“Grey’s Anatomy:” Jessica Capshaw & Sarah Drew to exit show after season 14

The medical drama is serving up some real-life drama as two long-time cast members will be departing from the show.

Jessica Capshaw who plays Dr. Arizona Robbins and Sarah Drew who plays Dr. April Kepner will exit Grey’s Anatomy at the end of the current fourteenth season. The two have been series regulars for 10 and 8 seasons respectively.

Executive producer and co-showrunner Krista Vernoff said in a statement that the decision was based solely on a creative decision.

“The characters of Arizona and April are permanently woven into the fabric of Grey’s Anatomy thanks to the extraordinary work of Jessica Capshaw and Sarah Drew. As writers, our job is to follow the stories where they want to go and sometimes that means saying goodbye to characters we love. It has been a joy and a privilege to work with these phenomenally talented actresses.”

Creator Shonda Rhimes said, “It’s always hard for me to say goodbye to any of my characters. Both Arizona Robbins and April Kepner are not only beloved but iconic — both the LBGTQ and devout Christian communities are underrepresented on TV. I will be forever grateful to both Jessica and Sarah for bringing these characters to life with such vibrant performance and for inspiring women around the globe. They will always be a part of our Shondaland family.”

There has been growing speculations that this decision did in some way have to do with the star of the show, Ellen Pompeo, renegotiating a new deal, that gave her a significant salary increase, paying her as much as $20 million a year.

Following the news of their pending exits, both Drew and Capshaw shared their thoughts with their fans. Read their statements below.