After last Thursday's shocking plot twist revealed that (*spoiler alert*) Alex was NOT in jail and was instead sleeping in Meredith’s bed, Grey’s fans were left so freaking confused. The episode seriously left us on a cliffhanger—in more ways than one. We have SO many questions and thoughts. Why isn’t Alex in jail? Is he guilty? And with Alex and Jo over (at least for now), is there a chance for an Alex/Meredith romance?
Well, for all those shipping Meredith and Alex—sorry, your dreams may have been ruined. Their relationship appears to be more of a sibling type of love, not romantic, according to the actors who play Meredith and Alex.
Justin Chambers, who plays Alex, recently weighed in on what he thinks Alex feels for Mer. He told TVLine that while “anything is possible,” he sees them “as siblings that care very much for each other." He also added, “That happens in life, where people who are friends become lovers. Personally, I don’t see that [happening] right now. I think it would be kind of strange.”
And Ellen Pompeo, who plays Meredith, agrees. She told TVLine last April that she believes Meredith and Alex are better suited as siblings. “I think they’re too close… too much like brother and sister. I have super-close friends who I’m not romantically attracted to at all. So I think just because you’re so in love with someone in one way doesn’t mean it’s a romantic love. But they certainly do understand each other a lot,” said the actress.
Even Shonda Rhimes herself doesn't necessarily see the relationship as romantic. The show’s creator and executive producer told Entertainment Weekly in September, “If you talk to Ellen and Justin they’ll go, ‘Ew!’ because they’re like brother and sister. But I think it’s because those two actual people have 13 years of history together. They’re very, very much intertwined; they’re family. So it feels really easy like family, and there’s something beautiful about that.”
However, the showrunner did not shut down all possibility of a romance between Meredith and Alex. “I’ve learned to never say never at this point,” said Rhimes. So who knows? The show could go in an unexpected direction—so for those wanting a Meredith/Alex romance, there may still be hope. “This is Shonda’s show and whatever path she chooses to go down creatively, I’m with her,” Pompeo told TVLine.