Ellen Pompeo has been gracing our TV screens as the beloved Meredith Grey in Grey’s Anatomy for over a decade. Fans have grown attached to the on-screen doctor as they’ve seen her go through unimaginable feats. And while many are still sad that her on-screen romance with Dr. McDreamy is no more, we’re happy to report that the celebrity hasn’t had nearly as much drama in personal life.
The actress met her partner Chris Ivery at a Los Angeles grocery store in 2003. After several years of dating, they tied the knot in 2007. Since then, the couple has welcomed three beautiful children. Their first daughter, Stella Luna, was born in 2009, while second daughter Sienna May was born in 2014. The couple finally welcomed a son, named Eli Christopher, in 2016.
Despite being such a popular actress, Ellen has managed to keep her family heavily shielded from the media. While she often gives great parenting advice in the media, the star refrains from speaking about her children individually. Rather, she’s said she prefers to keep them away from the spotlight as much as possible. As such, there is still a lot that fans don’t know about the real-life Meredith Grey and her family. Keep reading to learn more about how the Pompeo-Ivery family is raising their kids!
25 Her Husband Has A Record
While Ellen is one of the most recognizable actresses on TV, her husband Chris Ivery has never been much for the public eye. Thus, fans don’t know a lot about the man that won Meredith Grey’s heart. However, there have been some rumors regarding Chris’s past.
According to Closer Weekly, Chris actually has a record. “Her husband has a [...] past,” a source told the publication. “Even though it’s been many years since he was in trouble, there’s a little part of Ellen that always wonders if something might bubble up again.”
His record includes charges for trafficking, fraud, postal theft, and probation violations. The magazine said he’s been behind bars on three separate occasions.
24 And They Won’t Hide It From The Kids
Sources say that Ellen has no problem with her husband’s problematic past, especially since her own difficult upbringing helps her relate. Evidently, Chris was upfront about his history when they first met, so it’s never been a problem for them.
However, some fans have questioned if and how they’ll ever explain it to their children. “It really doesn’t mean anything now, unless the kids ask about it,” a source told Closer Weekly. “But right now the kids are too young. They will talk about it with them when the time is right. Ellen is all about being open. They don’t want the kids to find out from anyone but them.”
23 She Admits To Using Nannies
Given how busy she must be with filming for Grey’s Anatomy, it’s understandable that Ellen and her husband have hired some help in order to manage their family. After giving birth to son Eli, Ellen wasn’t afraid to give a shout-out to her nurse who watched her son backstage during public appearances.
“I have the most fantastic baby nurse, Jackie, who's also backstage," she said on the Ellen Degeneres Show. "Hi, Jackie! She helps me. I'd be nowhere without her because I work long days and I need help caring for [Eli]. And she's got my back." She added that her baby nurse is the only way she could get their son to sleep through the night.
22 She Had Two Of Her Kids Via Surrogate
Kim Kardashian isn’t the only celebrity who’s had children via surrogate! Two out of three of Ellen Pompeo’s children were born via surrogate. In 2014, the couple’s daughter Sienna was born with the help of an anonymous surrogate, while their son was born in 2016 also thanks to a surrogate.
"This is an incredible thing to do with your life, to give the gift of carrying someone's child. I am forever grateful and feel very blessed and grateful to her — she who will remain anonymous," Ellen has said about her surrogate, Us Weekly reports.
21 She Was Very Involved In The Surrogate's Pregnancy
Some moms prefer to let the surrogate have their independence during the pregnancy. But Ellen said she was very involved with her surrogates, which made the experiences even more meaningful.
"I was there with her when they inseminated her, and we held hands,” Ellen said about her first time using a surrogate, US Weekly reports. “I looked into the microscope and I saw the embryo. I saw the baby, and they put it in a thingy, and they inseminated her. And then we held hands, and we prayed, we talked to God, and if she was meant to be. He said he was going to try to help us out, and now we have a gorgeous baby girl."
20 She Didn’t Announce Her Son Until After He Was Born
Thought Kylie Jenner was the only celebrity to make baby announcements post-birth? Think again! Ellen and her husband Chris didn’t reveal that they had welcomed a baby boy until he was born via surrogate and the couple were spotted out and about with him.
Soon after the photos were published, the actress’s representative released a statement saying, “Family and baby are all doing great.” It wasn’t long until Ellen finally posted a photo of her little man on social media, sending fans into a happy frenzy.
19 She Says Raising Biracial Children Is Challenging
Ellen and her husband Chris’s children are biracial. And while most fans don’t think anything of it, the actress has admitted that it, unfortunately, comes with its own set of challenges. “My challenge with raising [my] children is how much do you say to them and how much do you not say to them?” Ellen has said, Us Weekly reports.
The celebrity has added that she tries to expose her kids to African American culture as much as possible as well as exposing them to individuals from all walks of life.
18 Her Kids’ Friends Don’t Believe She’s Their Mom
Another challenge Ellen has faced in raising biracial children is that some people don’t believe she’s the mother of her kids! The actress said this once happened when she had several of her kids’ friends over to their home.
“A couple of weeks ago I had some friends over [to] the house — little girls of colour — and the little girl came in and I introduced myself and I said, ‘I’m Stella’s mom,’ and she looked at me and she was, like, almost [afraid], and then she went right to Stella and she said, ‘That’s your mom? I thought that was your mom [and pointed to the nanny],” she explained, Us Weekly reports.
17 She And Her Husband Eloped
After meeting at a grocery store in 2003, Ellen and her now-husband Chris decided to secretly elope in 2007 at the beginning of her Grey’s Anatomy fame. They were married by New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg at city hall with no guests. Country Living reports Ellen saying,
"We flew out on a redeye Thursday night. Friday morning, we woke up, went to City Hall, had the wedding really quick, and then we went to Lupa for lunch after. We had the whole weekend and no one knew, so we had that to ourselves."
16 She Keeps Her Kids On A Strict Diet
It turns out that Ellen is pretty health-conscious! After welcoming her first daughter, the actress’s Grey’s Anatomy co-star Sarah Drew revealed that the new mom had her baby on a very strict food plan.
“She’s a big cook. She’s really into cooking and really into being super-healthy and getting all the organic stuff and getting all the antioxidants, vitamins and she doesn’t just feed her baby normal baby food,” Sarah said, Hollywood Life reports.
15 And She Makes Her Own Baby Food
During the same interview, Ellen’s co-star Sarah Drew also revealed that the actress is so conscious about what she feeds her children that she prefers to make their baby food from scratch. Well, that sounds time-consuming!
“All of the meals are specifically created for her baby,” Sarah explained. “She creates meals and purees it for Stella and it’s amazing. She is super, super involved in her baby’s life.” We wonder how much time Ellen spends preparing such elaborate meals for her family (or if she stopped with the homemade baby food after baby no. 1)!
14 She's An Advocate For Low-Income Mothers
Ellen isn’t only helping people on TV - she’s doing it in real life, too! Aside from her work on Grey’s Anatomy, Ellen keeps busy with her charitable ventures. Specifically, the actress has been working with LA organization Baby2Baby, which helps provide baby necessities to low-income mothers.
Parents reports that Ellen helped the organization reach out to 150,00 families as well as garner a generous donation of 500,000 diapers from Pull-ups, which definitely helped a lot of families in need.
"Not all families have access to the right potty training tools to get started and stick with it. That's why I am excited to accept a donation of 500,000 Pull-Ups Training Pants to Baby2Baby families in need,” she said at the time.
13 She Wants Her Kids Out Of The Spotlight
Fans have noticed that there are very few pictures of Ellen’s three children floating around. The celebrity has been candid about her desire to shield her kids from the media as much as possible.
“I do try to keep her out, but I also have to keep her life as normal as possible. So it’s just a balancing act, like anybody else — it’s just a different balancing act,” she told Today’s Parent about her daughter Stella. “Every family, every new mother, every new dad, everyone has to balance certain things. I just have a slightly different set of circumstances to balance.”
12 She Might Be Leaving Grey’s Anatomy Soon
Ellen has starred on Grey’s Anatomy for a whopping 16 seasons, making it the longest-running drama on TV. However, last fall the actress hinted that she was getting bored with her role and might be looking for a change. So, prepare to say goodbye to Meredith Grey come season 17!
“I’m clearly not prepared right now to make any kind of formal announcement about what my future is on the show, but I am really feeling like we have told the majority of the stories we can tell,” she said last September, Hollywood Life reports.
11 She Recommends Stickers While Potty Training
Last year, Ellen got candid with Parents magazine about her tips and tricks for potty training (after all, she’s had to do it three times!). “I think stickers really work. It was a method that really worked for me,” she explained.
“We're not quite there with Eli yet, but certainly with Sienna, that's what we do. I think when I'm not around, my husband offers lollipops, which kind of gets me in trouble!” Ellen continued. “But I don't know anything about the lollipops, I only know about the stickers...”
10 She Doesn’t Talk To McSteamy Anymore
Grey’s Anatomy fans are still sad that Meredith Grey’s soulmate Derick is no longer with us. Still, some fans have held out hope that the actors who portray the iconic couple are still friends IRL. Unfortunately, Ellen recently admitted that she hasn’t spoken to Patrick Dempsey since he left the show.
“We haven’t spoken since he’s left the show. I have no hard feelings toward him,” she explained, Us Weekly reports. “He’s a wonderful actor and we made, you know, the best TV you could make together. That’s a talented man right there. He did 11 amazing years.”
9 Her Kids Always Have To Be Busy
Ellen isn’t raising slackers! The celebrity has said she’s building her children’s confidence by keeping them busy in extracurricular activities.
“I try to get them involved in a lot of things because I think [you should] know how to do a lot of things—dancing, riding horses, whatever,” she told InStyle. “I mean that sounds a little fancy because my kids are fortunate and they're able to do a lot of things, but even if it's kicking a soccer ball, even if it's learning how to jump rope, that's how you get confident.”
8 And She Keeps The Kids On A Tight Schedule
Ellen has admitted to having a very specific routine for her children. However, the tight schedule is more for her own benefit than her children’s!
“She [baby Stella] is on a very strict schedule,” the actress once told Today’s Parent. “And that helps me definitely, and I think it reflects in her calm behaviour. She’s very calm. She never really wants anything because all her needs are met before she knows she has them. And a schedule contributes to that.”
7 She’s Made "A Lot" Of Mistakes With Her Kids
So many celebrities like to portray the image of a perfect family online, which is why it was refreshing when Ellen got candid about motherhood and all the mistakes she’s made.
“I make a lot of mistakes,” she explained to InStyle. “You just learn. Kids are just so open and honest, and you could get down on yourself a lot as a parent, like ‘Oh I'm not there enough.’ It’s easier to beat yourself up and feel guilty. But you can't adopt a sort of [injured] attitude, you have to adopt an optimistic, can do, 'how do I fix it?' attitude with kids.”
6 She Always Talks About Her Kids On Set
It’s clearly difficult for Ellen to be away from her children while she’s filming if her on-set habits are any hint! The celebrity’s Grey’s Anatomy co-star Sarah Drew revealed that Ellen is constantly on the phone with her nanny or talking about her little ones.
“Ellen is in love with her [daughter]. If she has a cold we know about it. She is on the phone with her nanny, she’s talking to the medical people on set. She’s so in love with that child,” Sarah said shortly after Ellen had her first baby, as Hollywood Life reports. She added that the actress often brought baby Stella to visit the set, too.
5 She Got Very Emotional After Labour
What was the hardest thing about giving birth for Ellen? The emotions! The celebrity has admitted she wasn’t prepared for the waterworks that would follow after welcoming her first child.
“Oh my God, how my feelings would get even more intense,” she told InStyle. “I’m already a super emotional person, and life can be quite painful for me sometimes because I feel things so deeply, and I feel things even more deeply now that I'm a parent. And it's hard. You know you worry so much about them, and it's really hard. We’re living in a crazy, polluted... angry world. There's a lot to be [afraid] of for them.”
4 She And Her Hubby Both Had Rough Childhoods
Evidently, both Ellen and her husband Chris had difficult childhoods, which is what reportedly brought the couple together. The couple were both raised in the Boston suburbs. Ellen and her five siblings were raised by her single father after her mother passed away from an overdose.
“They both came from rough neighborhoods, and she understood the life he had [before they met],” a source told Closer Weekly. “She and Chris understood each other, and it’s probably why they’re such a good match and still together.”
3 She Always Makes Time For The Gym
Ellen swears that her secret to staying (somewhat) stress-free is hitting the gym! And that’s easier said than done when you’ve got three kids running around.
“I do a combination of pilates and dance cardio in a hot room,” she once told Today’s Parent. “It’s super hard for an hour and a half, but it’s fun because it’s dance cardio, so I’m learning dance steps and everything, and it’s really fun. And that’s my me-time. That’s what I do, I go to the gym.”
We guess that’s why she looks so good for 49!
2 She Cares About What Her Kids Wear
Some parents believe that as long as their kids have clean clothes, they’re good to go. But there are other parents who like to put a bit more effort into coordinating their little one’s looks - and Ellen is one of them!
Her co-star Sarah Drew revealed that the star’s babies are always dressed to the nines. “She brought Stella to set one day and she was wearing sunglasses and skinny jeans, and this is when she was like 5 months old,” Sarah explained, Hollywood Life reports.
She continued, “I walked up and said, ‘Stella is wearing skinny jeans!’ And Ellen said, ‘I know aren’t they so cute?!’ Stella wears sunglasses all the time and they’re big ones and she doesn’t mind. She is such a hip kid and she has eyelashes that are a mile long. She’s one of the most beautiful children I’ve ever seen in my entire life.”
1 The Family Has A Ton Of Pets
You’d think Ellen would have her hands full with her bustling career and three young children. However, the Pompeo-Ivery family doesn’t just stop at humans - they actually have a ton of furry family members, too!
According to People, the family currently has four dogs, four chickens, and a fish. The actress has spoken about how they’ve adopted dogs from Love Leo Rescue. Their most recent member is their puppy, Lily.
“The way the rescue gave her to me was fantastic. She had all her shots, she was potty-trained and crate-trained,” she said of the organization. “They do so much for animals and keep them out of shelters. I can’t say enough about them.”
Sources: Us Weekly, Country Living, Parents, In Style
