When his marriage was on the verge of ending, Patrick Dempsey decided that no series was worth more than his family.
In January 2015, Jillian Fink, his wife since 1999, filed for divorce after more than 15 years of marriage. Around that same time, Patrick was still one of the main stars of Grey’s Anatomy, where he played Derek Shepherd and earned nearly US$400 thousand per episode.
Shortly afterward, his character left the series and the actor began speaking openly about the need to slow down, regain time with his children, and put his family life back at the center. Dempsey acknowledged that work had consumed many years of his life and that he wanted to find a different balance.
The story, however, did not end in divorce. Patrick and Jillian began rebuilding their relationship, appeared together again and, in 2016, she officially withdrew the divorce petition.
Today they are still married and have three children together. More than a decade after that crisis, the couple remains together.
Patrick may have left behind one of the most successful stages of his career, but he ended up keeping something that meant much more to him: his family.