When does April leave Grey's Anatomy?

April Kepner leaves Grey's Anatomy in Season 14, episode 24.

Grey’s Anatomy is the longest-running medical series in the history of TV. It is made by Shonda Rhimes and currently has 21 seasons. The show has a big star cast, which has changed over the years as most of the original cast members have left the show. Mostly, the writers choose to kill the characters when they have to write off characters like Patrick Dempsey. Over the years, many exits from the show were surprising and shocking for the audience because they happened suddenly in the storyline.

April Kepner, played by Sarah Drew, was introduced in Season 6 of Grey’s Anatomy. At first, she was clumsy, made mistakes, and was disliked by her colleagues. Over the seasons, she became a capable, strong, and intelligent doctor with a complicated personal life. Over time, she became a fan favorite because of her character development. Her character exited the show in Season 14, episode 24, titled "All of Me". It was an unexpected exit for the audience and they were unsatisfied with her character's ending. Here’s a look at the reasons why Dr. April Kepner left Grey’s Anatomy.

Why did April Kepner leave Grey's Anatomy?

In Season 14, Dr. April Kepner faced a lot of struggles personally and professionally. She questioned her faith in God because of her patients’ deaths including Matthew’s pregnant wife. She went into a dark place when Arizona Robbins blamed her for the death of Matthew’s wife. She changed her lifestyle and started partying to cope with her grief. She puts a stop to this self-destructive lifestyle when she meets a patient who helps her believe in her faith again.

In the middle of Season 14, she reunites with her ex-fiance Matthew after a long time. They both got into a car accident and almost died because of hypothermia. After waking up from a coma, she decided to leave Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital and provide healthcare facilities to poor and homeless people in Seattle. In the Season 14 finale, she got married to Matthew and made her exit from the show.

However, she made a guest appearance in Season 17. It is revealed that she and Matthew had separated. When Jackson decides to leave the hospital and take over her mother’s foundation, he asks April to move to Boston with their daughter, Harriet. April agrees to move to Boston with him. In the following seasons, it is revealed that Jackson and April got back together.

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Why did Sarah Drew leave Grey’s Anatomy?

After working on the show for 9 seasons, Sarah Drew announced her exit from Grey’s Anatomy in 2018. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in 2018, she revealed the reason behind her exit was that the show needed to downsize to make room for all of the characters effectively. It resulted in her getting written off from the show. Sarah revealed in the Call It What It Is podcast in 2024 that she was not happy with her exit and felt that it was mean and unjust.

In the podcast, she said that it was freeing when she made guest appearances in Seasons 17 and 18. She further explains that she had no attachment to the show and had zero anxiety about going back on the show because she no longer wants anything from anyone on the show anymore.

After Grey’s Anatomy, she decided to pursue different acting projects and explore things other than acting like becoming a director and producer. She has been part of many projects, which she also produced, like Indivisible (2018), Reindeer Games Homecoming (2022), How She Caught a Killer (2023), etc.