Fans Don't Think Cristina Will Be Too Happy That Hayes Left Grey’s Anatomy

Spoilers ahead for Grey’s Anatomy Season 18, Episode 10. If Cormac Hayes thought he’d get through his final Grey’s Anatomy episode without saying goodbye to Meredith Grey, he was sorely mistaken. His reason for avoiding his onetime love interest? “Because if I say goodbye to you, Grey, I might not actually leave,” he told Meredith during a chance hospital run-in. “In all the years since Abigail died, you are the first person who got it. You made me feel less alone. You helped me believe that there might even be life after Abigail. Thank you for that.”

With those parting words, all hopes for a “MerHayes” pairing went out the window, as the surgeon, formerly known as McWidow, prepared to move his sons back to Ireland. The character’s abrupt resignation — which spawned from Owen’s confession about supplying terminally ill veterans with drugs for a physician-assisted death — seemed like a waste, considering Cristina sent him for Meredith during Season 16. As much as fans hoped they’d see him and Meredith get together, their brief romance occurred totally off-camera, with Meredith mentioning to new boyfriend Nick that her last relationship ended because the man’s son had an issue with them dating.

“Hayes deserved better,” one fan tweeted, while another shared a meme imagining how Cristina would react to her sending Meredith a new person, only for him to leave.

In an exit interview with Deadline, Flood said that he’d heard viewers’ feedback about all those lingering what-ifs between Hayes and Meredith. “I suppose you’d wonder would they have gotten together, would they not? If they had got together properly, would it have worked? I think the fans may have liked to have seen more of what that dynamic might have been — it’s certainly the response I’m getting — but it’s not really for me to say,” he explained. “The team there, they know best, and they push the show in whatever direction they feel is right, and my job is to play my role as best I can, so I don’t question those things too much.”

He also revealed that ABC was the one who decided to write Hayes out of the series. “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, and then during the season there were more conversations about what might be good [for the show] and what might be good for me,” Flood said. “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.”

Flood insisted that he left on good terms and that it just “felt it was the right time” for Hayes’ departure. “When I started, I always [thought] that three years on something was really as much as I’d like to do,” the actor added to Deadline. “I’m always eager to see what else is out there and try and stretch myself in different directions and do different types of TV and film. Three years was perfect for me, so I was very happy.”

Though Hayes ultimately kept Owen’s secret when Teddy confronted him in the parking lot, it’s only a matter of time before the truth comes to light. Hopefully his leaving Grey Sloan won’t have all been for nothing in the end.