Several weeks after a heart-wrenching season 8 finale of “Grey’s Anatomy,” in which character Lexie Grey was killed off, actress Chyler Leigh has released a statement about her departure.

Chyler Leigh on ‘Grey’s Anatomy’

Earlier this year, I made the decision that Season Eight would be my last on Grey’s Anatomy. I met with Shonda (Rhimes) and we worked together to give Lexie’s story appropriate closure. I am very lucky to have worked with this amazing cast and crew for five seasons. My experience on Grey’s Anatomy is something that I will treasure for the rest of my life. I want to take this time to say thank you to the fans. Your unconditional love and support have made these last five years very special for me. I look forward to my next chapter and I hope you will continue to follow me on my journey.

Read the full article here at TVLine.com.

The death of Lexie Grey was certainly a shock for me. Fans were told ahead of time that one of the main cast members would die in the finale, but just who was going to die was driving fans like me crazy. I even went on Twitter to chat with some other fans and guess who we thought would die, which we hoped was not one of the hot guys!

The show won’t be the same without cheerful Lexie Grey, though. I was really hoping the character would get back together with Mark Sloan.

Actress Kim Raver, who played Teddy Altman, has also exited the show, with her character being fired.  And the plane crash that killed off Lexie left the fate of several other characters up in the air as they awaited help in the finale.  But nothing has been reported about anyone else leaving the show.

Hopefully the remainder of the cast sticks around for season 9, especially doctors “McDreamy” and “McSteamy” (haven’t said that in a while!), aka Derek Shepard (played by Patrick Dempsey) and Mark Sloan (played by Eric Dane).  The show would not be the same without them!

What did you think about the finale and Lexie’s death on “Grey’s Anatomy?”  What do you predict or hope for in season 9?  Comment below!