Why Did Richard Flood Leave 'Grey's Anatomy'? He Just Spoke Out About It

Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers for those who aren't caught up with Grey's Anatomy Season 18.

People who absolutely love medical dramas have been obsessed with Grey’s Anatomy since it first premiered in 2005. If Grey’s Anatomy didn’t have such a devoted and dedicated fan base, it wouldn’t have lasted for 18 seasons and counting! The show stars Ellen Pompeo in the leading role of Meredith Grey, along with a handful of other highly recognizable faces.

The doctors at Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital come together to save lives and make a difference in the world. Their medical skills and knowledge are beyond inspiring to see through every season. Richard Flood was one of the actors from Grey’s Anatomy, but he’s recently parted ways with the show. These are the details.

Richard played Dr. Cormac Hayes. He joined the show as a recurring character in Season 16 before being bumped up to series regular the following season.

Now, after Season 18, Episode 10, his character has said goodbye. As it turns out, Richard agreed with the producers that it was time for his character's storyline to an end.

Richard told Deadline, “They came up with the exit. I didn’t know until closer to when we were shooting how it would actually happen but there’d been a few conversations during the summer as far as how the season would unfold."

He continued, "And then during the season, there were more conversations about what might be good [for the show] and what might be good for me. Having three years on the show felt right for me, and I think that the arc of the character with all the developments in the story was probably coming to its natural end, which was great. I was very happy that everybody felt the same, and they just got to it."

Richard also posted on Instagram giving thanks to the Grey’s Anatomy team for the experience he had. He wrote, “Thanks to everybody involved over the last two years, but especially to all the fans whose response to Hayes’ exit over the last two weeks has been overwhelming! Much appreciated.”

Fans of the show are pretty sad to see his character leave, but it’s easy to respect the decision he’s made with the show’s producers. Is it possible Richard will ever return for future episodes of Grey’s Anatomy? He hasn’t spoken about returning in the future, but that doesn’t mean there’s no chance it might happen someday.

A recent episode of Grey’s Anatomy revealed that Hunt (Kevin McKidd) was secretly euthanizing veterans who didn’t necessarily qualify to be on the death program. Hunt already had plans lined up to help another three veterans with physician-assisted deaths. Since Cormac was made aware of Hunt’s scheme, he knew he’d be considered an accomplice who would then be stripped of his medical license if he didn’t say anything about it.

For Cormac, the decision was way too difficult. He had to decide whether or not he wanted to rat out his friend or leave the hospital entirely. He obviously chose the latter. As a result, Cormac was able to stay perfectly loyal to Hunt on his way out the door. It was the perfect ending to Cormac's arc.

New episodes of Grey’s Anatomy Season 18 air Thursdays at 9 p.m. EST on ABC.