‘Grey’s Anatomy’: Are Andrew DeLuca and Meredith Grey Friends Off-Screen? The Answer Might Break You

Grey’s Anatomy Season 17 finally returned with a heartfelt scene between Andrew DeLuca (Giacomo Gianniotti) and Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) on March 11, 2021. However, fans are heartbroken over what happened in the last few minutes of the spring premiere. The ease with which the two act together made fans wonder if Andrew DeLuca and Meredith Grey are friends outside the series?

[Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers for Grey’s Anatomy Season 17, Episode 7]

Did Andrew DeLuca leave ‘Grey’s Anatomy’? 

When Grey’s Anatomy returned on March 11, Andrew DeLuca was rushed to the hospital after a man stabbed him. What fans who did not watch Station 19 might have missed is DeLuca and his sister, Carina DeLuca (Stefania Spampinato), chasing the sex trafficker who kidnapped two teenage girls in the last episode. 

Throughout the entire episode of Station 19, the DeLuca siblings remained in pursuit of Opal (Stephanie Kurtzuba). When the police finally arrested the suspected human trafficker, a man bumped into DeLuca and stabbed him.

When Grey’s Anatomy began, DeLuca arrived at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. Teddy Altman (Kim Raver) and Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd) rushed him into surgery, and he lives. However, when Owen went to check on him later, he coded. The doctors tried to resuscitate him for over 40 minutes, but he died. Andrew DeLuca left Grey’s Anatomy.

‘Grey’s Anatomy’: Are Andrew DeLuca and Meredith Grey friends off-screen?

In an interview with Giacomo Gianniotti, he revealed how close he and Ellen Pompeo became while acting together on Grey’s Anatomy. The 31-year-old Italian-Canadian actor worked on the series for six years and looked up to Pompeo. He felt lucky to have the beach scenes with her before the end of his run on the series. 

“So, we got to spend a couple days out on the beach together,” Gianniotti told Deadline. “It was so beautiful, just as friends and as actors, to share in those moments together.” 

He explained that in between takes, the pair spent a lot of time reminiscing.

“Ellen and I were just there for hours talking about arcs, being through the emotion over the years, and how much fun times we’ve had working together,” he continued. They also talked about “the friendship that we built over time. She’s been such an incredible mentor and friend to me over the years. So it was sad to end that day because I knew that that was the last time that we were going to work together; it was bittersweet, for sure.”

Will DeLuca return to ‘Grey’s Anatomy’?

During the same interview, Gianniotti revealed that fans might not have seen Andrew DeLuca’s for the last time on Grey’s Anatomy. Like every other character in the long-running medical drama, when someone dies, it doesn’t always mean they won’t appear in some way later on the series. 

“Just because DeLuca has died, it doesn’t mean that there’s not other ways for us to see clips and other manifestations of DeLuca in the future,” he added. “So, yeah, I definitely think there’s a possibility to see DeLuca in the rest of the season, but I don’t know exactly how and can’t comment on how.”

Well, that helps fans a little, but it won’t stop the tears from flowing.