a big raise and then tried to get off the show. And then her movie career did not take off.”

Perhaps Katherine should have gone the route of Sandra Oh, who announced that the current season of Grey’s Anatomy will be her last, giving fans — not to mention the writers — an entire year to brace for her absence.

“The crazier things got, as I watched all the tumult with Isaiah and then the Katie thing, I started to focus on the work,” Ellen says, also referring to when former co-star Isaiah Washington was fired for reportedly calling co-star T.R. Knight a homophobic slur. “Maybe it is my Boston, blue-collar upbringing. I just tried to not pay attention to all the noise around me.”

Is Ellen Pompeo Leaving ‘Grey’s Anatomy’?

Don’t fret, fans! Ellen says she sees no reason why Grey’s Anatomy should lose its titular doc. Ever.

“Actors always think the grass is greener somewhere else; I didn’t want to do that,” she says. “I have an amazing life. I have a house five minutes from the studio, I have a house in the Hamptons, a house in Malibu, a beautiful daughter whom I see every night — and it’s all because I didn’t leave Grey’s Anatomy.”

I definitely didn’t expect so much honesty from Ellen, but I love it! (Also, I just became insanely jealous of her life.)