Scott Speedman‘s character, Nick, returned to Grey’s Anatomy to drop an engagement revelation on Ellen Pompeo’s Meredith.
During the Thursday, January 22, episode of the hit ABC series, Nick and Meredith were waiting for his sister Erica (Brit Morgan) to drop by for a visit. Nick was nervous because his sister previously battled substance abuse issues — but this time she surprised him with a baby.
It turned out that Nick’s sister secretly welcomed a child, which caused tension between the siblings. They fought over the secret and Erica) left but didn’t take her six-week-old son with her.
Nick and Meredith argued about next steps, which is how he revealed that the last time his life was in a good place Erica abandoned her daughter, Charlotte, on him. Nick recalled preparing to propose to an unnamed girlfriend before he took on the responsibility of raising Erica’s then-10-year-old daughter.
“You never mentioned that you were engaged,” Meredith told Nick, who clarified that the ex “left before” he could bring the topic up. He noted that the woman wasn’t interested in “becoming a parent” to a child at the time.
Erica ultimately returned to the house and revealed she was struggling with her sobriety. In an attempt to make amends, Nick asked Erica to stay with him and Meredith so they could help the new mom out. At the end of the episode, Nick and Meredith reflected on their own relationship while waiting for her kids — whom she shared with late husband Derek (Patrick Dempsey).
Meredith admitted she missed being around babies and Nick expressed how happy he was with the life they built together. The fictional couple, however, were in agreement that there were no plans for them to expand their family with another child.
Speedman’s return came after he rejoined the cast as a recurring character in season 20 and remained on Grey’s Anatomy since then. Speedman, 50, originally joined Grey’s Anatomy as a guest star in season 14. He then appeared as a main cast member in seasons 18 and 19 as Meredith’s love interest before taking a break from the show.
“[The fans] have lots of thoughts. I thought it was gonna be a layup, me coming onto the show,” Speedman said on SiriusXM’s The Spotlight With Jessica Shaw in October 2024. “I’m not a big social media guy, but I remember going on after my first episodes debuted with her, and they tease like, ‘There’s this character coming back to the show.’”
He continued: “And the fans, you know, on social media were not … There was a lot of vomit emojis, which I was like, ‘Oh, alright, alright.’”
Speedman noted that all he could do was “laugh at” the public response, adding, “It’s really funny how serious they are about that character, and who’s with that character and who’s not with that character.”
The actor’s guest appearance also comes after Amelia (Caterina Scorsone) chose to take a sabbatical while grieving the death of Monica Beltran (Natalie Morales). It was subsequently reported that Scorsone’s break will last until later this year. Outlets noted that the decision to cut back on Scorsone’s appearances came amid a cost-saving measure.
Grey’s Anatomy is already reducing the minimum guarantees for its veteran cast members to 14 out of the show’s 18 episodes per season. While some of Grey’s Anatomy’s consistent stars will be missing for four episodes, Scorsone’s absence was doubled.
Grey’s Anatomy airs on ABC Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET before streaming the next day on Hulu.
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